The French referendum on EU accession: a ticking time bomb that needs defusing
Having been elevated to the status of an EU priority since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, enlargement has gained new momentum. The prospect of new accessions around 2030 is becoming a credible possibility.
However, this overlooks the referendum made mandatory in France by a 2005 constitutional reform for the ratification of future accession treaties.
A relaxation of this rule was introduced in 2008, but its effect is likely to be only very limited. Any future accession – even for states that are well prepared and unlikely to significantly affect the balance of power and the broader equilibrium within the EU – therefore risks being held hostage to the vagaries of French politics and the uncertainties of a referendum campaign.
Recognising this risk today, as well as the fundamentally indecent nature of the mechanism currently provided for in the French Constitution regarding future EU enlargements, could help to find solutions capable of avoiding it or, at the very least, reducing it.
We set out below several proposals for concrete action along these lines, going beyond a debate – desirable though it may be, yet undoubtedly politically difficult – on a revision of the French Constitution that would reverse the 2005 decision:
Involve the French Parliament, on a regular and meaningful basis, in a national and European political debate on future enlargements
Encourage initiatives by civil society and local authorities
Establish a structure in France – a sort of hybrid between a civil society forum and a citizens’ convention – dedicated to preparing for future EU enlargements
Create and maintain a public database listing exchanges (university or school partnerships, local authority twinning
schemes, etc.) and other initiatives that exist between France and candidate countries.
