The European Commission published its proposal for the reform of the enlargement policy on 5 February 2020. The proposal will need to be approved by the Council. While the Commission foresees starting accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, it is also proposing changes to the methodology of the way accession negotiations to be conducted with the two countries.

Emphasising the features of the new methodology, IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu said that the document’s failure to mention Turkey was strange. IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu stated in accordance with the Council conclusions adopted late last year, the EU was in preparation for imposing sanctions on organisations and individuals involved in hydrocarbon exploration activities offshore Cyprus. He deplored the EU’s erroneous approach to Turkey which is a key EU partner and a candidate country, and said the following:

“Turkey-EU relations have been going through a difficult period. The European Commission has presented its  proposal for enlargement policy reform. However, there is no mention of Turkey. Meanwhile, Turkey continues to be a candidate country. Although negotiations have stalled, they have not been officially suspended. It is extremely regrettable and strange that the European Commission has been focusing solely on the Western Balkans and has failed to mention Turkey in a document outlining reforms for the enlargement policy and accession negotiations. We find it wrong for the EU to disregard a country like Turkey this way which is a candidate for EU accession and a key partner for the EU. While the European Commission is proposing launching accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, as for Turkey, it is preparing to bring sanctions on companies and individuals involved in hydrocarbon exploration activities off the coast of Cyprus. This approach, which ignores both Turkey’s legitimate arguments and TRNC’s rights over island’s natural resources, is extremely far from being fair.”

IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu made the following comments on the Commission's enlargement reform proposals:

“First of all, the revised methodology is aimed at Western Balkan countries, especially at North Macedonia and Albania whose negotiations have been blocked by France. Serbia and Montenegro with which negotiations are already underway will continue to be subject to the current methodology outlined in their negotiation framework documents.”

Under the new methodology, the acquis chapters will be re-organised under six thematic clusters. First among the thematic clusters is “Fundamentals” covering the rule of law, economic criteria, the functioning of democratic institutions and public administration reform. This cluster will be opened at the beginning of the negotiations to be closed at the very end of the process. Other thematic clusters include: Internal Market; Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth; Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity; Resources, Agriculture and Cohesion and External Relations. Opening benchmarks will be determined collectively for each thematic cluster, and negotiations in the chapters within the scope of that cluster will begin once all benchmarks for that cluster are met.

In addition to the rewards to be given when the reform performance is satisfactory (such as participation in certain EU policies and programs, more financial support and investments) the document also outlines possible sanctions that can be applied in cases of stagnation in reforms, serious backsliding in areas under the Fundamentals including the rule of law and moving away from EU accession criteria. Possible measures include putting the negotiations on hold, suspending the negotiations, and reopening the closed chapters. It is extremely important that the Commission puts emphasis on the reversibility of the process.

Another important factor is the increasing influence of EU Member States in the accession process. In this context, more high-level meetings and summits are foreseen with the Western Balkan countries. Moreover, Member States are gaining importance in monitoring the reforms which makes the process more political. It can be argued that the enlargement process is becoming more difficult and increasingly politicised. To ensure stability of the Western Balkans, the EU should speed up the process and help these countries move forward on the EU path by increasing its support to candidate countries. Regardless, the enlargement process will remain incomplete without Turkey.”