Meeting of Working Party on Enlargement and Countries Negotiating Accession to the EU
14.03.2025
On Friday, 14 March, an informal meeting of the Working Party on Enlargement and Countries Negotiating Accession to the EU (COELA) was held in Warsaw. It was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of Poland’s Presidency of the EU Council. The meeting was inaugurated by MFA’s Undersecretary of State Marek Prawda, who is responsible for the EU’s enlargement and neighbourhood policies.
In his address, the official underlined the geopolitical impact of the EU enlargement—a strenuous and demanding process, which does not and must not allow for any shortcuts.
The event covered the importance of effective implementation of reforms aimed to strengthen the rule of law in Ukraine. Moreover, the EU Member States noted the huge progress which Ukraine has made despite the ongoing war. The participants also voiced their full support for Ukraine’s European integration and saw the vital supervisory and facilitating role of non-governmental organisations in reform implementation.
Much attention was paid to the need of effective coordination of support for EU candidate countries through both bilateral arrangements and the EU’s institutional assistance.
The informal COELA meeting in Warsaw was attended by the representatives of the EU Member States, the European Commission, General Secretariat of the Council, and European External Action Service, as well as guests including representatives of Ukraine’s authorities and civil society, and Polish institutions providing assistance to the candidate countries: Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Solidarity Fund PL, and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.
