A first step could be that acceding countries temporarily receive limited veto rights. Recently, the Netherlands, together with France, Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg, proposed that newcomers should not be allowed to vote or veto foreign and security policy, the EU budget, and further enlargement for the time being.
Pressure tool
This is intended to prevent vetoes from being used as a pressure tool on domestic political issues, as Poland and Hungary had done earlier.
EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos will present proposals in September to keep the Union manageable when new countries join. The EU foreign ministers will discuss enlargement and new accession rules on October 15, and the plan is for the heads of state and government to make a decision at a special autumn summit in December.
Promotion
The Netherlands also wants to prevent enlargement from making decision-making more difficult. Minister of Foreign Affairs Tom Berendsen (CDA) therefore advocates adjusting or abolishing the veto system and moving towards qualified majorities. According to him, Russia's aggressive war westward makes clear that Ukraine and Moldova must become part of the EU, and that other candidate countries (such as Montenegro) meet almost all admission criteria after years of preparation.
Two speeds
Both Kos and Berendsen believe that the EU should also be able to work with 'partial packages' whereby not all countries have to participate in all tasks. Critics fear this could create 'two-speed EU decision-making.' Berendsen made clear that, as far as the Netherlands is concerned, this must have consequences for the EU's multiannual financial framework (MFF).
At the same time, a phased form of accession is being considered. Candidate countries could gradually come closer to the EU, rather than becoming full members all at once with immediate full rights. This could include, for example, the current exclusion of Ukrainian agriculture from the European Common Agricultural Policy.
Stricter EU rules should also prevent new members from abandoning European democratic and rule-of-law standards after accession. The Netherlands believes EU subsidies can be suspended if newcomers do not comply with the agreements.
Security issue
Russia’s war against Ukraine has simultaneously made enlargement explicitly a security issue. Berendsen states that Ukraine’s future EU membership is of great importance for European security. The Dutch government sees Ukraine’s future in the European Union, but Kiev still has to carry out an extensive reform program, especially regarding the rule of law and fighting corruption.
Enlargement and reform of the EU are therefore increasingly treated as a single process. Afterwards, Berendsen said in a conversation with Dutch reporters that it is no longer a question of whether some countries are ready for the EU, but whether the EU is ready for them. He also said some reforms and new working methods should have actually been implemented 'already before Brexit.'