Belgium calls for curbs on voting rights of new EU member states
Belgium, along with the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Germany, wants to build stricter safeguards into future accession treaties, giving the EU the tools to respond if a new member state fails to meet its obligations. This emerges from a paper obtained by Belga.
The five founding member states of the European Union say they wish to "build on lessons learnt from previous rounds of enlargement." The five countries stress the importance of enlargement as "a geostrategic investment in peace, security, stability and prosperity," while also noting that candidate countries need a "clear perspective."
They therefore propose a "catalogue" of options that could be tailored to the specific challenges of each candidate and incorporated into future accession treaties. The aim is to ensure that the EU can continue to function effectively and that new member states respect its fundamental values.
The EU founders also call for an "in-depth discussion" on temporarily restricting a new member state's voting rights as a transitional measure for dossiers requiring unanimity, such as foreign policy or the multi-annual budget. They further propose simplifying the Article 7 procedure so that, during a transitional period, unanimity would no longer be required to suspend a member state's voting rights.
Safeguards and respect for cooperation
The five countries also want to introduce additional safeguards to penalise violations of the rule of law, democratic principles and press freedom, for example by suspending cooperation at various levels. Furthermore, they are calling for a binding clause that would allow for "protective measures" to be taken if a new member state were to experience "serious regression" in terms of the rule of law during the first years after accession.
Finally, the five countries want to add a new clause to accession treaties requiring respect for the principle of sincere cooperation. That principle was invoked prominently when former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán moved to block the loan to Ukraine, despite having previously signalled his agreement at a European summit.
In recent weeks, various proposals to overhaul the accession process have been circulating within the European Union, thirteen years after Croatia became the 27th member state. The EU has already begun drafting the accession treaty for Montenegro, which is currently the closest candidate to joining the bloc.
© BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT
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