Fine Gael’s manifesto for the upcoming European election says that if their candidates are elected, the party will be seeking to have 7 new member states added to the EU.
Currently the EU consists of 27 States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
However, the party says they would like to see new countries added to this list – particularly Ukraine and some Western Balkan states – arguing that previous “enlargements” have been “good for Europe.”
“Fine Gael is pro-European and we are pro-enlargement,” the manifesto reads.
“Enlargement has been good for Europe and we believe the next significant enlargement should be into the western Balkans.
“We support the countries of the western Balkans, as well as Ukraine, joining the EU as soon as they are ready. The current geopolitical environment underscores the urgency of the situation.
“The EU has to show good faith towards those countries that have been waiting for a long time.”
According to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, “Western Balkans” in an EU-enlargement context refers specifically to Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Serbia. These, combined with Ukraine, add up to a total of 7 new states that Fine Gael would be seeking to add to the EU membership pool.
The discussion of EU enlargement in the Western Balkans has been ongoing in Europe for many years now, with EU Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi saying that “enlargement policy is among the top three priorities of EU leaders” during a visit to the Serbian capital of Belgrade in December 2022.
Notably, in October 2023, EU Council President Charles Michel said that new member states should be welcomed into the EU ranks by 2030, while former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar previously said that the Irish government wants to see Ukraine’s application for EU membership “progress as quickly as possible.”
Volodimir Zelensky has demanded that the process of Ukraine joining the EU should be sped up.#gripthttps://t.co/PlOWpRBb8J
— gript (@griptmedia) May 10, 2023
Notably, the last 3 member states to join the EU have been Romania and Bulgaria in 2007, followed by Croatia in 2013.
Also in the manifesto, under the heading of foreign policy, the party pledged their “unequivocal” support for Ukraine “for as long as it takes” amid the nation’s ongoing war with Russia, saying that the conflict threatens “our European values.”
“We will always support democracy and freedom and we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes – Russia cannot win this war,” the party said.
“Fine Gael will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes; support Ukraine’s efforts to achieve EU membership as soon as possible; [and] work to improve the sanctions regime against Russia and eradicate loopholes.”
The party also warned that misinformation was “encircling us.”
“While Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is 3,000km away, the war is already all around us in the form of cyber warfare and disinformation,” they said.
“We need to find ways to shatter the walls of misinformation that are encircling us. Education is our most potent weapon.
“The EU has shown leadership in devising new laws to regulate online activity, but we need to do more to protect children online.
“Fine Gael will: Develop critical media literacy programmes to empower people to discern truth from falsehood, neutralising the impact of disinformation campaigns [and] work to tackle deepfakes and ensure social media companies act faster in taking down illegal content.”