EU to unveil reforms in accession system to appease France

The European Commission is to propose changes to the European Union (EU)’s accession system to accommodate French concerns and end France’s opposition to the membership of certain new countries.

The plans, expected to be unveiled on Wednesday, are part of changes to the EU’s executive system that would grant the member states the power to pause the process of admitting new countries, or even force countries to restart entry talks in some policy areas from the beginning, as demanded earlier by France.

“Macron wants to be seen as the kingmaker and we can accommodate that, because the EU’s credibility is at stake,” said a senior EU official involved in the reform plans. “This is political and it’s personal, so let’s take out the drama.”

France halted the process of admitting Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia, and North Macedonia in October last year. With the new reforms, the European Commission hopes to grant France enough concessions to have it lift its opposition to the membership of those countries before a summit with the Balkan states in the Croatian capital of Zagreb this May.

The Commission’s proposals, according to Reuters, would however stop short of meeting a French demand that funds for new members be allocated out of money set aside for poor countries already in the EU.

EU officials have argued that such a move would jeopardize support for expansion among the existing poor members of the bloc.

SS