Two forums on EU enlargement will be held in November. On November 18, the European Commission will bring together European leaders, representatives of candidate countries and experts to discuss the future of the European Union, Moldpress reported, noting that Moldova will be represented by its ambassador to the EU, Daniela Morari. Diplomats from Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo and Ukraine will also participate in the discussions.
The forum will be held under the motto "Through the enlargement of the Union, we secure our future" and will be chaired by Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos. The event will conclude with a speech by European Council President Antonio Costa.
Ahead of this, a summit on EU enlargement, organised by "Euronews", will bring together Moldovan President Maia Sandu, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and the prime ministers of Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia, together with EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos on 4 November. European Council President Antonio Costa will also join the summit. He will address the leaders, while later that day the European Commission is expected to present its EU enlargement strategy and the annual assessment of the efforts made by the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia on their path to EU accession.
These two summits come two months after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed in her annual State of the Union address that "a bigger and stronger Union" with Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans is "a guarantee of security for all of us".
Meanwhile, the European Union is considering a change in membership rules that would allow new countries to join the bloc without full voting rights - a strategic move aimed at facilitating the enlargement process, despite internal disagreements and the veto of some member states, such as Hungary, "Politico" writes.
The initiative is still in its early stages and will need to be approved by all current member states to be implemented, three European diplomats and an EU official told the publication. The idea is that new members will only be granted full voting rights after the EU overhauls its way of working so that individual countries cannot easily veto its policies.
For some time, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been blocking Ukraine's progress towards EU membership, citing fears that Kiev would "bring war to Europe", writes the Brussels-based Italian publication "EUnews". Budapest's obstructionism has found solid footing in Bratislava and potentially new footing in Prague after national populist Andrej Babis formed a government, the publication added.
But now in Brussels, the tone seems to be changing. The European Parliament is already working on large-scale institutional changes that would transform it into a more federal structure, and which would lead to a transformation of the EU institutions, notes the "Kyiv Post".
According to German Deputy Foreign Minister Günter Krichbaum, it is imperative that internal reforms be carried out simultaneously with the admission of new members. "These changes must be made in parallel with the enlargement process to avoid limiting the EU's ability to act effectively” he said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has put enlargement at the heart of her strategic agenda, promoting potential membership for Ukraine and Moldova by 2030, but some EU countries are still resisting accelerating the process and exposing internal divisions within the bloc, Politico notes.
"Future members should be required to give up their veto power until key institutional reforms are implemented - such as the introduction of qualified majority voting in most policy areas," said Anton Hofreiter, chairman of the European Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag. "But enlargement should not be held back by individual EU member states blocking reforms," he added.
The initiative would allow countries already on the path to membership - such as Ukraine, Moldova and Montenegro - to enjoy many of the EU's benefits, but without the right of veto - something the bloc's governments have always valued as the most powerful tool for preventing the imposition of policies they do not approve of. It would allow them to join on more flexible terms, without the need to revise the EU's basic treaties - something several governments have seen as impossible.
The plan for new members to join without full voting rights would "ensure that we remain able to act even in an enlarged EU", Hofreiter said. "From conversations with representatives of the Western Balkan countries, I am receiving clear signals that this approach is considered constructive and realistic", he noted.
The discussions in the EU also coincide with growing dissatisfaction in Eastern European and Western Balkan candidate countries that have undertaken deep reforms but, years after submitting their applications, are no closer to membership. In the case of Montenegro, EU accession negotiations began in 2012, recalls "Politico".
"The last country to join the EU was Croatia more than 10 years ago - and in the meantime the United Kingdom left", said Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic. "That is why I believe that now is the time to revive the process and revive the idea of the EU as a bloc that still has an attractive force," he added.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka also called for "creative" solutions to unblock EU enlargement. Kiev's candidacy is currently blocked by Hungary's veto.
"Ukraine will be in the European Union, with or without Orban, because this is the choice of the Ukrainian people," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, adding that he believed that "the Hungarian people support Ukraine."
"Waiting is not an option," Kachka said. "We need a solution here and now. This is important for both Ukraine and the European Union." While Russia is testing European security with drones, it is also doing the same by undermining EU unity," he noted.
"Ukrainians have been fighting every day for the past three and a half years to keep Russia out of Europe," said Marta Kos. "In Moldova, the decisive factor was confidence in the prospect of membership. I am convinced that member states will not jeopardize that," she said.
In a statement to journalists in Luxembourg on Monday, Kos indicated that the EU could soon open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova. She noted that "the Commission has completed the review of all legislation" of Kiev and Chisinau and that "by November, the Council will have the opportunity to launch all six negotiating groups" with the two candidates.
Kos confirmed that the EU executive is exploring "all options" to give the green light to start negotiations. According to her, "Ukraine and Moldova have achieved positive results" and since this should be a merit-based process, there is no reason to delay it further.
After all, "Hungary has not opposed the recognition of Kiev's candidate status" and therefore it can be expected that Budapest will also support the opening of the negotiation groups, Kos hopes.
After the 2020 reform, the accession of a new country to the EU can take place after the closure of 33 negotiation chapters (each of which concerns a specific aspect of common European rules), divided into six thematic groups. The unanimity of the member states is required for the opening of each group, as well as a unanimous vote for the final decision to admit the country to the Community. It is a cumbersome mechanism, High Representative Kaia Kallas acknowledged: "There are obstacles in our decision-making process and we are working on them," she confirmed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday.