Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg stated in a joint document that the EU should discuss the option of temporarily restricting certain voting rights for future new members of the bloc and creating more rule of law safeguards, Reuters reported, according to UNN.
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As Montenegro hopes to join the EU in 2024 and Albania, Ukraine, and Moldova seek to make progress on their accession bids, discussions continue among European governments on whether rules for new members should be changed.
Some governments within the bloc are now pushing for the EU to develop stronger safeguards for future members, partly due to the bloc's experience with democratic backsliding in Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The document outlines possible options that could be written into future accession treaties, including a new monitoring mechanism and a safeguard clause that would allow for measures to be taken in the event of a serious backsliding in areas such as democracy and media freedom.
"The EU should conduct an in-depth discussion on the possibility of temporary, transitional restrictions on voting rights for new member states, particularly in those parts of the EU acquis where unanimity is required," the five countries wrote, pointing to decisions on enlargement, foreign policy, and the EU budget, where the consent of all member states is currently required.
Cyprus, which holds the EU presidency, said last week it had begun preparations for the formal opening of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on the first group of negotiating clusters, which cover the rule of law and democratic standards.
"Ukraine must be in the EU. All six accession clusters must be opened without delay. NATO must remain on the table as the strongest security guarantee," Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal stated on X after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Tallinn on Tuesday.
Zelenskyy: Ukraine's presence in the EU must be full-fledged23.05.26, 17:47