“As the new European Parliament Rapporteur for Albania, I will advocate for its EU accession but also be very frank and outspoken with the officials”, says MEP Andreas Schieder (S&D) in an interview for European Western Balkans.
We spoke with MEP Schieder last week at the European Parliament in Brussels. He announced that his first report on the country will be adopted in the first semester of 2025 and that the EP will most likely have an observation mission in the upcoming election in Albania, which are “very important” for this institution.
In addition to Albania and his role as the Rapporteur, we also spoke with Andreas Schieder about his expectations from the newly elected European Commission, as well as the situation in Serbia, where he was active as a member of the electoral observation mission last year and afterwards, amid political tensions caused by these elections.
European Western Balkans: Last week, the new European Commission was elected and you voted in favour. What are your expectations of the new Commission when it comes to the enlargement policy?
Andreas Schieder: I think the enlargement policy has to be at the top of the Commission’s agenda, and the next five years will be crucial to the enlargement process. I also expect that they undertake everything so that the enlargement process finishes. Of course, it’s not only up to the Commission, it’s also up to the possibility of reforms in the enlargement countries.
I have to say that the last five years were some lost years and the former Commissioner for Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, did not deliver. I’m very confident that the newly elected Commissioner Marta Kos will be very engaged in this issue.
EWB: Marta Kos, during her confirmation hearing, already mentioned some possible dates for Montenegro and Albania to finish their accession negotiations (2026 and 2027, respectively). It’s the first time in several years that the dates are mentioned again. Do you think that this is a credible thing for the EU to do or does it risk creating disappointment if it is not realistic?
AS: I think the dates are realistic, but only if everything goes well. And that means that the countries of the enlargement process are also undertaking these reforms. This is also why she mentioned the dates, in order to motivate them keep the speed and also to be further encouraged to undertake the reforms.
Because we have to be aware that it is not only about adopting some laws, changing some laws and things like this. It’s also that these reforms have to arrive in society. Especially when we speak about the rule of law, of anticorruption, of changing societies, also creating a platform which will enable more investments in the future. These are always important things, where it’s not only about one vote in the national parliament. It has to be also integrated in the everyday life.
EWB: The EU also has to reform itself to accept new members. That is probably a political consensus in the EU and it has been mentioned that next year, 2025 will be a year of policy reviews in the Commission. The focus is supposed to be how to reform the EU to be ready to accept new members. Do you expect that this process will actually start next year and will be successful?
AS: First of all, I also think that we need to reform the European Union not only because of the enlargement, also generally there is a big necessity. Whether we will have the momentum and whether there will be a majority of member states in favour of these reforms, I have some slight doubts for the moment. The EU in general, legally, is ready for enlargement but of course, practically, we would need also to discuss some reforms. The earlier we start this process the better.
EWB: Do these reforms entail the decision-making process – which decisions should be made with a quality majority vote, which with unanimity? Is this the crucial issue, which is dividing maybe member states?
AS: You’re perfectly right. The functioning of the European institutions is at stake, and also the question of the speed of decision-making because sometimes the feedback we get is that European decisions are too lengthy, and we have to speed up.
If you ask me what to do, we could look also at the Conference of the future of Europe and in the protocols there, there is enough content to work on. But again, we also have to say that the political consensus of moving Europe forward is getting a little bit doubtful if we look at the election results in some member states.
EWB: You are the Rapporteur for Albania in this parliamentary term. What approach do you intend to take in this role and when can we expect the first Report on Albania in the European Parliament?
AS: We are planning to have our first report in the first semester of 2025. We have also to respect the scheduled elections in Albania, and we always know this is not an easy moment for the country and for the report. My general role as Rapporteur for Albania is to draw a road towards European integration and to function inside the European institutions as somebody who explains and acts like an ambassador, and an advocate of Albanian accession, but also to be very frank and outspoken with the officials of Albania when it comes to what needs to be done.
And they are very encouraged to do a lot of things, but we also know that a lot of other things have to be done, and I would say the function of a Rapporteur is not only writing and drafting the report, but it’s also to speak with all the political stakeholders in the society, in the parliament, in the government, but also in civil society, very clearly and openly what is good going well and what is not going well.
EWB: It seems that Albania’s accession process is accelerating right now. It opened the first cluster of chapters in October, after a long wait. What is your general sense of the state of the accession of the process right now?
AS: I think everybody now is astonished at how quickly it’s going and how much empathy is put by Albania into this process. When we speak with the officials, there is a plan to open all the chapters as soon as possible, but also to start closing the chapters. Albania knows quite well, it’s not all about opening, it’s about closing. They are very encouraged on this, and I think this is very important, and this gives a lot of opportunities also for Albania.
If I may say so, my biggest wish for all Balkan societies is that the enlargement project is understood as a nationwide project where government and opposition, where the civil society, trade unions and entrepreneurs, the young and the old, countryside and cities understand that this is a unique chance for the nation and therefore everybody has to work together and not to use the European accession as a chip for internal political fight. We will see how the elections in Albania are running and I really hope that the European issue is not something which will be put in doubt during the election campaign like we have seen in other countries.
EWB: You have mentioned the need for cooperation, and Albania has a problem with political polarization. This has been assessed by the European Commission report, and there are also problems with the functioning of the parliament because of this. Can the EU and the European Parliament as the institution do something more to help solve these problems?
AS: This is the point which I mentioned before. I think we have to put pressure for them to understand that it is a unique chance for this Albanian generation to get the enlargement done. It’s not a moment of power games in domestic politics. This functioning of the institution, this honest cooperation between government and opposition and working on the issue is an important thing, which we as the European Parliament can also tell them because we also have more parties in the delegation, we are also working with other political groups in the EP and showing that this can be an example.
EWB: You mentioned that Albania will hold elections next year. Will the European Parliament observe these elections and will you be a part of this mission?
AS: I think it is too early to say this, but usually the European Parliament is observing and I’m quite sure that there will be an observer mission of the European Parliament because for us, as a European Parliament, this is a very important election. Therefore, I think we have to be there like we were in all the Balkan countries in the last few years.
EWB: You were also part of the observation mission in Serbia last year. After that election, there were allegations of numerous irregularities, followed by a European Parliament resolution on these elections. There has been also an impression, at least among the Serbian opposition and maybe parts of the civil society, that the EU has not done enough after that resolution. Do you agree with that assessment and is there now maybe space to do something more and what should the EU’s approach to democracy in Serbia be in general?
AS: First, the election was one specific moment, but we are in a process where the democracy in Serbia is getting weaker and weaker. The pictures of the last weeks and days with very brutal activities, but also which happened before this disaster where people lost their lives on the railway station, are also showing that the state as such is not functioning properly and that the ordinary people in Serbia are upset. The power holders try to keep their powers by every means. In a democracy, it is not allowed to use every means because the means and the tools for keeping your power are the election and nothing else. There are no doubts about this.
You asked me about the role of the European Union. The European Union as wholem and the European Parliament have been very vocal on the elections. But, as I mentioned before, the former Commissioner for Enlargement was not an ally on the activities of the European Parliament and probably also not an ally of the activities of the European Commission as a whole. Therefore, I think the best news which he could produce is that his term is finished and Europe will be stronger, but we have to keep an eye on this. We have to stand close to those who simply are demonstrating on the street for a better functioning and more fair state of Serbia.