To avoid “another Hungary”: EU plans safeguards in accession treaty for new members

The European Union is discussing new approaches to the bloc’s enlargement to prevent the emergence of new member states that could deviate from the principles of democracy and the rule of law. To this end, it plans to include long-term safeguards in the accession treaty for new countries.

This is reported by Politico .

Journalists note that one of the key examples for the new enlargement rules could be Montenegro, which has almost completed negotiations on joining the European Union.

Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović said he had discussed the format of the country’s future accession to the EU with representatives of the bloc and member states, including during a recent visit to Ireland, which is due to hold the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2026.

Brussels is considering including long-term safeguards in Montenegro’s accession treaty, a European Commission official said. These would allow the bloc to react if the country deviates from democratic standards or the rule of law after accession.

“This will be an accession treaty that will determine future accession treaties,” the EU representative said.

Journalists note that the EU views the situation with Hungary as a kind of warning for further enlargement. In particular, under the leadership of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Budapest has repeatedly entered into disputes with its partners in the bloc and last month blocked the 20th package of sanctions against Russia and aid for Ukraine in the amount of 90 billion euros.

According to journalists, the accession treaty for Montenegro is to be prepared by a special working group with the participation of all EU member states. It will be organized within the framework of the Cyprus presidency of the Council of the European Union.

In turn, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Cos reported that the European Commission is in the final stages of preparing the draft agreement, but did not specify the timing of its submission.

At the same time, a senior EU diplomat told reporters that France was objecting to the treaty’s preparation. According to him, Paris is taking a cautious stance on further enlargement of the European Union ahead of the 2027 presidential elections.

Let us recall that at the end of February , the European Union handed over to Ukraine an official list of reforms that Kyiv must implement in order to join the bloc.

As previously reported, the Head of the European Union’s Foreign Policy Department, Kaia Kallas, stated that member states are not ready to determine a specific date for Ukraine’s accession to the union.

By the way, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated that the country supports Ukraine’s accession to the European Union . At the same time, Rome considers the accession of the Balkan countries to the EU a priority.

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