Source: European Parliament
At the European Council, President Roberta Metsola called for seizing the momentum on enlargement, competitiveness and the next long-term EU budget.
On enlargement, welcoming the opening of the first accession negotiation cluster with Ukraine and Moldova, Metsola said the decision sent a powerful signal that: âEnlargement is no longer a distant promise. It is here, it is happening.â Describing enlargement as a âwin-winâ and referring to Parliamentâs most recent progress reports, she said: âWe need to deliver. We do not have the luxury of time.â While underlining that gradual integration measures and closer access to the Single Market can help bring candidate countries closer to the Union, she also stressed that this âcan never become a substitute for full EU membershipâ.
On the future long-term EU budget, Metsola assured leaders that âParliament will be constructiveâ in the negotiations âbut will also defend its positionâ. She called for Parliamentâs early involvement in the process and to advance discussions on new own resources. âWe all agree that we need an ambitious budget. We all agree that it must match the scale of the challenges we face. Sometimes we get so caught up in old dividing lines that we miss the common ground in front of us,â Metsola said. She was optimistic that âif we proceed in this spirit, there is no reason why we cannot try to reach an agreement by the end of the yearâ.
On competitiveness, Metsola highlighted the recent agreements reached between Parliament and Council on simplifying rules for artificial intelligence, midcaps and defence. She also pointed to the Market Integration and Supervision package and EU Inc. as flagship projects that Parliament is swiftly working on to remove barriers in the Single Market and address the concerns raised by European businesses. She welcomed the regular reviews on the One Europe, One Market Roadmap arguing that this will help keep Europe focused on delivery. On progress under the Joint Declaration on EU legislative priorities for 2026, she noted that here too Parliament delivered with the adoption of the Return Regulation. With the Pact on Migration and Asylum in application, âEurope now has the tools to address this challengeâ.
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• Jüri LAAS
Spokesperson of the President
Contact data:
(+32) 2 28 44090 (BXL)
(+32) 470 95 75 61
E-mail:
juri.laas@europarl.europa.eu
(+32) 2 28 44090 (BXL)
(+32) 470 95 75 61
E-mail:
juri.laas@europarl.europa.eu