Spain and other partners are concerned about the impact of Ukraine’s accession on European funds

In theory, all Member States support taking this step as gesture of solidarity to the victim of the illegal war of aggression by Russia. But beyond the good words, the accession of Kiev (which in any case could take more than a decade) generates a growing concern among the partners about the impact of such a large and poor country on the balance of forces within the EU and in the distribution of community agricultural and regional funds.

At the summer summit that ended this Friday in Brussels, the European leaders limited themselves to taking note of “Ukraine’s determination to meet the conditions required in its EU accession process and the enormous efforts it is making to it” and have encouraged the kyiv government to “continue on its path of reforms”.

[Ucrania se convierte oficialmente en país candidato para adherirse a la Unión Europea]

According to the planned schedule, the Committee on Ursula von der Leyen will publish its opinion on whether or not kyiv has completed the seven prior required reforms in the fight against corruption and strengthening the rule of law. If the verdict is positive, the heads of state and government could approve in December, under the Spanish presidency, the start of accession negotiations.

But in parallel to the European Council, Germany, France and the Netherlands have called a mini-summit “in discreet format”, without the presence of community institutions and without media coverage. In fact, the meeting (a working breakfast this Friday at the luxurious Hotel Amigo next to the Grand Place in Brussels) should have been “confidential”, but it has emerged from a photo published by the Polish embassy.

Apart from Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Mark Rutte, the mini-summit guest list included the Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchezand the Prime Ministers of Italy (Giorgia Meloni), Poland (Mateusz Morawiecki), Portugal (António Costa), Sweden (Ulf Kristersson) and Belgium (Alexander de Croo), as well as the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis.

The aim was to discuss more freely the consequences of enlargement on the internal functioning of the EU and in particular on cohesion policy and the common agricultural policyas explained by diplomatic sources.

Being an agricultural powerhouse with an income well below the Community average, Ukraine would receive most of the European funds, to the detriment of Spain and the southern countries, but also from Poland and the eastern partners. The EU already suffered a first crisis a week ago due to the avalanche of Ukrainian grainwhich has plunged prices in border countries and triggered border closures by Warsaw or Hungary.

In terms of institutional functioning, the entry of Ukraine it will profoundly alter the balance of power within the Union and shift its center of gravity to the East. In this area, Germany, France, Italy or Spain defend end the right of veto which all Member States enjoy in decisions on foreign policy or taxes and go to qualified majority. But Poland and Hungary reject it.

“We have to make sure that the EU is ready for possible enlargement. Prepared at the institutional level, prepared in the decision-making mechanisms and prepared at the level of community policies”, explain the sources consulted.

In any case, from the Hotel Amigo mini-summit no concrete results have come out. This is a first debate: the dialogue continues and it is a long-term process. The next stage will be the informal summit of European leaders to be held in Grenada on October 5 and 6.

The objective is to present a first document written during the Belgian presidency of the EU, during the first semester of 2024. It would be a matter of detailing the changes needed to keep the EU functioning effectively after Ukraine’s entry.