Instead of the long-awaited European Commission pre-enlargement policy reviews, whose adoption was once again postponed, the beginning of November saw the discussion about the new form of accession treaties. These would include, as European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos put it, safeguards and “probation periods” which would restrict certain rights of new members, making the EU more willing to accept their entry even before the Union’s internal reforms. The discussion, Kos stressed, is still at an early stage.
Internal reforms of the European Union have long been mentioned as a process that must run parallel to negotiations on the admission of new members. Optimists have described the enlargement process as a catalyst for long-overdue reforms, which should make the EU more functional.
“We often focus only on the candidates’ reforms, but the truth is that enlargement is a two-way process. The Union also needs to adapt its institutions to function effectively with more members”, says Sandro Gozi, Member of European Parliament and Secretary-General of the European Democratic Party.
