The Parliament plans to open a new office in the Western Balkans, as a strategy to enhance its oversight over the enlargement process the European Parliament’s administrative body plans in a document seen by Euractiv.

The decision was taken on Monday (22 April) ahead of the 20th-anniversary of EU’s biggest enlargement. Celebrations will take place on Wednesday (24 April) at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, with representatives of the ten countries that joined the bloc in 2004.

The internal body’s endorsement (called “bureau”) saw the decision as a way to better support the EU candidate (or potential candidate) countries in their integration efforts.

The new branch aims at giving the European Parliament more oversight of the accession processes, in cooperation with already existing EU delegations that operate under the oversight of the EU’s diplomatic service (EEAS).

Additionally, the new office will be used to strengthen relations with the parliaments of Western Balkan countries and increase the European Parliament officials’ visibility in activities related to enlargement.

This move is the next step in the Parliament’s strategy, which last November decided to open a new office in Ukraine, following the request by the Kyiv government.

European Parliament to open Kyiv office following Zelenskyy request

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The Parliament has liaison offices in each EU country; to reach out, communicate with stakeholders, organise events, and interact with local media.

Only a few offices are established in non-European cities, including New York, Addis Ababa, and Jakarta, where Parliament staff is seconded to the EU Delegation.

This is connected to the fact that the European Parliament has limited competencies in EU foreign affairs, for which member states remain sovereign.

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