MEMBERSHIP WITHOUT VETO RIGHT: Brussels is considering a new model of accession to the European Union, here’s how it would work!

The European Union is considering the possibility of future members joining the bloc without full decision-making rights, including the right of veto, in order to speed up the enlargement process, the Brussels “Politico” learns from diplomatic sources. The proposal, which is still in the early stages and requires the unanimous approval of all 27 member states, would allow new states to use most of the benefits of membership, while they would acquire full rights subsequently, after the EU implements key institutional reforms, including the abolition of unanimous decision-making in most areas.

A similar proposal came from the Centre for European Policy four years ago. It received a positive rating then. And today, they say, it is a pragmatic solution. It would avoid, they explain, a situation where a country is ready to join the Union, but the member states cannot agree to accept it due to fear of new veto players in the Council.

„In the context of the accelerated progress of Montenegro and Albania, this is a topic that is not so relevant for states that are at the beginning of the negotiation process or that are stuck somewhere in that process, such as Serbia“, says Milena Mihajlović Denić, program director of the Centre for European Policy.

According to her, it is necessary to look for credible and pragmatic solutions on how to enable accession to states that manage to close the chapters and meet the conditions for membership, before the European Union solves its internal problems, primarily in relation to the decision-making process.

„The story of phased accession or some special entry ticket to the EU which would not mean full membership speaks of a geopolitical mistake that the EU made by not admitting primarily the Western Balkans region much earlier, although not all conditions were met, because in the current moment, in both a security and geopolitical sense, it would be much ahead compared to the circumstances that are happening globally“, said Stefan Surlić from the Faculty of Political Sciences.

As a good chance in the context of the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.

„The existing EU enlargement model has a structural flaw, which is reflected in the fact that the key benefits for candidate states only come at the end of the process itself, with the day of full membership. In the case of us from the Western Balkans, whose accession process lasts relatively long, this does not contribute to the necessary, accelerated convergence“, says Nemanja Starović, Minister for European Integration.

Starović: Every idea is a motive for the continuation of reforms

At the beginning of the second mandate, the President of the Commission nominated enlargement as a priority issue. Every idea, estimates the line minister, which would contribute to faster accession is a strong motive for the continuation of reforms.

„We cannot officially comment on this, given that none of these ideas and proposals have been formalized in the sense of some new accession methodology, but I can say that we are not a priori against it, if those phases would involve concrete benefits for our state, our economy, and our citizens. Of course, if those phases would not represent a permanent state, that is, if full membership would remain on the horizon as a realistically achievable goal“, said Nemanja Starović.

The CEP warns – it is important that the limitation is time-limited, that it automatically expires, in order to prevent abuse for other political goals.

„An advantage has been missed, and the countries of the Western Balkans that are outside the EU have not proven themselves to be more advanced in economic terms during this accession period, nor have they become more orderly countries in a democratic sense, so keeping these countries outside of full membership has not led to clear results in the countries themselves, and at the same time the EU has lost a major geopolitical game,“ said Stefan Surlić.

At the last summit of Union leaders in Brussels, enlargement was missing as a topic. Not the displeasure of the member states advocating for that process.