Five EU countries want to curtail the rights of new members after they join the bloc – Reuters
This is according to Reuters.
The initiative was drafted by Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The countries have submitted the relevant document for discussion within the European Union.
What changes are being proposed
The five countries believe that the EU should introduce additional safeguards for countries joining the bloc in the future.
In particular, they propose:
- the creation of a new monitoring mechanism;
- to strengthen oversight of compliance with democratic standards;
- providing for the possibility of responding to breaches of the rule of law;
- discussing a temporary restriction on new members’ voting rights on certain issues.
This primarily concerns areas where decisions are taken only with the unanimous support of all EU countries.
These include:
- EU enlargement;
- foreign policy;
- the EU budget.
Why did this idea arise?
As Reuters notes, some EU countries are insisting on new control mechanisms following disputes over Hungary, which has been repeatedly criticised within the EU for deviating from democratic principles.
Against this backdrop, a debate is ongoing within the EU regarding what the rules for future members of the bloc should be.
What does this mean for Ukraine
The discussion is taking place at a time when several candidate countries are seeking to accelerate negotiations on EU accession.
Among them:
- Ukraine;
- Moldova;
- Albania;
- Montenegro.
Last week, Cyprus, which currently holds the EU Council presidency, announced the start of preparations for the opening of the first cluster of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. It covers issues of the rule of law and democratic standards.
What Ukraine’s partners are saying
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Tallinn, emphasised the need to continue the process of Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
“Ukraine must be in the EU. All six accession clusters must be opened without delay. NATO must remain on the negotiating table as the strongest guarantee of security,” said Kristen Michal.
Ukraine’s accession to the EU
As a reminder, The Guardian previously reported that the EU is discussing the possibility of temporarily stripping new member states of their veto rights – to prevent decisions from being blocked following the bloc’s enlargement.
The idea gained traction following the experience with Hungary, whose government under Viktor Orbán has repeatedly blocked EU decisions, particularly regarding aid to Ukraine.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also proposed “associated membership” for Ukraine as an intermediate step towards full membership.
However, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already rejected this idea, stating that Ukraine should receive “full and equal” membership of the European Union.
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