Rehn: EU is ‘in the mind’

Europe’s ultimate border “is defined in the mind” not merely by geography, the EU’s enlargement chief has said.

Olli Rehn told a Belgrade audience on Monday evening, Serbia and Montenegro is a country with EU ambitions, that Europe was more about values than maps.

“I am often asked where Europe's ultimate borders lie. My answer is that the map of Europe is defined in the mind, not just on the ground.”

“Geography sets the frame, but fundamentally it is values that make the borders of Europe. Enlargement is a matter of extending the zone of European values,” he said.

“Jean Monnet called it ‘la solidarité de faits’ - the 'solidarity of facts on the ground'. That kind of solidarity - which starts off as physical but becomes mental and intellectual - is what I want the EU to help you to build in this region, and in this country.”

Debate, and rows, over what constitutes a ‘European’ country have been sparked by Turkey’s EU entry bid and Ukraine’s plea to join Europe’s club.

EU treaties stipulate that doors are open "to all European states which respect its values and are committed to promoting them together”.

But, notes Rehn, “established conditions for accession go beyond the treaty provisions”.

“There are four prime criteria that a country must meet in order to win the acceptance of the European public and governments,” he said.

Key to EU membership, the Finnish commissioner suggests, are a European vocation, regional integration, respect for European values and that “all members must be able to carry the duties of membership, not just its benefits”.

Rehn is holding talks with the EU justice commissioner to ease visa regulations for citizens from the Balkan EU hopefuls.

“In my view, it is very important to improve the procedures faced by Serbians and Montenegrins when they apply for visas to visit the EU,” he said.

“This is a citizens' Europe. I have talked with my colleague Franco Frattini, a Vice-President of the Commission, and we are working together on concrete proposals to pave the way for better visa procedures.”

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