Brussels wants to gradually ease Ukraine and Moldova into EU - Politico
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to present proposals on March 20 that would change the way the EU admits new members, including Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans, Politico reported on March 20, citing a draft document.
Instead of the current all-or-nothing approach, Brussels wants to gradually allow countries in the EU's waiting room to reap some membership benefits, such as access to the single market.
Most EU leaders have already warned that a Union with 30+ members will be even harder to govern. Brussels proposes moving away from the unanimity requirement (which bogs down decisions on foreign and tax policy) to avoid future deadlocks. The document floats qualified majority voting “with appropriate and proportionate safeguards to accommodate such strategic national interests.”
The 27 European commissioners are expected to endorse the document at the college meeting on March 20.
Some members are nervous about the document, as they don’t not want a big focus on enlargement ahead of the European Parliament elections which will be held across the EU on June 6-9, 2024. These elections will be the tenth in the history of the EU. The first European Parliament was elected in 1979.
On Dec. 14, 2023, the European Council decided to begin negotiations on EU accession with Ukraine and Moldova.
On March 13, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was eager to kick off negotiations for EU membership in the first half of this year.
The European Commission officially presented the negotiation frameworks for Ukraine and Moldova's EU accession on March 12. These frameworks outline the guiding principles and fundamentals of the negotiations with each candidate country.
Now, the EU Council must start internal discussions on the proposals and approve them. Following that, the presiding country will present the EU's consolidated position at the first intergovernmental conference with each candidate, marking the formal start of accession talks.
The European Commission suggested kick-starting membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova on Nov. 8, 2023.
At a summit on Dec. 14, during which 26 EU member states approved starting Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán left the hall during the vote.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly said that fulfilling the EU’s conditions for starting negotiations is a priority for Ukraine.
Ukraine could join the European Union by 2030, said European Council President, Charles Michel.
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