EU seeks ways to make expansion more palatable to members

The European Commission on Tuesday published a document called "Preparing for a wider Union," which sought to lay out new proposals on "the policy orientations and actions needed to prepare the [European] Union for future enlargements ." Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that "Europe's future depends on the choices we make today," as she tries to encourage progress at the EU's leaders' summit this month and in other upcoming talks on the matter. The EU's executive proposed an array of changes — including a gradual integration process for would-be members, new safeguards "to ensure that commitments undertaken during accession negotiations continue to be fulfiled steadily after accession," and changes to voting rules.