Unprecedented European Commission initiative: Albania and Montenegro could send commissioners to Brussels before accession

The European Commission is considering a new approach to the accession process for Albania and other countries seeking to join the European Union, a plan reported in recent days and mentioned by Tirana as well as Ursula von der Leyen.

Under the new plan, revealed by the Belgian media outlet “Rapporteur,” Albania and Montenegro could appoint their own commissioners in Brussels and make them members of the European Commission before officially joining the union.

This scheme would give candidate countries a more direct role in European policymaking before the completion of national ratification procedures by the EU’s 27 member states, a process that could take time.

The Albanian and Montenegrin commissioners could take part in the work of the College of Commissioners and contribute to the drafting of EU legislation. Until now, such a right has been reserved exclusively for officials from member states.

The document published by the Belgian media outlet states that “the European Commission considers it justified that a country acceding to the union should be able to appoint a Commissioner during this period.”

“Such a commissioner could participate in the work of the College on relevant matters, while fully preserving the autonomy, collegiality and collective responsibility of this EU governing body,” the document says.

Appointing a commissioner in Brussels before the official accession of their country would constitute an unprecedented development, as such a step has never previously been taken in the history of the Union.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has announced that it intends to increasingly include candidate countries in the single market, while these states continue implementing the domestic reforms required for membership in the European Union. The new strategy and detailed enlargement plan will be presented in Brussels on Tuesday by Commissioner Marta Kos.