EU leaders will discuss proposals to adjust the enlargement policy on October 15. France, Germany, and the Netherlands are among the countries warning against rushed admissions. They fear that newcomers, after political power shifts, could use their acquired veto rights to block joint European decisions. There is even talk about the risk of a āTrojan horseā.
For this reason, the European Commission is working on new rules intended to give skeptical countries more certainty. Enlargement must remain possible without making the Union harder to govern or causing issues with the distribution of subsidies. Commissioner Kos said this week in Zagreb that the European Commission will present proposals in September.
Serbia not yet
The road to Brussels is currently blocked for Serbia. Eight EU countries oppose opening the next part of their negotiations. The Netherlands is among this group. Criticism concerns, among other things, the fragile rule of law, lack of democratic reforms, insufficient press freedom, inadequate anti-corruption efforts, and Belgradeās current pro-Russian stance.
Promotion
Notably, the European institutions approach Serbia differently. The European Commission mainly assesses technical progress and tries to keep reforms ongoing. The European Parliament is more politically critical. Both, however, signal delays and problems. Ultimately, the EU countries will decide on further steps in the accession process at their autumn summit in December.
Ukraine and Moldova
Ukraine and Moldova are also facing political blockages. Hungary has so far blocked further steps in their negotiations, but recently a more pro-European government took office in Budapest. Montenegro is meanwhile among the candidates that have progressed the furthest. A renewed accession process for Iceland is also being discussed.
For Ukraine, agriculture plays a special role. A Polish-Ukrainian research report warns that accession without reforming European agricultural policy could cost Poland billions of euros. Poland currently receives about 25 billion euros from agricultural policy for 2023-2027. The researchers argue that Ukraineās accession must go hand in hand with reform of European agricultural funding.
Turkey
While various candidate countries are trying to get closer to the EU, Turkey is taking more distance. President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan says EU membership is no longer a priority for Ankara, although accession is not definitively ruled out.