Germany has privately called for a review of the European Union’s governing treaties amid fears that Ukraine’s impending membership could shift the balance of power away from Berlin, The Telegraph can reveal.
A senior diplomatic source said Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, raised the issue at a recent meeting with EU colleagues in Brussels and called for the treaty to be changed before Kyiv is formally allowed to join.
If Ukraine becomes a full member, it would be the EU’s fifth largest member but also the poorest, according to an analysis by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
Despite the outward celebration of Ukraine’s bid for EU membership, it has raised concerns behind closed doors.
Under the bloc’s current voting system, which takes into account the number of voting countries and their populations, Kyiv would have nine percent of the EU’s overall powers.
Combining these powers with close ally Poland would make the pair more powerful than Germany, the EU’s largest and richest country. Attracting other allies from Central and Eastern Europe would easily create a majority within the bloc more powerful than the traditional Franco-German power base.
“This will shift the balance of power within the EU away from Germany and France and more towards Central and Eastern Europe, where the countries, along with the Nordic countries, will for the first time become a larger bloc in terms of voting power,” This was said by Dr. Nicolai von Ondarza from the German Institute for International Affairs and Security.
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