The European Union is preparing to begin technical work on bringing Ukraine and Moldova closer to European standards, despite resistance from Budapest. This was reported by the Financial Times, citing Brussels officials.
The European Commission has proposed a change of in-house regulation to circumvent Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s veto on opening accession talks with new members, the paper states. This step will allow practical preparations to begin (work in special thematic clusters where reforms and the adaptation of legislation to EU standards are discussed) even without an official decision to start negotiations.
Experts note that this primarily concerns areas that are key to integration: the rule of law, anti-corruption measures, economic policy, energy and other areas. Brussels is convinced that this policy will speed up the process: after Hungary lifts the veto, formalities will be wrapped up in a matter of weeks.
The issue will be one of the main topics at the EU summit in Copenhagen on October 1. Neighbouring countries like Ukraine and Moldova will be included in the negotiations.
Yesterday, Politico and Euronews reported that another plan proposed by the new European Council President, António Costa, was being debated. It involves adjusting the procedures: opening negotiation clusters not unanimously, as is currently the case, but by qualified majority vote. Such a mechanism would significantly reduce the ability of individual countries to block EU enlargement.
