Ukraine included in new EU review ahead of future enlargement
European Commission (photo: Getty Images)
The European Commission has postponed the presentation of its analysis of the impact of future European Union enlargement until October 6. The document is expected to outline what changes may be needed to EU policies and mechanisms after new countries join the bloc, according to European Pravda.
The so-called Pre-enlargement policy reviews were initially scheduled to be presented on September 30.
The analysis will examine how well the EU's current rules and policy areas are suited to future enlargement and what changes may be needed before new members are admitted.
Why the date was changed
According to the outlet's sources, the postponement is linked to last week's United Nations General Assembly in New York.
This made it particularly difficult to bring all participants together to finalize the document.
At the same time, European Pravda's sources stressed that there are no serious problems with preparing the analysis.
What areas the analysis will cover
The document will examine the potential impact of enlargement on the EU budget, the Common Agricultural Policy, the single market, cohesion policy, food security, defense, energy, climate, and migration. The European Commission will also separately assess the ability of an enlarged EU to make decisions.
In particular, it will consider the possibility of more frequently using mechanisms provided for in EU treaties to move from unanimity to qualified majority voting in certain areas.
The document will provide an overall assessment of future enlargement and will not serve as a separate analysis of the progress of Ukraine or other candidate countries. Ukraine will be considered as one of the countries seeking EU membership.
The European Union is also preparing separate roadmaps for Ukraine, Montenegro, Moldova, and Albania, which are expected to specify the next steps toward membership and set indicative timelines for completing the negotiation process.
