The proposal is about offering something like an "EEA Plus (European Economic Area)" to European countries such as Ukraine or Moldova, which cannot or do not want to join the European Union over the next ten or more years, Brok said when asked by Croatian reporters to comment on his proposal.
It is not a proposal for the Western Balkans, but for countries beyond that region, such as Ukraine and Moldova. The Western Balkan countries that have a European perspective would be able to freely decide whether they want to join or not. It is less important for Croatia, because it is already in negotiations, but could be more important, for example, for Albania, which will take years to enter the EU, Brok said.
I do not think it should affect Croatia, because it has already started accession talks, he added.
Brok, a member of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, denied that the proposal was made by the European People's Party (EPP), the umbrella organisation of European Christian Democrat and Conservative parties.
No, it is the proposal of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament. We will propose at a plenary session of the Parliament in March that the Commission should be asked to draw up a proposal regarding our policy of good neighbourliness, he said.
According to EU documents, of the European countries that are now outside the European Union, only countries included in the Stabilisation and Association Process, notably Western Balkan countries, have a European perspective, while the policy of good neighbourliness, some sort of a privileged partnership, is intended for all other countries.
The EEA currently covers Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. They have adopted most of the EU's legislation and have free access to its internal markets. Finland, Sweden and Austria were members of the EEA before joining the EU.