Center to help Western Balkans and Moldova join EU to open in Rome

A center for the Western Balkans and Moldova - the Southeastern Europe Technical Assistance Center - will soon open in Rome, said International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, adding that EU enlargement was back on the agenda, benefiting both the IMF and existing and future EU members.

SEETAC will join another IMF center in Vienna that provides training to countries like Ukraine. Together, these IMF centers complement the work of the Capacity Development Facility for Ukraine and the IMF’s Ukraine Facility program.

– We are delighted that enlargement is back on the EU agenda, with many countries looking to join in the coming years. This is extremely positive. At the IMF, we have seen the enormous benefits of enlargement, both for new and existing EU members. Indeed, we can say that enlargement activates the convergence engine, which, in my opinion, is the most important invention of the 20th century – Georgieva said at the Center for European Policy Studies in Brussels.

At the center, she presented a new report dedicated to the EU accession and the Western Balkans, which states that EU membership offers a unique opportunity to accelerate growth and raise living standards for candidate countries.

– Today we are launching a new document that focuses specifically on the Western Balkans and Moldova, countries in the accession process that share certain economic characteristics. At the same time, we recognize the importance of continued engagement with other countries that want to join, including Ukraine – Georgieva said.

She added that the IMF was helping all these countries, through policy advice and capacity development.

– For me, enlargement is more than a political issue. It is personal. Growing up in Bulgaria, I know the opportunity that European integration brings. Because joining the EU has made life tangibly better for the people of my country – said Georgieva, noting that if EU enlargement is implemented well, it can provide a much-needed boost to growth in Europe - for both candidate countries and existing members.

According to her, for enlargement to raise living standards, it really needs to be done well - candidate countries need to implement bold domestic reforms, and the EU needs to provide sensible support.

Georgieva stressed that candidate countries needed to effectively implement the EU acquis and avoid gaps and unnecessary adjustments or overstepping as this diminished the benefits of integration.

– But the EU also has a lot of work to do. The gains from accession will be greater - for everyone - if the single market becomes deeper and more seamless. The enlargement and deepening of the single market should be seen as complementary - a bigger Europe can be a stronger Europe - but much more so if it is a more integrated Europe – Georgieva added.

International Monetary Fund

Southeastern Europe Technical Assistance Center

Kristalina Georgieva