Five EU nations seek tougher rules for countries joining bloc — Reuters
Photo: Five EU countries want to curtail the rights of new members after they join the bloc (Getty Images)
New EU members may have their voting rights temporarily restricted on certain issues. Five member states are pushing for this idea, according to Reuters.
Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg drafted the initiative. 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 that will join the bloc in the future.
Specifically, the proposal calls for:
- Creating a new monitoring mechanism
- Strengthening oversight of compliance with democratic standards
- Providing for the ability to respond to violations of the rule of law
- Discussing temporary restrictions on new members’ voting rights on certain issues.
This primarily concerns areas where decisions are made only with the unanimous support of all EU countries.
These include:
- EU enlargement
- Foreign policy
- EU budget.
Why idea arose
As Reuters notes, some EU countries are insisting on new oversight mechanisms following disputes over Hungary, which has been repeatedly criticized within the EU for deviating from democratic principles.
Against this backdrop, a debate is ongoing in the EU regarding what the rules should be for future members of the bloc.
What this means 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 to open the first cluster of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. It covers issues of the rule of law and democratic standards.
What Ukraine's partners say
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Tallinn, emphasized the need to continue Ukraine’s accession process to the EU.
"Ukraine belongs in the EU. All six accession clusters should be opened without delay. NATO must remain on the table as the strongest security guarantee," said Kristen Michal.
Ukraine’s EU accession
Earlier, The Guardian reported that the EU was discussing the possibility of temporarily stripping new member states of their veto power to prevent decisions from being blocked following the bloc’s expansion.
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 also proposed associated membership for Ukraine as an intermediate step toward full membership.
However, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already rejected this idea, stating that Ukraine should receive full and equal membership in the European Union.
