Marta Kos: Commission will soon propose steps to prepare for a larger EU
Marta Kos says the Commission will soon propose measures to prepare the EU for future enlargement and calls for stronger political backing from all 27 members.
EU officials are preparing proposals to adapt the bloc’s rules ahead of any future enlargement, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said, stressing that strengthened political backing from all 27 member states will be necessary.
Kos told journalists in Brussels that “there is a need to strengthen political support from all 27 member states” and that “the Commission will soon put forward proposals on how to prepare for a larger Union.”
Commission plans clearer rights, obligations and safeguards
The Commission is reported to be working on revisions that would more sharply define the rights and duties of incoming members and introduce protective mechanisms to prevent a new member from obstructing decisions if it fails to meet its commitments. The final details have not yet been published.
Senior officials in Brussels say that, while capitals publicly favour keeping the door open to accession, countries such as France, Germany and the Netherlands have voiced reservations about too-rapid enlargement. They point to past cases — notably Hungary under Viktor Orbán — as evidence that a member can use its position to block key policies.
“There is a reason why enlargement has taken decades,” an anonymous diplomat from a skeptical country said, adding: “The fear is that we would be bringing in a Trojan horse.”
According to officials involved in the process, the Berlaymont is preparing a package of rule changes to be presented to EU leaders at the European Council meeting that begins on 15 October. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is said to be gearing up for a confrontation with some capitals and has only a matter of weeks to persuade them that the Union can manage the risks of enlargement.
For candidate countries, the coming weeks will be decisive: any change to accession conditions or the addition of safeguards will reshape the political landscape for negotiations and will require a clear, unified stance from the existing member states.
Photo: press material from the event
