Brussels seeks to end "all or nothing" logic in EU enlargement

European Union enlargement chief Marta Kos has outlined plans to overhaul the bloc’s accession process, calling for internal EU reforms, stronger safeguards for democracy, gradual integration of candidate countries and transitional measures as the bloc prepares for future enlargement, Euronews reports.

Kos said the European Commission would present its proposals ahead of a key discussion among EU leaders in October, describing the moment as a new “Helsinki Moment” — a reference to the 1999 Helsinki summit that helped pave the way for the EU’s post-Cold War enlargement.

“The world has changed. And enlargement must change with it,” European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos told the Croatian Ambassadors Conference in Zagreb on Tuesday.

Kos said the EU needed to address four issues to build political consensus as candidate countries approach the final stages of accession negotiations.

“The Commission will present its ideas on how the European Union must prepare as candidate countries approach the finish line of accession negotiations,” Kos said. “In my view, we need to address four issues to build consensus at the highest level to welcome new member states.”

Internal reforms

Kos said a larger EU would need reforms to ensure it could make decisions quickly and respond effectively to crises.

She argued that changes to decision-making and institutional arrangements could be introduced without reopening the EU treaties, which would require lengthy negotiations and ratification by member states.

“We should use this to make decision-making leaner and more flexible. This could also mean reducing the number of areas where a single member state can block everyone else. It could also mean making our institutions smaller,” Kos said.

She also highlighted enhanced cooperation, which allows groups of EU countries to pursue initiatives when others are not ready to participate. The mechanism has previously been used in areas including the Schengen agreement and the euro.

Stronger democratic safeguards

Kos also called for stronger mechanisms to prevent future EU members from weakening democratic standards and the rule of law after joining the bloc.

“We need to take it one step further. We must make sure we do not let in Trojan horses. Not today, not in 10 or 20 years from now. Recent experience has shown that stronger safeguards may be required to pre-empt – and, if needed, correct – violations of the fundamental principles and values of our Union,” Kos said.

The proposal could prove contentious because applying different safeguards to newer members could challenge the EU principle of equal treatment and potentially create second-tier membership.

Montenegro, which Kos described as the frontrunner among candidate countries, has indicated support for safeguards provided they are based on objective criteria and assessed individually.

“Such measures are a must-have, not a nice-to-have. This is crucial to build confidence and unity inside our Union to accept new members,” Kos added.

Gradual integration

Kos said the EU also needed to move away from an accession model in which candidate countries receive most benefits only after full membership.

“EU enlargement needs to evolve to respond to the realities of today,” Kos said, warning that lengthy accession negotiations could leave candidate countries vulnerable to political pressure from the EU’s rivals.

“We must therefore move away from an ‘all or nothing’ logic in enlargement. We need a more structured approach to bridge the time we no longer have. We need to look for more ambitious ways of gradual integration,” she said.

The issue has gained urgency with Ukraine’s accession process, as EU governments consider how closer integration and possible security arrangements could help anchor Kyiv firmly to Europe as part of any future settlement with Russia.

Candidate countries already benefit from some forms of integration, including participation in the Single Euro Payments Area and connections to the EU energy grid, but Kos said these steps did not go far enough.

Transitional measures

Kos said Brussels also needed to assess how future enlargement would affect existing member states and ensure the EU could manage potential risks.

“We have experience with far-reaching transitional measures to make sure the integration of newcomers runs smoothly. And we must make sure that the EU budget can continue to finance our priorities,” she added.

The financial implications of enlargement are already becoming a contentious issue as EU governments negotiate the bloc’s next long-term budget.

Kos highlighted Montenegro’s progress towards membership, Albania’s advances on rule-of-law benchmarks, technical progress by Ukraine and Moldova, and Iceland’s decision to resume its accession process.

The Commission’s proposals are intended to revive momentum around enlargement at a time when the EU is considering how to accommodate a potentially larger membership while maintaining its ability to make decisions and uphold its democratic standards.

By Aghakazim Guliyev