EU Considers Voting Limits for New Members

Five major EU member states have proposed opening a debate on limiting some voting rights for future members during a transition period after accession.

Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg argue that new safeguards could be built into accession treaties to ensure continued respect for the rule of law, according to a joint document seen by Reuters.

Countries including Ukraine, Moldova, Albania and Montenegro are currently seeking to join the bloc. The proposal would allow measures to be introduced against new members if they showed serious deterioration after accession in areas such as democracy and media freedom.

The initiative reflects concerns raised by internal disputes within the EU, particularly those involving Hungary. Budapest has repeatedly clashed with Brussels over rule-of-law issues.

Cyprus is preparing to open the first negotiating chapters with Ukraine and Moldova, while Estonia has stressed the need to accelerate Kyiv’s path toward EU membership.

(reuters, mja)