German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for EU reforms

Olaf Scholz is sure that it is necessary to simplify the procedure for joining the European Union, and for this it is necessary to carry out reforms.

The German chancellor spoke about this in an interview with Germany’s largest daily newspaper. Suddeutsche Zeitung. He believes that preparing for expansion EU not only applicants for admission, but the EU itself should:

“To do this, it must modernize its structures and decision-making processes to facilitate the admission of new members. It will not always be possible to decide everything unanimously, even if today the procedure requires unanimity.”

Scholz intends to talk about his vision of reforms on Thursday-Friday at the EU summit. At the end of the week, the heads of state and government of 27 member countries will consider applications from Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. The EC recommended declaring Ukraine and Moldova as official candidate countries. Scholz has a similar position, which he made clear during his visit to Kyiv on Thursday.

Now the status of a candidate can only be granted unanimously. In the EU, discussions have long been under way to weaken the principle of unanimity. A week earlier, the European Parliament asked the EU countries to approve a constitutional convention on comprehensive EU reforms. The EP called for abandoning the principle of unanimity in almost all areas of politics.

Olaf Scholz also hopes that the upcoming summit will give a boost to the Western Balkan countries, which have been waiting for almost two decades for membership in the European Union:

“We have to show the countries of the Western Balkans that we are serious. Albania and North Macedonia are well qualified to start concrete EU accession negotiations – they should start now.”

The German Chancellor promised further assistance to Ukraine and expressed hope that EU leaders would reach an agreement on its candidate status to join the European alliance.

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