European Commission announces steps to prepare for EU enlargement
The European Commission will begin reviewing EU policy and making suggestions on how the European Union should function in connection with the upcoming accession of new members, including Ukraine.
Source: Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, in her annual address "On the situation of the European Union"; European Pravda
Von der Leyen noted that the EU should not wait for EU treaty changes to move forward with its expansion.
"An alliance suitable for expansion can be achieved faster. That means answering practical questions about how union of over 30 countries will work in practice," she said.
That is why, von der Leyen added, the commission will begin work on a series of policy reviews before expanding to see how each area may need to be adapted to the larger EU.
"We will need to think about how our institutions will work – what the parliament and the commission will look like. We need to discuss the future of our budget – in terms of what it finances, how it finances, and how it is funded. And we need to understand how to ensure reliable security commitments in a world where deterrence is more important than ever," Ursula von der Leyen said.
The President of the European Commission noted that the Commission will put forward its ideas for discussion by the leaders during the Belgian presidency. Belgium's semi-annual presidency of the EU Council starts on 1 January.
"We will be driven by the belief that completing our union is the best investment in peace, security and prosperity of our continent," Ursula von der Leyen added.
She also said that the European Commission Opinion suggested extending temporary protection for Ukrainian citizens who received such status in the EU due to the full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
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