Germany and France have a document ready to reform the EU's foreign service, which would facilitate the enlargement of the Union to include candidate countries such as Albania. Euractiv reports that it has seen a confidential document from Berlin and Paris, which outlines in detail the new functioning of the European External Action Service.
The document will be put up for discussion in 2026, at the European Summit before the end of the year. In Brussels, this is seen as a major political clash between Germany, France, EC President Von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, the latter the only one to have opposed the Franco-German plan, due to the takeover of her powers.
Kallas received the first message of force on Monday when Germany and France, along with a group of EU countries, sabotaged the meeting to establish a high-level group on European defense.
Germany and France aim to dismantle the current EU foreign policy system. By giving powers to the European Commission. Along the same lines, the aim is to abolish the veto for EU member states on foreign policy decisions. The veto should be replaced by abstention, and decisions should be passed by a qualified majority among the 27 EU member states.
This new mechanism would avoid the blockages that have hindered the EU in the past, and of course also for enlargement. This would ease the way for Albania or Montenegro, other candidates from the Western Balkans, or Moldova and Ukraine, who have previously been prevented by a veto from advancing on their European journey.
However, Germany and France also have a separate plan for EU enlargement. According to the Macron-Merz proposal, candidate countries would enter a phase of gradual integration, faster access to the European single market or free movement in the Schengen area, but would have limited political rights.
This means that new members will not immediately have full voting rights or veto rights in EU institutions, to protect the current balance of power with 27 votes.
And for Albania, that's okay!
