The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee said after Monday’s session that the European Union has to make sure that its enlargement methodology supports reforms and sustains full membership as the goal for candidate countries.

The Committee conclusions said that the decision to open accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia was in the EU’s own political, security and economic interest and called for a liberalization of the visa regime for Kosovo. The MEPs added that Western Balkan countries’ representatives should be engaged in joint European initiatives.

“The EU should ensure that reforms in the Western Balkans focus on state capacity building, implementation of court rulings, judicial reforms and efforts to counter corruption and organized crime and it should increasingly engage in solving outstanding bilateral issues in the region, promoting good neighbor relations and regional cooperation,” a press release said.

The Committee said it opposes any cuts in pre-accession assistance funding that could slow down EU-related reforms. “The EU should prioritise specific projects benefiting the people of the Western Balkans and ensure that pre-accession funding is allocated in a transparent, proportionate and non-discriminatory manner, based on performance indicators measuring the progress of the beneficiary countries in implementing reforms,” they said.

EP rapporteur Tonino Picula said that the European Parliament supports the efforts of Western Balkan countries to become EU members once all criteria are met. “Enlargement policy is also a precondition to promote the EU’s presence and its strategic interest in the Western Balkans, so it should be seen as being in our mutual interests,” he said.