EU seeks ways to make expansion more palatable to members

Brussels: The European Commission on Tuesday published a document called "Preparing for a wider Union," which sought to lay out new proposals on "the policy orientations and actions needed to prepare the [European] Union for future enlargements." Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that "Europe's future depends on the choices we make today," as she tries to encourage progress at the EU's leaders' summit this month and in other upcoming talks on the matter. The EU's executive proposed an array of changes — including a gradual integration process for would-be members, new safeguards "to ensure that commitments undertaken during accession negotiations continue to be fulfiled steadily after accession," and changes to voting rules.They were trying to strike a balance between simplifying the accession process, incentivising candidate countries to continue to pursue it, and allaying concerns among existing members about potential risks or costs of expansion. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy awards European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with The Order of Europe during marking the Day of Ukrainian Statehood in front of St. Michael's Cathedral, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 15, 2026. Why is expansion coming back into focus? In the quarter century after the end of the Cold War, the EU rapidly grew from a union of 12 member states to 28, before dipping back down to 27 when the UK left following 2016's Brexit referendum. But the process has ground to a halt ever since, with a series of candidate countries stuck in lengthy negotiations and little apparent appetite among members to continue to expand. In recent years, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine and signs of the US vying for increased influence in parts of Europe, theoretical interest in expansion has picked up once more. But realising the idea, with strict rules governing the accession process and the need for unanimous support among existing members for many core steps, has remained challenging. What did the Commission say about expansion? Von der Leyen said the Commission was trying to prepare institutions, adapt policies and adjust budgets to reflect shared realities to better facilitate and accommodate expansion."Enlargement of our Union is a geopolitical imperative," she said. "Today, we are laying the groundwork to ensure that a larger Union is also a stronger one: more resilient, more effective, and firmly anchored in the values and rules that define us." She said that as countries progress on their path towards reform, "the EU must be ready to welcome them." Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said that Brussels' assessment "shows that the EU can accommodate a larger membership." But "there are areas where we see challenges we need to address," she acknowledged."One is the rule of law and sincere cooperation, where we are proposing stronger possibilities to prevent backsliding, including reducing funding or restricting voting rights," Kos said.