EU Draft Offers Candidates Single Market Access Pre-Membership
The document describes the “gradual integration” of candidate states into the single market, with closer trade ties and a role in research, innovation and industrial programs while they work toward accession, Politico reported Wednesday.
Brussels would treat the single market as the cornerstone of the process.
“The single market is the first priority for economic convergence,” the draft review says, adding that earlier integration could strengthen European value chains and reduce strategic dependencies.
Conditions attached
Deeper participation would hinge on proof of regulatory alignment and sufficient enforcement capacity, the draft states. It targets areas that advance accession preparations and serve shared economic and strategic interests.
Candidates would also be expected to move closer to EU foreign and security policy. Access could be restricted or revoked if a country fails to satisfy the conditions, including democratic reforms and alignment with the bloc's strategic interests.
Voting rules in play
The European Commission is also weighing broader use of qualified majority voting in areas now governed by unanimity. The draft warns that the risk of delays or blockages could grow as the bloc expands.
It further points to so-called “passerelle clauses,” which can move certain decisions from unanimity to majority voting without formally amending the EU treaties. Possible areas include sanctions, responses to human rights crises and the deployment of civilian missions.
There is a catch: activating the clauses themselves requires the unanimous approval of EU member states.
EU leaders are scheduled to debate enlargement and the bloc's future institutional arrangements at a summit in Brussels on Oct. 15-16.
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