EU Discusses Changes to Membership Rules Due to Ukraine

The European Union (EU) is discussing changes to its membership rules to expedite Ukraine's accession, Politico reports, citing sources.

The mechanism would allow new countries to join the EU without having voting rights, which could make leaders like Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán more tolerant regarding Ukraine's membership.

The newspaper cites European diplomats familiar with the situation who noted that the proposal to change EU membership rules is in the early stages of development and must be approved by all existing countries.

The idea is that new members would receive full rights after the EU completely overhauls its operational system, making it difficult for individual countries to veto decisions, Politico reports.