European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varghei has said that Russia's war against Ukraine has sobered up the debate around the EU enlargement process and revealed the need to speed up procedures that were actually stopped by the previous commission.
He said this in an exclusive interview with Euractiv.
"Perhaps this is the only positive impact of Russia's war against Ukraine, because it has sobered up the debate about enlargement," Varghei said.
"We Europeans are now not only aware of it, but we are willing to work on it because Europe does not have security, stability and prosperity without the full integration of the Western Balkans," he added.
The EU enlargement process has stalled in recent years, with some member states calling for EU reform before accepting new members.
"Don't forget, we started after the European Commission said no to enlargement. The damage was done," Varghei said.
He added that by the second half of its mandate, the Juncker commission "realized that it was a strategic mistake."
"What I now expect, and what will be a huge responsibility for the European Commission, is that there is now a clear political will that was not always evident," the commissioner said.
His comments came after EU leaders granted candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova in June in solidarity in response to Russian aggression, and in July member states gave the green light to begin accession talks with Northern Macedonia and Albania.
