European Commission proposes bypassing vetoes for EU enlargement

The European Commission is reportedly preparing a plan to accelerate the accession process for several countries, including Ukraine, Montenegro, Albania, and Moldova. A central component of this proposal involves expanding the use of qualified majority voting—requiring 15 out of 27 member states representing 65% of the EU population—to bypass individual national vetoes on specific issues.

Under this proposed mechanism, the right to veto would be restricted to matters of vital national interest, while decisions regarding security, defense, and new memberships could be pushed through via majority vote if framed as essential to the Union's security. Critics argue this approach seeks to bypass democratic checks and ignores necessary EU reforms required to manage the social and fiscal impacts of enlargement.

Some perspectives suggest this shift toward a more centralized, technocratic governance model risks undermining the political autonomy of member states and could lead to increased economic instability for existing citizens through inflation and energy costs.