The European Commission is working on plans to provide EU membership candidates with economic benefits before they join the bloc, as member state governments seek ways to accelerate enlargement without lowering the conditions for entry.
Numerous proposals are part of the Commission’s efforts for „gradual integration,“ which involves rewarding candidates with greater access to the EU as they implement reforms while their membership applications are still being processed, two European officials told the Brussels portal Politico on condition of anonymity.
The benefits under discussion include access to certain EU financial programs, preferential trade arrangements, and partial access to the single market before accession, with the package tailored to the candidate’s progress.
The aim, as stated, is to keep candidates on the right track by giving them incentives to implement politically difficult reforms, even when full membership may take years.
Unlike earlier ideas of „reverse enlargement,“ where countries would receive political rights before completing the accession process—a concept rejected by EU capitals—gradual integration would offer economic benefits similar to those of membership but without bringing candidates into the EU before they are ready.
„There must be some parallel but necessary economic integration,“ said Lithuanian MEP Petras Auštrevičius, who drafted the European Parliament’s enlargement strategy. „The ‘more for more’ principle is well tested and should be adopted as support for those candidates who progress more than others,“ the MEP told Politico.
The Commission will seek member states’ support for the initiative, and officials hope that leaders will approve work on a broader framework at the European Council in October or December.
According to the plans, access to benefits will be granted on a „case-by-case“ basis, depending on how much a candidate has aligned with EU rules and how many reforms have been implemented, one EU official said. This would represent a significant departure from the current system, in which most benefits are reserved for full members.
The proposals come at a time when governments largely agree that enlargement should be faster, especially in light of Russia’s war in Ukraine, but are cautious about admitting countries before they are fully ready. That is why Brussels is seeking to speed up the process while simultaneously introducing stronger safeguards to reassure skeptical member states.
This approach is also designed to keep candidates like Ukraine fully engaged in the accession process without promising rapid membership.
However, momentum for broader enlargement reform is lacking. Politico recalls that at the summit in Montenegro earlier this month, EU leaders agreed that the enlargement process must be accelerated, but discussions on how to achieve this have since weakened.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said that now, since the proposals for „reverse membership“ have not passed, it is up to EU governments to decide in which direction the enlargement debate will go.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is among the leaders advocating for alternative approaches and had planned to raise the issue at last week’s European Council. However, the agenda was too broad and there was no time for substantive discussions, three officials said.
A diplomat involved in the talks said that officials are trying to make up for a „lost decade“ of enlargement reform while simultaneously overcoming resistance from governments determined to ensure that candidates complete significant reforms before joining.
Kos said earlier this month to Politico that the Commission is also developing new, strict safeguards to prevent any backsliding in democracy or the rule of law by a country after it enters the EU. This is yet another attempt to reassure governments that the bloc can accelerate enlargement without weakening its standards.
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