European Commission proposes restrictions for new EU members and lifting veto in some areas

The European Commission has today adopted a report on enlargement policy and an analysis of the impact of the accession of new members on the functioning of the Union. According to the Commission's proposals, additional restrictions will be imposed on new member states, at least for a limited period, to ensure that they do not backtrack on the fundamental values ​​of the European Union once they become members. This would include the temporary possibility of withdrawing voting rights in extreme cases. 

As for the abolition of the veto right, the new member state, according to the European Commission proposal, would not have a formal obligation, but the new member states would voluntarily undertake the obligation not to obstruct the enlargement process in the future. The Commission proposes to expand the areas of qualified majority decision-making in the Council and generally abolish the veto right for the current member states in this area. This would make the EU more capable of acting, while not affecting the current fundamental treaties of the bloc. 

Changing the treaties would require the agreement of all member states and then the signing and ratification of these changes in each country's national parliaments, something that is highly unrealistic. 

The European Union will impose so-called safeguard clauses in several aspects, such as financial, institutional, common market protection, internal affairs and several other areas. But these would not be the same for each new member state because, according to the European Commission document, they would be designed separately for each candidate, taking into account their specificities. 

The European Commission believes that one practical change should be the adoption of qualified majority decisions instead of unanimity. The Commission even considers that even now, according to the Treaties, consensus is only necessary for the admission of a new member state, while the Council is using consensus in practice at every step in enlargement, including the opening and closing of chapters. This, the European Commission believes, could be changed by a Council decision without the need to amend the EU Treaties and at least a qualified majority would be sufficient to open negotiation chapters. 

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For Montenegro and Albania, the aim is to successfully conclude the accession negotiations, given that these two countries have made the most progress. For the other member states, a transitional phase is envisaged during which the aim of gradual integration would be pursued in those areas where the criteria would be met, without having to wait for formal membership in the European Union. The Commission has announced that a gradual integration dialogue will be held with each candidate country, where these areas would be identified. 

EU leaders are expected to discuss this document next week at their summit in Brussels.