The publication reports that on the eve of the Copenhagen summit, which is scheduled to take place this week, Costa will lobby for the waiver of the need for the consent of all 27 EU member states to admit new participants.
According to five diplomats and officials, Costa is seeking support in European capitals to simplify the process for new members and overcome the impasse over the possible entry of Ukraine and Moldova.
This diplomatic initiative is aimed at bypassing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who uses his country’s veto power to block Ukraine’s path to membership in the Union. Current regulations require all 27 EU countries to approve each stage of the accession process.
According to Costa’s proposal, the so—called negotiation clusters — key legal stages on the path to membership – could be opened with the consent of a qualified majority of EU countries, rather than by unanimous decision. Closing the cluster would still require the support of all EU members, but a lower threshold for opening negotiations would allow Ukraine and Moldova to initiate the necessary reforms to demonstrate progress in bringing legislation up to EU standards in certain areas. This way, they could promote their membership applications even in the event of opposition from one or two countries, a source familiar with the plan explained.
The publication also notes that Costa has already begun to persuade EU leaders during a recent “tour of the capitals,” during which he met with a number of European leaders, as well as during bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last week.
