姓名 : 劉力豪
學號 : 04114140
出處 : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48457542
時間 : 2019/05/30
標題 :
EU sees progress in Albania and N Macedonia membership bids
Albania and North Macedonia have made good progress towards EU membership and Brussels should open accession talks with them, the EU Commission says.
Both have official "candidate" status in their EU membership bids. The last country to join was Croatia, in 2013.
Since then, leaders in Austria, France and the Netherlands have expressed caution about further EU enlargement.
The Commission, steering the talks, said "serious backsliding" in Turkey meant that its bid remained frozen.
The question of further EU enlargement is likely to come up at an EU summit next month, but a decision on opening accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia may be delayed until an EU foreign ministers' meeting in July.
EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said the past year had seen "positive change" in the Balkans, and "Albania and North Macedonia have shown a strong determination to advance on the EU path".
EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said both countries had "delivered on reforms".
"North Macedonia not only continued its ambitious reform agenda, but also reached a historic agreement with Greece, resolving a 27-year-old name dispute, an example for the entire region and beyond," he said.
"Albania is pursuing profound reforms, in particular a major transformation of its justice system."
In January Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras completed a deal to end Greece's long-running name row with neighbouring North Macedonia, which he visited in April.
Greece had always objected to its neighbour's designation as "Macedonia", because of the northern Greek province of the same name.
The Commission sees its strategy of integration with Balkan countries as a tool for stabilisation, in a region that was convulsed by conflict in the 1990s.
Countries seeking EU membership have to meet a long list of requirements, including: justice reform, rule of law, anti-corruption measures, functioning democratic institutions, media freedom and economic competitiveness.
There are three other candidate countries in the queue to join: Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. All three have opened accession negotiations, but Turkey's are at a standstill.
The Commission said Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had "continued to move further away from the European Union", noting that rule of law, human rights and political checks and balances had all been undermined.
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo are potential candidates, but the Commission says it is still too early to open accession talks with them.
There are widespread concerns in the EU about illegal migration via the Balkans, with some countries seen as back-door smuggling routes.
Migrant numbers have dropped sharply since 2016, when EU-led restrictions were imposed at borders in the Balkans and Turkey tightened its controls.
心得 :
在歐盟擴張之議題上,歐盟於近年對於欲加盟之國家皆設有多項要求,除了必須符合最基本的哥本哈根標準 (Copenhagen criteria) ,在政治、經濟、人權...等議題上,也都有個別的規定與考量,目的皆是為了確保新加盟之國家能夠順利銜接歐盟的深化,以及加盟國不會出現違反歐盟之理念。阿爾巴尼亞於2009年申請加入歐盟,經過多年於2014年通過審核成為候選成員,而歐盟所關注的為阿爾巴尼亞之政治腐敗、及司法受到政治干擾...等問題。馬其頓 (當時尚未更改國名) 則是於2004年申請加盟,且在隔年便成為候選成員,但由於馬其頓與希臘在領土及國名上之爭議,使得馬其頓在加入歐盟及北約上受到阻撓。
而歐盟現任的高級代表費德麗卡 (Federica Mogherini) ,於去年4月宣布歐盟支持重啟對阿爾巴尼亞與馬其頓加入歐盟之談判,部長理事會也說明只要兩國能夠達成歐盟設定之談判條件,歐盟將於2019年6月啟動談判。而到了今年的5月29日,在歐盟執行委員會的年度報告上,歐盟擴張事務執委哈恩 (Johannes Hahn) 表示,兩國皆已努力達成改革目標,包括阿爾巴尼亞的民主與法治狀況之改善,以及北馬其頓的國名更改與外交妥協,因此呼籲部長理事會應即刻啟動談判,可以預計在今年下一屆的歐盟高峰會上,將正式討論兩國加入歐盟之議題。
反觀在1987年便申請加入歐盟,於2005年開啟入盟談判的土耳其,則在執行委員會的年度報告上遭到歐盟嚴重的抨擊,以及歐洲議會於今年3月,同樣也呼籲歐盟中止土耳其的入盟談判,而法國總統馬克宏 (Emmanuel Macron) 早已於去年會面土耳其總統艾爾多安 (Recep Erdogan) 時,便直接了當地表示土耳其失去了任何加入歐盟之可能性。以上原因包括了土耳其自從2016年政變後,政府在人權自由、經濟發展、新聞自由、司法獨立...等議題上,不但沒有獲得改善,且有逐漸惡化之傾向。因此逐漸朝向專制與非民主方向發展的土耳其,在嚴重違反歐盟之理念與規定下,不僅僅是失去加入歐盟的機會,也可以預期在各項國際事務上將受到更嚴苛之限制與杯葛。