Eurasia Press & News
France’s vision of a new “European political community” involves core European Union states entering into a political union with nonmembers that it believes will strengthen the security, stability, and prosperity of Europe as a whole in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A discussion paper discussed by EU ambassadors on June 15, a copy of which was seen by RFE/RL, comes amid discussions in the European Union about granting Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine candidate status and with French President Emmanuel Macron visiting Moldova and potentially Ukraine later this week for the first time since the war broke out in February.
The document says the new political community would be open to European states “that share a common set of democratic values” regardless of membership in the EU or the nature of their current relationship with the bloc “whether they wish to join it, have left it, do not plan to join it, or are linked to it only by economic agreements.”
Macron first proposed the idea in May and the paper is an initial glimpse into the French president’s grander vision of the concept aimed at offering Ukraine, and other states outside of the 27-member bloc, greater protection in the wake of Russia’s unprovoked invasion, launched in late February.
The discussion paper says the proposal isn’t “a substitute” or “alternative” to the bloc’s enlargement policy — which France has been seen as lukewarm to in recent years — noting that “for European states wishing to join the European Union, it would, on the contrary, allow for the strengthening of links with EU member states prior to accession, both politically and in terms of accompanying participation in certain EU policies, including, where appropriate, through gradual integration into the EU internal market.”
The new “community” also, wouldn’t replace other political bodies such as the Council of Europe or Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the paper says, but would help “bring together all the members of the European family on an equal footing and in a spirit of unity of our continent.”
“On the contrary, relations between the countries of our continent, whether or not they belong to the European Union, whether or not they wish to join it, are marked by a complex web of plurilateral or bilateral frameworks. All will remain relevant. But we must regain a sense of community,” the paper says.
The proposal envisages a “light legal structure” with decision-making capacity that meets several times a year at heads-of-state, governmental, and ministerial levels.
According to people familiar with the June 15 discussion, EU ambassadors from Austria, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands spoke out in favor of the proposal, which will also be debated by EU heads of state when they meet at a summit in Brussels on July 23-24.
The summit will also address the European Commission’s opinion on the EU membership applications submitted by Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, which are looking to fast-track the process to enhance their security given Russia’s aggression amid fears it could target other countries besides Ukraine.
According to several RFE/RL sources, the commission is set to recommend candidate status with some conditions at least for Ukraine and Moldova, though it is far from certain that all 27 EU member states will endorse the recommendation.
