EU enlargement will only succeed if national veto is dropped, says German minister

EU enlargement to welcome Ukraine and Moldova will only succeed if existing members agree far-reaching reforms and drop the national veto on decision-making, Germany’s Europe minister Anna Luhrmann has said.

Dr Luhrmann arrived in Dublin on Thursday for two days of meetings and to present Berlin’s proposals on securing the next wave of enlargement, viewed by Berlin, Dublin and other EU capitals as a geostrategic imperative.

“We support enlargement, giving people in Ukraine and Moldova hope that a life in democracy and peace is possible, but we need to be able to make decisions when we are more than 27 members,” said Dr Luhrmann, a Green Party MP and minister of state for European and climate affairs.

Last autumn a panel of independent Franco-German experts warned that, with its current regulations devised for a much smaller union, “the EU is not ready to welcome new members”.

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After discussions at two European Council meetings and a plan due in June, Berlin is pinning its hopes on enlargement and reform talks happening in parallel. But can harnessing positive momentum for Ukraine’s membership clear long-standing roadblocks and shift the EU towards majority voting – burying the national veto?

“There is no guarantee that enlargement will make the EU stronger,” said Dr Luhrmann. “When you build a house you have to see that its foundations hold it. If we work wisely, though parallel discussions [on enlargement and reform] we hope to implement these changes.”

Last year’s expert paper called for toughening penalties such as suspended funding and voting rights for member states in conflict with the EU over the rule of law, even a possibility of a “lesser integrated form of association”.

With a more pro-EU administration now in Warsaw, Dr Luhrmann is confident that even Hungary – a rule of law repeat offender – can, through the parallel talks format, be brought round on giving up its veto.

“Hungary is in favour of enlargement, it was always possible in the past that we have come up with negotiated solutions in a package,” she said.

Post-Brexit efforts for closer German-Irish ties continue to bear fruit, according to Dr Luhrmann.

“We worked together closely on climate issues, particularly at Cop, and we are pushing closer co-operation on green hydrogen,” she said.

Berlin’s climate spending plans have been thrown into disarray, however, after a court-ruling struck down a €60 billion fund in defence of the so-called debt brake which limits deficit spending.

This has created budgetary uncertainty and unprecedented coalition tensions over whether Berlin should invest – in climate transformation progress and infrastructure – or save its way out of this year’s second forecast year of recession.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Greens are lobbying intensively for a paradigm shift on debt but face energetic pushback from their Free Democratic Party (FDP) coalition partner, opposition parties. Complicating matters still further is what Dr Luhrmann calls a “deep-rooted historical fear of inflation”.

“We have to make a rational case for climate-neutral prosperity: if we invest more in the railways, for instance, this must be treated differently than regular consumption spending where there is no palpable effect after 10 years,” said Dr Luhrmann. “We have to mobilise more private capital and think more in a more entrepreneurial way. A firm that doesn’t take on debt is not working sensibly.”

The Europe minister played down a recent pitch by finance minister Christian Lindner for a closer UK-EU trade relationship but acknowledged that “we are in a new era of German-British relations”.

“We are ready to allow valued partners close to us,” she said. “But we have always co-ordinated closely all steps with Dublin.

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