The push from Brussels is partly motivated by the fact that EU membership is a bargaining chip in ongoing U.S.-led peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeking EU membership by 2027. Accession is a carrot for Ukrainians who may be called upon to accept difficult compromises in any peace deal.
But Haddad’s comments suggest that France does not want the EU’s enlargement schedule to be dictated by foreign powers or geopolitical circumstances. “Neither the United States nor Russia” should have any influence over EU enlargement policy, he added.
Paris is in favor of Ukraine joining the bloc. Ukraine, Moldova and Western Balkan countries — widely seen as part of a future enlargement wave — should not be left “in a gray zone, vulnerable to foreign influence and aggression,” added the centrist minister, whose office sits in the foreign ministry.
However, France is less favorable to proposals to change the way Europe admits new members, for example by granting them fewer privileges upon entry and then building them up in a phased accession process. “This enlargement must remain demanding and merit-based to ensure its success and credibility,” said Haddad.
Buy European
The 40-year-old minister also weighed into a debate about how the EU should allocate resources as part of a push to bolster competitiveness, endorsing the idea of a “European preference” for future investments in the EU’s long-term budget, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework.
“Why should we be more naive than the Americans, who have long implemented Buy American policies?” he asked. “European preference should be a cross-cutting rule of the MFF.”