MEPs call for EU reform to welcome more countries without fines

This Thursday, the European Parliament (EP) approved a report that argues for the first time that the European Union (EU) should reform its institutions to monitor the accession processes of countries such as Ukraine.

The report was approved at the plenary meeting in Strasbourg (France) with 305 votes in favor, 157 against and 71 abstentions.

Speaking to Lusa, Socialist MEP Pedro Silva Pereira, a co-rapporteur of the document, noted that the European Parliament had been “very expressive” in the messages it wanted to send, namely to the European Commission, on enlargement.

“The main message is that enlargement is a serious issue and cannot be taken lightly,” said the MEP, who belongs to the Socialists and Democrats political group.

Countries wishing to join the EU “must undertake the necessary reforms to meet the criteria for accession”, namely strengthening national democratic institutions, respect for the rule of law and human rights.

But for the first time, as the future of the 35-nation bloc of communities is considered, the demands placed on candidate countries “go hand in hand with the institutional and budgetary reforms” the 27 must undertake to accommodate expansion. .

For example, the MEP said, “it is difficult to imagine that increasing the size” of the European Parliament could be ruled out, “otherwise there would be severe punishment for the representation” of some member states, namely Portugal.

“Even the composition of the European Commission itself needs to be reviewed to understand whether we will have 35 commissioners or a rotating system,” he added.

These reforms in the organization and composition of institutions must be accompanied by budgetary reform: “A Europe of 35 countries cannot function with the budget of a Europe of 27 countries.”

In December 2023, the European Commission gave the green light to move forward with the accession processes of several countries, notably Ukraine, but within a year, for example, Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa and even French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the EU needed to be reformed so that it could accommodate the expansion without harming the countries that would join it and those already in the community bloc.