Brussels supports a plan to override Hungary's veto in the accession process of Ukraine and Moldova

The European Commission has welcomed the plan of the head of the European Council António Costa, which would allow to override Hungary's veto and continue the process of Ukraine and Moldova's accession to the EU. This was reported by the EC spokesperson for enlargement, Guillaume Mercier, according to Politico.

"The possibility of empowering the Council to decide by qualified majority could be explored for certain interim steps in the enlargement process," the official said.

According to the Costa proposal, which Politico previously reported, citing its sources, a qualified majority of countries would vote to open accession negotiating clusters for Ukraine and Moldova. Current rules require all 27 EU member states to agree on each stage of accession.

Although the European Council President's plan still requires the support of all EU states to approve the final accession, lowering the threshold for starting negotiations could speed up the process and reduce frustration in Kyiv and Chișinău, Politico notes.

According to the newspaper, such a move would help candidates such as Ukraine and Moldova launch reforms to align with EU standards, even if one or two member states officially oppose the start of negotiations.

Media reports indicate that European diplomats see the proposal as a way to overcome persistent obstacles from Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, whose veto has stalled the accession process of Ukraine and Moldova.

"When a country is held back for no objective reasons, despite meeting the criteria, the credibility of the entire enlargement process is at risk," Mercier said.

While the Commission supports efforts to speed up the accession process, it emphasized that any decision to move forward with membership negotiations remains ultimately with the bloc's members.

"It’s really for the member states to decide on the next steps, and we hope to open cluster one as soon as possible," the EC spokesperson added.

• A qualified majority requires the support of 55% of EU member states, whose population accounts for 65% of the bloc's total.
• In September, Lithuanian foreign minister Budrys said that the EU is looking for alternative solutions to opening negotiating clusters for Ukraine's accession to the EU due to Hungary's veto.