European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement

The Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement is the member of the European Commission in charge of overseeing the accession process of prospective new member states and relations with those bordering the European Union (EU). The present commissioner, as of December 2019, is Olivér Várhelyi.

Currently there are eight candidate countries, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Two countries are recognised as potential candidates, namely Georgia and Kosovo.[1] Candidate status was most recently granted to Bosnia and Herzegovina in December 2022,[2] and a so-called "European Perspective" recognising a country as a potential candidate to Georgia in June 2022.[3] Neighbourhood Policy is directed towards the western Balkans, those countries on the EU's eastern borders, often referred to as the Eastern Partnership or the accession trio, and on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, referred to as the Southern Neighbourhood and often engaged with in the format of the Union for the Mediterranean.

  1. ^ "EU membership, how to join, candidates| European Union". european-union.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  2. ^ "European Council conclusions, 15 December 2022". European Council. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  3. ^ "European Council conclusions, 23-24 June 2022". European Council. Retrieved 25 January 2023.