A 15-Year Safeguard Clause for a Country Not in the First Wave
Five EU member states have reportedly requested new rules for future members, including possible restrictions on certain voting rights for up to 15 years after accession — a proposal Commissioner Marta Kos is set to present.
Five EU member states have reportedly requested new rules for future members, which would include possible restrictions on certain voting rights within EU institutions for up to 15 years after formal accession. Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos was set to present the new safeguard-clause measures as part of the reformed enlargement policy.
The headline in domestic media — "even if you become a member, for 15 years you won't be a 'European'" — captures the essence of the proposal well: formal membership wouldn't immediately mean full decision-making rights, but rather a period of adjustment and oversight. For a country like Macedonia, which isn't in the "first wave" of countries expected to accede soonest, this clause means that even successfully concluded negotiations wouldn't guarantee immediate full participation.
The logic behind the proposal, according to those involved in the debate, is to protect the existing decision-making mechanism from potentially unstable or insufficiently prepared new members. Critics, however, see the clause as a way for the EU to keep delaying full integration even after a country formally becomes a member — a question that directly intersects with the parallel "gradual integration" proposal before membership, creating a double framework of long-term uncertainty.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 7, 2026
