EU Commission floats new safeguards as bloc considers expansion
The package would widen majority voting and add safeguards as the EU prepares for a bloc of more than 30 members, officials said.
- The European Commission is drafting plans to remove national vetoes from most European Union accession talks, preparing the bloc for a potential Union of more than 30 members.
- European Union governments want to minimize risks of democratic backsliding and foreign policy shifts by new members, following difficulties with Hungary under Viktor Orban, who left office in April after 16 years.
- The Commission proposes using "qualified-majority" voting for sanctions and defense, while offering governments an "emergency brake" for "vital national interests." The College would be capped, leaving nine of the 27 countries without a representative.
- Scrapping unanimity requires unanimous consent, handing each government power to refuse. Poland has previously ruled out shifting to majority voting in foreign policy, while smaller nations fear being outvoted by larger capitals.
- Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to present the strategy on October 6, ahead of the European Council summit. The blueprint represents the biggest change to internal workings in decades, requiring no Lisbon Treaty amendments.
79 Articles
79 Articles
EU ENLARGEMENT: EU considers a new path towards membership for the Western Balkans
Credit: European Union 2026According to a draft European Commission proposal, candidate countries could be offered gradual access to the EU's single market while they continue working towards full membership.
In the future, a single Member State will no longer be able to stand on its own in many decisions. According to leaked drafts, the EU Commission is working to push back national veto rights, especially in future accession proceedings, and to work more strongly with majority decisions. For smaller states like Austria, this would be a significant loss of power: where a no is enough today, a sufficiently large blocking minority would have to be org…
EU Commission floats new safeguards as bloc considers expansion
The European Commission is pitching measures to protect the EU from any efforts by future members to weaken democratic structures and prevent them vetoing decisions, according to a draft document seen
The European Union (EU) will open its vast economy to countries awaiting membership if they agree to work with the Community to confront hostile states and industrial competitors, according to a draft proposal from the European Commission (EC) obtained by the news portal Politico.
The EU intends to open its economy to countries awaiting accession, provided that they agree to speak with the EU "against hostile States and industrial competitors", states Policy with reference to the European Commission's (EC) proposal. "Candidature countries - some of them have been waiting for decades to join the EU - will propose an unprecedented "phased integration" into a single market, including trade without barriers and access to rese…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 62% of the sources lean Right
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
