The European Commission is proposing a new EU safeguard that could suspend a future member’s Council voting rights in serious cases, and says Montenegro’s accession arrangements would be the first to include it.
Published Oct. 6, the proposal aims to guard against serious reversals on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights after a country joins the bloc. The temporary clause would remain available for 15 years after accession, with any measures subject to judicial scrutiny and regular Council review.
The Commission says the safeguard would complement Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union, which allows membership rights, including Council voting rights, to be suspended after a serious and persistent breach of EU values. It argues that Article 7’s high procedural thresholds and lack of fixed timeframes can delay a response.
The plan also retains three sectoral protections for the economy, the internal market, and justice and home affairs. Earlier accession treaties allowed those measures to be activated for three years after membership began. The Commission proposes a longer activation period in future treaties but has not specified its duration.
The Council scheduled the safeguards for discussion at its Permanent Representatives Committee meeting on Oct. 28, along with a request for guidance on next steps. Euronews reported that ambassadors had an initial exchange and governments differed over the 15-year period. In the outlet’s account, Italy and Austria cautioned that stringent conditions might slow enlargement, while France and the Netherlands wanted firmer rule-of-law protections.
Under the proposal, the Commission could initiate a measure or a member state could submit a reasoned request. It would take effect unless a qualified majority in the Council rejected it within a specified period; the Commission’s public communication does not give a deadline.
A separate process would monitor developments between the signing of an accession treaty and a country’s entry into the EU. The Commission says accession could be postponed as a last resort if targeted steps cannot remedy backsliding, while the decision process still needs to be developed. Montenegro had provisionally closed 21 negotiating chapters as of Oct. 12, the Council of the EU said. EU leaders welcomed work on its accession treaty on Oct. 15-16 and tied further progress to reforms.
