EU begins discussing strict control mechanisms for new members: Montenegro will be the first test

First round of discussion

The governments of EU countries have held the first discussion of a draft legal provision envisaging stricter control mechanisms over the union's new members, Euronews reports. The most significant innovation is an institutional safeguard clause allowing measures to be taken against new members that seriously violate the EU's fundamental values or the principle of sincere cooperation; in the most serious cases this could include suspending their voting rights. Montenegro, as the leader of the negotiation process, will be the first country into whose accession treaty the new measures are expected to be written directly.

A split among member states

EU ambassadors were asked to comment on the draft legal text, but the states split along familiar lines. The so-called 'friends of the Western Balkans', including Italy and Austria, warned against overly strict clauses that could slow down enlargement, while the Netherlands and France insisted on stronger guarantees of the rule of law. A significant part of the dispute concerned the length of the 'trial period': countries disagreed over the 15-year limit proposed by the European Commission. Work on the wording will continue at technical level, with another discussion among ambassadors expected in November. A briefing note ahead of the talks stressed the need for the measures to be proportionate, to have clear grounds for activation and defined time limits.

How the draft is structured

Under the draft, once the clause is activated, the new member state will have at least two weeks to submit its comments, although the clause itself could be triggered even before formal EU accession. The proposed structure drew objections because of the excessive powers it gives the European Commission: its proposal would be adopted within two weeks unless a qualified majority of countries rejects or amends it. Ambassadors also asked what specific measures the clause should trigger and how it would relate to Article 7 of the EU treaties, which also concerns serious violations of European values.

Pre-accession monitoring and other measures

In addition, the European Commission proposed a general clause on monitoring the period between the signing of the accession treaty and actual accession: regular reports, mutual assessment by other EU countries and, where necessary, early warning letters. The frequency and content of the reports have not yet been determined. As a last-resort measure, the accession date may be postponed if there is clear evidence that a country will not meet the requirements by the deadline; a similar provision existed in the treaty for Romania and Bulgaria, where the decision required unanimity, whereas the document now tentatively envisages a qualified majority on the Commission's recommendation. Separate provisions concern the renunciation of vetoes in bilateral disputes of candidates, the temporary suspension of individual court rulings in the event of serious violations, additional conditions for entry into the Schengen area, as well as the reproduction of the clauses on serious economic difficulties from Croatia's treaty — with the period for their activation extended beyond three years, without specifying by exactly how much.