EU Summit Debates Faster Ukraine and Moldova Membership via Rule Changes

Current EU rules that require the agreement of all 27 member states for new members to join are this week the subject of discussion at the Copenhagen summit. The topic concerns not only Ukraine and Moldova, but also how to change the decision-making mechanism to accelerate the path to membership.

President of the European Council Antonio Costa is actively engaging with EU capitals, seeking wider support and to overcome the resistance that is currently creating considerable uncertainty around Ukraine and Moldova’s membership. Efforts are focused on finding ways to minimize the impact of a single country veto on the prospects of the two candidate countries.

According to five diplomats and officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, it is diplomatic pressure that should be directed at circumventing Hungary’s veto. Current rules state that decisions must be adopted by all 27 countries, which remains the main obstacle to the rapid progress of Ukraine and Moldova.

Moldova is also on the list of candidate membership and seeks to move forward in the joint process with Ukraine. However, without removing barriers from certain countries, this path could remain stymied, as the obstacles there affect the pace of reforms and overall momentum.

At Costa’s proposal, so-called negotiating clusters became possible – key milestones on the path to membership. They could be opened on the basis of the support of a qualified majority of EU countries, rather than unanimity. Closing a cluster would require the agreement of all capitals, but lowering the threshold for opening would give Ukraine and Moldova the opportunity to demonstrate reforms and progress in specific policy areas. This would give a chance to advance the applications even in the presence of opposition from one or two countries.

According to sources, Costa is actively lobbying for this line during the latest round of visits to EU capitals, where he met with several leaders, and also discussed the issue on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week.

“Expansion is an important priority for the President of the European Council.”

Marta Kos, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, plans to visit Ukraine on Monday after the completion of the first stage of assessing the laws required for further progress of the candidate bids.

“All clusters were reviewed in record time. Ukraine has met the requirements. Ukraine is ready for the next step. Now it is up to the member states to give the green light,” Kos told POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook. “Both Ukraine and Europe cannot allow the pace of reforms to slow down. Now is the time to accelerate.”

“All clusters were reviewed in record time. Ukraine has met the requirements. Ukraine is ready for the next step. Now it is up to the member states to give the green light. Ukraine and Europe cannot allow the pace of reforms to slow down. Now is the time to accelerate.”

Prospects and implications for Ukraine and Moldova

If key cluster milestones can be opened with the support of a majority, Ukraine and Moldova will be able to demonstrate concrete progress in reform areas, which would boost political and public momentum for moving forward quickly. While the final decision still depends on the agreement of all member states, this strategy could reduce the risk of stagnation and provide additional impetus for reforms.

Experts emphasize that changes in the rules could alter the dynamics of negotiations and the interaction among EU capitals, reducing the influence of individual countries on the overall process. At the same time, countries backing Kyiv and the Kyiv–Moldovan initiative expect concrete reforms in the areas of the judicial system, anti-corruption measures, and economic modernization.

Conclusion

The essence of discussions at the Copenhagen summit is to strike a balance between the need to preserve the consensus principle for a stable Europe and the desire to move forward more quickly with Ukraine and Moldova. If Costa’s proposals gain majority support, they could accelerate reform momentum and create real conditions for launching negotiating clusters even amid opposition from one or two countries. One thing is clear: Kyiv and Chisinau are seeking concrete steps forward, and the EU is evaluating options that would allow – when the time is right – to advance toward European integration without undue delays.