Paris – Workshop with EU officials on how Commission reports on enlargement make a difference

30 January 2015
Photo: ESI
Photo: ESI

ESI organised a brainstorming at the Swiss Embassy in Paris for senior officials from the Commission and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) to discuss the future of EU enlargement and how Commission reports can make a difference.

Issues for discussion
Who in accession countries should read the annual progress reports? Who needs to understand them? How to write progress reports to make reforms more likely? The case for simplicity

Criteria and fundamentals
Political criteria and the rule of law. Economic criteria and economic governance. The ability to implement the acquis and public administration reform. What to assess and how to assess it. How to write about readiness. How to use reports after publication.

Participants:

  • Simon Mordue, Director for Enlargement Policy and Strategy, DG Near, European Commission, Brussels
  • Lawrence Meredith, Head of Enlargement Policy and Strategy, DG Near, European Commission, Brussels
  • Allan Jones, Deputy Head of Unit for Enlargement Policy and Strategy, DG Near, European Commission, Brussels
  • Wolfgang Nozar, Policy Officer, DG Near, European Commission, Brussels
  • Sabine Zwaenepoel, Deputy Head of Unit, Fight against organised Crime, DG Home Affairs, European Commission, Brussels
  • Bernard Brunet, Acting Head for Inter-Institutional Relations, Planning, Reporting and Evaluation, DG Near, European Commission, Brussels
  • Ritva Heikkinen, Policy officer, Strategy and Coordination unit, DG Near, European Commission, Brussels
  • Mikael Elofsson, Head of unit for Western Balkans and Turkey, SIDA, Stockholm
  • Thomas Kjellson, Acting Head of Division for Democratic Governance, SIDA, Stockholm
  • Kristof Bender, Deputy Chairman, ESI, Vienna
  • Adnan Cerimagic, Analyst, ESI, Sarajevo
  • Gerald Knaus, Chairman, ESI, Istanbul/Paris
  • Alexandra Stiglmayer, Senior Analyst, Brussels

This workshop followed a similar meeting with senior officials from the Commission and other senior European countries at the Swedish Embassy in Paris and a presentation by ESI at a Commission staff retreat in Brussels, both in January 2014.