European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU continues to work on its new enlargement package. She also said future accession treaties could include safeguards similar to those in previous treaties.

At a joint press conference with Prime Minister Edi Rama, reporters asked von der Leyen whether the new package would favor or discriminate against member states.

Von der Leyen said she could not provide details yet. “We are still working on the package, so I cannot go into details. However, I can say that we will examine how future accession treaties will take shape,” she said.

Von der Leyen noted that previous accession treaties for countries that have since joined the EU included several safeguards.

“This is important information. Previous treaties for former candidate countries that are now EU members included certain safeguards,” she said.

In addition, von der Leyen said the Commission would examine whether future accession treaties should include similar measures. She stressed that countries must continue to respect the commitments they make during the accession process after they join the EU.

“As I said, countries must continue to honor the commitments they make during the accession process even after they become EU members,” von der Leyen said.

Finally, she said the Commission would continue working on the package and discussing it in the future.

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