Brussels considers limiting national vetoes and reducing the number of commissioners in an enlarged EU
The European Commission is considering a reform of the European Union’s institutional framework to prepare for a possible expansion of the bloc to more than 30 member states. Among the measures under discussion are greater use of qualified majority voting and abandoning the political principle that every member state should necessarily have a national representative in the College of Commissioners.
The proposals are outlined in two internal Commission documents seen by Brussels Signal. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to present the strategy on October 6, ahead of the European Council meeting scheduled for October 15 and 16.
The aim in Brussels is to prevent an EU with a growing number of member states from becoming increasingly difficult to govern because of national vetoes. The documents are still drafts, however, and have no legal force in themselves. Any changes to the current rules would require the approval of member states where required by the EU Treaties.
More qualified majority voting in accession talks
One of the main changes under consideration concerns the process for admitting new countries to the EU. At present, member states have several opportunities to block or delay a candidate during the different stages of accession negotiations.
Under the Commission’s proposal, unanimity would remain necessary for the key decisions at the beginning and end of the accession process, while a number of intermediate decisions could instead be adopted by qualified majority.
The European Parliament already moved in this direction in March, calling for the opening and closing of individual negotiating chapters and clusters to no longer depend exclusively on unanimity. MEPs argued that a veto by a single government can keep a candidate country’s accession process stalled for years.
To facilitate such changes, Brussels is considering the use of the so-called “passerelle clauses”. These mechanisms, provided for under the EU Treaties, allow certain areas to be shifted from unanimity to qualified majority voting without requiring a full Treaty revision.
According to The New Union Post, one option under consideration would reduce the number of decisions requiring unanimity during the intermediate stages of accession negotiations from around 150 to approximately 70.
Qualified majority voting could be expanded
Under the EU’s current qualified majority system, a proposal in the Council requires the support of at least 15 of the 27 member states, provided that those countries also represent at least 65% of the EU’s population.
The Commission’s draft proposals would extend this system to other areas where national governments currently retain significant blocking powers. These could include certain decisions concerning sanctions, human rights, security and defence, as well as efforts to combat tax evasion, according to Brussels Signal.
The proposal would also include a safeguard mechanism. A member state could trigger an “emergency brake” if it believed that a decision threatened its “vital national interests.”
There is, however, a significant legal and political obstacle. In areas where the Treaties require unanimity to activate a passerelle clause, all governments would first have to agree to give up that veto power. The Commission therefore cannot unilaterally remove national vetoes.
The College of Commissioners could fall from 27 to 18 members
The second major change under consideration concerns the composition of the European Commission itself.
Since 2013, the current political arrangement has ensured that every member state has a national in the College of Commissioners. With 27 countries in the EU, this currently means 27 commissioners.
However, Article 17(5) of the Treaty on European Union provides for a Commission made up of a number of members corresponding to two-thirds of the number of member states, operating under a system of equal rotation.
If that formula were applied to today’s 27-member EU, the College would consist of 18 commissioners. Nine countries would therefore be without a national commissioner during each term, taking part instead in a rotation system.
This possibility is already contained in the Treaties and would not require the creation of a new legal mechanism. In 2013, however, the European Council unanimously decided to maintain one commissioner per member state, a system that remains in place today.
Any reduction in the size of the College would therefore require the existing political agreement to be revisited and a rotation system to be established.
The European Parliament has already argued that a future enlargement should be accompanied by a review of the Commission’s size and has pointed to the option provided for in the Treaties.
The prospect of an EU with more than 30 members
The institutional debate is directly linked to the EU’s enlargement plans. Nine countries are currently recognised as candidate countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine. Kosovo remains a potential candidate.
Montenegro and Albania are among the countries that have made the most progress in the accession process, while Ukraine and Moldova have also advanced in their respective negotiations.
The Commission believes that the accession of additional states will require changes to the way the EU’s institutions operate. With more governments around the table, maintaining the current scope for national vetoes could make it increasingly difficult to reach common decisions.
The European Parliament shares the view that institutional reforms are needed ahead of any future enlargement. In a resolution adopted in March, it argued that internal EU reform should proceed alongside accession negotiations and called for greater use of qualified majority voting.
Member states will have the final say
The initiative expected from Brussels on October 6 will not itself amend the Treaties or automatically change the EU’s voting rules.
Instead, it will take the form of a strategic communication from the Commission, setting out the executive’s position and opening discussions with national governments and the European Parliament.
The Council will also play a central role in the next stage of the debate. The Council working group responsible for enlargement issues is scheduled to meet on October 6, coinciding with the presentation of the Commission’s strategy.
The most far-reaching decisions will ultimately have to be addressed by the European Council, bringing together the heads of state or government of the EU member states.
Any reform will therefore depend on whether the member states can reach an agreement on how much veto power they are willing to retain and how the Commission should operate in a larger European Union.
