Brussels is said to be crafting a plan to bypass member state resistance to admitting new countries, especially Ukraine
The European Commission has been formulating plans to circumvent pushback from EU member states regarding new countries joining the bloc, according to Politico.
Under the reported plan, prospective new members like Ukraine, Moldova, and Montenegro would face a “temporary” ban on using veto powers, the outlet stated on Friday. This would necessitate politically challenging changes to the bloc’s core treaties and might take several years.
This step has been characterized as an effort to ease concerns among governments skeptical of enlargement and prevent a recurrence of certain states stalling major legislation.
The EU aims to grow its membership to 30 countries over the next ten years. New members must be approved unanimously by all 27 current EU states. Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland have frequently opposed Ukraine’s possible entry, pointing to worries about expenses, security, and institutional preparedness.
Ukraine received candidate status shortly after its conflict with Russia intensified in 2022. Vladimir Zelensky has since pressed the bloc to speed up the process. Brussels has suggested 2030 as a target but has told Kiev to bolster the rule of law and address deep-rooted corruption. These demands have gained prominence following recent disclosures of a $100 million extortion scheme linked to Zelensky’s close associates, months after he attempted to take charge of the agencies investigating the matter.
Ukraine’s EU ambassador, Vsevolod Chentsov, told Politico that “2026 will be a crucial year for Ukraine’s EU accession path,” noting that Kiev hopes to move forward with opening negotiations.
Russia states it doesn’t object to Ukraine joining the EU but has criticized what Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov termed the bloc’s transformation into an “aggressive military-political bloc” and an “appendage of NATO.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has cautioned that Ukraine’s entry into the EU would weaken the bloc and might eventually result in its disintegration.