The Government hopes to make “swift progress” pushing forward negotiations on Ukraine’s stalled bid to join the European Union when Ireland holds the union’s rotating presidency in the second half of this year.
A near-finalised draft of the Government’s policy platform says Irish Ministers and diplomats will help lay the groundwork for the EU to take in new members for the first time in more than a decade.
A draft paper setting out priorities for the international role, dated May 9th and seen by The Irish Times, said Ireland would be “ambitious” about future enlargement of the 27-state bloc.
The Coalition will put a particular focus on drafting a treaty to approve Montenegro’s accession into the EU, the final step in a process that began in 2008, which could tee-up the former Yugoslav republic joining the union in 2028.
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The internal Government paper said Ireland would “prioritise the completion of accession negotiations with Montenegro” and advance talks with Ukraine and other candidate countries.
“We will aim to make swift progress in negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova as well as Albania,” the document says.
Ireland will hold the presidency of the Council of the EU, the body that represents the views of national governments in the Brussels system, from July 1st until the end of the year. The influential role involves brokering compromises and rotates between countries every six months.
The Government’s finalised EU policy programme will be published in early June.
“The Irish presidency is ambitious for the EU’s enlargement agenda, a key tool in ensuring Europe’s security. We aim to prepare the ground for the first accession of new member states since 2013,” the draft of the document states.
Croatia was the last country to join the EU in 2013. Montenegro and Albania are the front-runners to complete all necessary reforms set as preconditions of membership.
Countries hopeful of joining the European bloc have criticised a previous lack of urgency from Brussels, pointing to years where talks drifted.
[ Friedrich Merz proposes ‘associate member’ EU status for UkraineOpens in new window ]
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine gave fresh momentum to the idea of again welcoming new states into the EU, to prevent countries in the Balkans and the eastern neighbourhood being pulled into Moscow’s orbit.
For almost two years former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán blocked the EU from opening several “chapters” of accession negotiations with Ukraine.
Péter Magyar’s new pro-EU government has made positive soundings in recent private discussions, signalling Budapest may drop its objections.
It is expected the European Commission, the EU’s powerful executive arm, will propose opening the first negotiating “chapters” next month.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy wants Brussels to fast-track Kyiv’s application, in effect squeezing a decade-long process into the space of a year or two. Ukraine applied for membership in 2022, several days after the Russian invasion.
There is broad support for Ukraine’s bid, but many governments, including big powers such as France, the Netherlands and Poland, harbour serious concerns about rushing the country into the bloc.
The last major enlargement took place during a previous Irish EU presidency in 2004. A high-profile ceremony in Dublin welcomed the 10 new countries, mostly from central and eastern Europe, into the fold.
The Government wants to do a better job communicating the “benefits” of expanding the EU, “both to citizens of candidate countries and within the union”, according to its draft policy programme.
Montenegro, a country of about 600,000 people, is seen as a test case for whether the EU is serious about opening its doors to new members again.
A decision on enlargement requires the unanimous approval of all member states. The need for a referendum to be held in France as part of its ratification process is viewed as one big stumbling block, particularly in the run up to 2027 French presidential elections.
