Radio Free Europe reported that it had obtained a draft of the European Commission’s «pre-enlargement strategy». According to the publication, the document proposes making wider use of qualified majority voting instead of unanimity for interim decisions in EU accession negotiations.
Briefly about the main points
- The European Commission’s draft has not yet been published; Radio Free Europe has reported on its contents.
- According to the publication, it proposes that decisions on opening and closing negotiation clusters be taken by a majority vote.
- Full accession to the EU will continue to require unanimity and ratification.
- The first cluster in Ukraine was officially opened on 15 June 2026.
What is proposed in the draft
Pros. information Radio Free Europe reports that the European Commission is preparing to present a document on 6 October. The publication states that the draft provides for the possibility of opening and closing negotiation clusters by a qualified majority, rather than by unanimous consent of all Member States.
The document has not yet been officially published. Therefore, the specific provisions – in particular, the assessment of the possibility of amending the procedure for interim decisions without revising EU treaties – represent the position set out in the draft, as reported by Radio Free Europe.
Current regulations and Ukraine’s experience
At present, official EU sources describe the negotiation process as one based on consensus amongst Member States on key decisions. The final decision on accession of a new country and the accession treaty require unanimity and subsequent national ratifications.
In its resolution of 11 March 2026, the European Parliament called for the requirement for unanimity to be waived at intermediate stages — during the opening and closing of clusters and sections. This indicates that the issue remains a matter of political debate and does not yet constitute an actual change to the procedure.
First negotiation cluster The Ukraine-Hungary border was officially opened on 15 June 2026 — almost two years after negotiations formally began in June 2024. According to Radio Free Europe, Hungary had blocked its opening.
Other provisions and future dates
According to Radio Free Europe, the draft also contains proposals to strengthen safeguards against a backsliding on reforms following EU accession and to gradually integrate candidate countries into the single market and into security and defence cooperation. This approach of gradual integration has previously been outlined in European Commission documents and the European Parliament’s position.
The European Council is scheduled for 15–16 October 2026. Radio Free Europe reports that EU leaders are set to discuss enlargement, although the detailed official agenda for the meeting has not yet been published.
Therefore, the idea of restricting the possibility of blocking intermediate stages of accession is currently a proposal set out in an unpublished draft. The requirement for unanimity regarding a new state’s final accession to the EU remains unchanged.
