By showing how the non-paper’s proposal would specifically affect different groups of candidate countries (the Western Balkans and the Eastern Trio), the paper helps readers better comprehend to what extent it benefits these countries and whether it calls into question member states’ ability to safeguard their core interests. Drawing on concrete findings, the paper advances two key arguments. First, the German-Slovenian non-paper introduces only modest immediate benefits, accelerating candidates’ accession progress to varying degrees depending on each country’s specific context. While it does not fundamentally transform the enlargement process, it nonetheless represents a meaningful step toward greater predictability for candidates – at least through the point of cluster opening. Second, even if member states were to implement the proposal as suggested by the non-paper, they would still retain the majority of their existing veto opportunities. Yet, since the unconvinced member states will likely require even stronger safeguards to support dropping the unanimity for some steps, the paper recommends adopting reinforced QMV – requiring 65% of member states representing 72% of the EU population – as a more workable compromise.

Članak Reining in the Enlargement Vetoes: The German-Slovenian Non-Paper Under Review se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

Članak At a Crossroads: Serbia’s Prospects and Future in the EU Enlargement se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.