In a debate organized by Euronews at the World Economic Forum in Davos, politicians from Ukraine, Montenegro and Bulgaria and the CEO of a major global group give us their views on the benefits of enlargement of the European Union to the East.
Almost twenty years after the big bang of the enlargement of the European Union in 2004, the European Union’s ambition to accept new members, long on hold, has been revived in a striking way. Beyond the moral and geopolitical arguments for EU expansion eastwards, is there a commercial argument to be made, particularly to EU voters concerned about jobs and inflation , but also companies worried about the stagnation of productivity in the EU?
We talk about it on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum 2024 Annual Meeting in Davos, with Milojko Spajić, Prime Minister of Montenegro, Rostyslav Shurma, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Mariya Gabriel, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria and former European Commissioner and Christian Levin, CEO of Scania (Sweden), member of the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders.
Maria Gabriel: “Enlargement turns external factors into something we can manage”
During our discussion, former European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel believes that this is not “because of Russia” that we are once again talking about EU accession of the Western Balkans. She recalls the importance of the EU-Western Balkans summit in 2018 and its results, then “the digital agenda, the innovation program, the new growth plan that we have today”emphasizing the “huge investments” carried out by the EU.
The current Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria also emphasizes that “Enlargement always shows that we have this pool of qualified young people who, therefore, will not leave their region and they will really be there to co-create, to shape the solutions of the future.”
She also sees in this process where “the benefits far outweigh the risks” according to her, a means of expanding the market, but also a shield against inflation. “There are many external factors that favor it, (but) enlargement turns them into something we can manage, even control in a way that at least integrates and reduces some of the risks,” she assures.
Christian Levin: “New, very competitive markets”
While his company has invested heavily in some of the countries that joined the EU in 2004, such as Poland, for example, the CEO of Scania, for his part, talks about the development of his company in this country since its accession.
“Our vehicle sales in Poland and the entire Polish market have increased fivefold; if we consider our service sales, which are so important for the profitability of a company supplying trucks, they have increased tenfold ,” welcomes Christian Levin, whose company has also been present in Ukraine for thirty years. “We can only encourage other private companies to seize the opportunity to come to Ukraine and invest there, now,” he indicates. “As an example, we have just had our best year in Ukraine in 2023, due to the enormous transport needs that are emerging, partly because of the war and partly because of the development of the country,” he points out.
As for other potential future members, he believes that “we will see this rise, not only in Ukraine, but also in Montenegro and other countries joining the EU, occurring in similar proportions. Some of the new EU markets are very competitive, which is a good thing for us,” he adds.
Milojko Spajić: “A strong signal for the private sector”
While Montenegro is specifically considered one of the most successful candidate countries in the EU’s eastern neighborhood, its Prime Minister Milojko Spajić recalls how far he has come. “Previously, Montenegro was more like Mongolia or Kazakhstan in terms of economic structure, but then we were geopolitically and strategically oriented towards Brussels and this mismatch does not work in the long term,” he assures. “So, if you want to be part of the club, you have to be in line with both the economy and the values, so I think that’s the winning combination,” he emphasizes.
Although his country’s economic performance is good, according to him the fact remains that “The EU growth plan is very important because it sends a strong signal to the private sector.”
Milojko Spajić is pleased that the Union is picking up the pace. “We are going to experience a big investment cycle in the next five to six years in Montenegro, we expect EU companies and financial intermediaries to be much more active than they were before, we We are ready for this and I think the Union is finally ready,” he insists.
Rostyslav Shurma: “Ukraine has things to contribute within the EU”
Ukraine’s enthusiasm for EU membership has put enlargement back at the top of the political agenda. Ukraine is the largest and most populous candidate country, after Turkey, and has been responding to aggression for almost two years, in the context of a full-scale invasion. A part of EU voters and member states may be concerned about whether it can, so to speak, easily “digest” Ukraine.
“The European Union was much smaller when it took Poland in and ‘digested’ it, so I think it won’t be a problem,” assures Rostyslav Shurma.”“It turns out that Ukraine has things to contribute within the EU, in terms of security, defense and military technology,” he indicates, namely: “An industry which serves the defense and security of the entire European Union, (but also) a very good contribution to manufacturing production, to the control of certain value chain resources, (thanks to) natural resources, which the European Union currently lacks,” and this, according to him, in order to “making the entire energy system stronger and more sustainable.”
“So I see this as a long-term business project where you can get a satisfactory return on investment by investing in the development of these territories,” he concludes.
Watch our entire debate in the video player above.