The European Commission does not want the enlargement to integrate Ukraine, Moldova and the Balkans to lose momentum due to the turbulent geopolitical situation in Europe. And it is proposed to accelerate it. To this end, it has designed a new strategy that seeks to change the rules to make the path to the EU faster and more predictable, and proposes measures to integrate the candidate countries before they become full members, but also to reduce their right to vote in the first years of membership, and even suspend it if they do not comply with the rules and do not follow community standards. Brussels warns of the need for reforms so that the club, which currently operates with 27 members, can continue to advance with more than 30.
“Enlargement strengthens Europe,” states the draft of the new strategy for enlargement to which EL PAÍS has had access. “A larger number of members also places greater demands on decision-making, administration, law enforcement, infrastructure and financing,” says the document, which is expected to be presented within a few days. The text proposes a system of gradual integration and the introduction of safeguard clauses to avoid blockages and democratic setbacks in the new members.
The proposal also includes possible transitional measures for newcomers in areas such as the free movement of workers and agriculture. The Commission wants to prevent the entry of new members from causing sudden changes in particularly sensitive markets.
Russia's war against Ukraine and threats from the Kremlin have once again resurrected the idea of EU enlargement, which had been buried for years. The invasion has turned the accession of the Eastern countries into a security issue and has revived the integration of the Balkans and even sparked the debate over accession in Iceland. The citizens of the Nordic island, on the other hand, dampened expectations of accession in a referendum held in August.
Brussels has been working hard on the idea of a new extension for a couple of years, but fears that the enthusiasm of some capitals is fading along the way, with the advance of the Eurosceptic extreme right, the turbulent political situation in France - which will hold elections next year and where Marine Le Pen's ultras obtain good results in the polls - and the prospect of a war that does not end.
To move forward, the Commission proposes reforms that avoid in the new enlargement the problems that have accompanied previous extensions. But it also warns, as the Enlargement Commissioner, Marta Kos, recently pointed out, that geopolitical pressure does not imply lowering entry conditions. “Enlargement is a security strategy against Russia,” he stressed in an interview with this newspaper, in which he also stressed that Ukraine will have to complete the required reforms before becoming a member state.
Brussels thus proposes expanding candidates' access to EU programs and policies before accession. The document speaks of a “more systematic” integration and suggests that countries that advance in reforms can progressively join community areas such as energy, transportation or defense. It also proposes opening parts of the single market to companies from candidate countries before their entry into the Union. Access would be linked to the adoption of European standards and the capacity of countries to apply them.
The Commission is already testing this model in the Western Balkans. Its €6 billion growth plan offers funding and gradual access to parts of the single market in exchange for reforms. This week, during her trip to the Balkans, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, presented that formula as a preview of the model that Brussels seeks to expand. “This is gradual integration at its finest,” he said in Skopje, citing its access to certain European infrastructure, such as the single euro payments area. “As they prepare to join the EU, we are opening up parts of our single market to their businesses,” he added.
The lesson from Hungary
The most controversial thing about the strategy is that the Commission wants to introduce new safeguards in the accession treaties to prevent a country from entering the EU and then moving away from its democratic commitments. The draft contemplates a “temporary political commitment” by which a new member state could assume certain obligations on the use of the veto for a limited period. It is also studying a clause that would allow some rights of one of its capitals to be temporarily suspended, including voting rights, if serious setbacks occur.
