New EU members will lose national vetoes for over 15 years under new “safeguard” clauses in their accession treaties, Marta Kos, the enlargement commissioner, said, as Ukraine and Moldova officially begin membership negotiations.

Describing a decision to open the first ‘cluster’ of accession talks with both countries as “mega Monday”, Kos appeared to endorse proposals, backed by France, Germany and others, to restrict new members from voting on budgetary, security, and foreign policy decisions.

The decision to begin a new round of formal membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova comes as a growing number of national governments have demanded protective measures if new member states reverse reforms on democracy, the rule of law, or press freedom.

“This will be a new generation of accession treaties in the sense that we will have new safeguards,” said Kos.

She added that the new probationary clauses would have the aim of making “sure that once we get new members on board, they will follow the European rules being a member for five, 10, or 15 years after”.

The lengthy period for the proposed safeguards follows anger over Budapest’s refusal to back a €90 billion loan package for Ukraine earlier this year and amid criticism of Hungary, which joined the EU in 2004, for multiple breaches, as defined by Brussels, of rule-of-law conditions.

Last week, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg demanded the new clauses to ensure that future EU members could not “undermine the EU’s ability to act”.

Kos insisted that, despite the new clauses, joining the EU, for any candidate, would not be on a junior or associate status.

“Full membership will only be possible once the member states fulfil all the requirements; there is no half membership or quarter membership. There is only full membership,” she said.

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