The European Commission proposed measures on October 6 to prepare the European Union for future enlargement, including stronger safeguards against democratic backsliding, wider use of majority voting and a more structured path for candidate countries to join selected EU policies before membership.

The EU is seeking to advance the accession prospects of countries including Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine, while also preparing internally for the possibility of a substantially larger bloc.

The package, which will feed into discussions among EU leaders and institutions, assesses how the bloc's policies, budget and decision-making structures would need to adapt to a larger membership while seeking to preserve its existing rules and values, a European Commission statement said.

“Europe's future depends on the choices we make today. Enlargement of our Union is a geopolitical imperative,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

The Commission said its review found that the EU could accommodate additional members under the existing treaty framework and through future accession treaties. The main challenges were likely to involve administrative capacity and implementation, requiring improvements in regulatory and supervisory systems, digital interoperability and cooperation between national administrations.

The Commission said future accession treaties should contain stronger safeguards to ensure countries continue to meet commitments made during negotiations after they join the EU.

Existing safeguards in areas including the economy, single market and justice and home affairs could be extended for significantly longer after accession. A new institutional safeguard would cover serious breaches of the EU's fundamental values and the principle of sincere cooperation.

In the most serious cases, the measures could include suspending a member state's voting rights in the EU Council, the Commission said. Transitional arrangements could also be used for areas including the free movement of workers and services, agriculture, sensitive products and access to EU funding.

Marta Kos, the EU's enlargement commissioner, said the bloc needed stronger tools to prevent backsliding.

“One is the rule of law and sincere cooperation, where we are proposing stronger possibilities to prevent backsliding, including reducing funding or restricting voting rights,” Kos said.

The Commission also wants to make EU decision-making faster as the bloc expands. It said it would continue to advocate using treaty provisions known as passerelle clauses to move from unanimity to qualified majority voting in areas including sanctions, tax fraud and certain fiscal measures linked to energy policy.

For accession negotiations themselves, the Commission proposed using qualified majority voting to open negotiating clusters and take other interim decisions, potentially reducing the ability of individual member states to block progress.

The Commission said it would also examine whether enhanced cooperation between groups of member states could be used to overcome deadlocks, and explore with the European Parliament and Council ways of making procedures for addressing serious breaches of EU values under Article 7 more effective.

Alongside institutional reform, the package seeks to bring candidate countries gradually closer to the EU before formal accession. The Commission will identify opportunities for earlier participation in strategic sectors such as energy, transport, digital services and defence, subject to countries meeting specified conditions.

Such participation would remain merit-based, conditional and reversible, with annual dialogues intended to monitor progress and identify gaps.

The Commission said earlier integration could provide tangible benefits to citizens and businesses while helping candidate countries build the administrative capacity required for membership.

On the EU budget, the Commission said its review showed that enlargement could be financed while maintaining existing priorities. Candidate countries would initially receive support through the Global Europe instrument under the proposed 2028-2034 EU budget framework, with funding transferred into national and regional partnership plans once they join.

Additional support would then be available for areas including cohesion, agriculture, home affairs and cross-border cooperation.

Ukraine's accession would require particular arrangements for agriculture because of the size and productivity of its farming sector, the Commission said. Targeted measures could limit financial support and market access for sensitive agricultural products while helping Ukraine restore access to traditional export markets outside the EU.

The Commission is due to publish its 2026 enlargement package with indicative roadmaps for Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine, provided they maintain the pace of reforms. It will also set out a more detailed approach to gradual integration.

The proposals follow a commitment made by von der Leyen in her 2023 State of the Union address to prepare the EU internally for future enlargement.

“Today, we are laying the groundwork to ensure that a larger Union is also a stronger one: more resilient, more effective, and firmly anchored in the values and rules that define us,” she said.

The Commission said it would now work with member states, candidate countries, the European Parliament and the Council to align accession negotiations with preparations for institutional and policy changes inside the EU.