"New conditions for new EU members"

German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier says that the EU must create the conditions in order to be able to accommodate any new members. Asked in an interview with Vienna daily Der Standard whether he agreed with Chancellor Angela Merkel that the EU should suspend further enlargement once Croatia gained membership, he replied that it was true that any further enlargement had to be “well considered and conducted only with solid pre-conditions.“ "New conditions for new EU members" “However, this is a matter of legitimacy, as the undertaken obligations must be fulfilled. This pertains to the European future of the Western Balkans, as well as to the negotiations on the admission of Turkey,“ the minister said. He said that he was disappointed that the border dispute between Slovenia and Croatia still showed no signs of abating. “Germany doesn’t have the role of an arbiter. We support the efforts of the European Commission and the EU presidency. Commissioner Olli Rehn’s proposals are a step in the right direction and are still on the table. I can only recommend that the talks should continue as soon as possible on that basis. It’s very hard to accept that negotiations on one country’s accession should be blocked over a bilateral issue such as this,“ Steinmeier bemoaned. Frank Walter-Steinmeier (FoNet, archive)

"New conditions for new EU members"

“However, this is a matter of legitimacy, as the undertaken obligations must be fulfilled. This pertains to the European future of the Western Balkans, as well as to the negotiations on the admission of Turkey,“ the minister said.

He said that he was disappointed that the border dispute between Slovenia and Croatia still showed no signs of abating.

“Germany doesn’t have the role of an arbiter. We support the efforts of the European Commission and the EU presidency. Commissioner Olli Rehn’s proposals are a step in the right direction and are still on the table. I can only recommend that the talks should continue as soon as possible on that basis. It’s very hard to accept that negotiations on one country’s accession should be blocked over a bilateral issue such as this,“ Steinmeier bemoaned.