The key facts

  • Meinl-Reisinger: enlargement is the EU's 'most powerful and important geostrategic instrument'
  • Proposal: access to the single market as reforms progress, not after accession
  • Reforms for candidates described as a complicated and bureaucratic process

Austria's proposal on EU enlargement

Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger stated that the enlargement of the European Union is the bloc's 'most powerful and important geostrategic instrument'. In her view, the accession of new members plays a key role in countering the influence of Russia and China in the Western Balkans region.

Access to the single market as reforms progress

Austria proposes a new approach to enlargement: candidate countries should gain access to the EU single market as they implement the necessary reforms, rather than waiting for full membership. According to the minister, this would allow them to immediately feel the 'effects of the reforms'.

Assessment of the reform process

Meinl-Reisinger acknowledged that the reforms required of the Balkan countries for EU accession represent a 'complicated' and 'bureaucratic' process. That is why, in her reasoning, intermediate benefits should serve as an incentive for candidates.