The European Commission is preparing plans to grant EU candidate countries economic benefits before they formally join the bloc, as Brussels searches for ways to accelerate enlargement without lowering accession standards. According to Politico, the proposal is part of the Commission’s “gradual integration” strategy, which would reward candidate states with greater access to EU programs as they implement reforms during the accession process.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Benefits under discussion include access to selected EU funding programs, preferential trade arrangements, and partial entry into the EU single market. Access would be granted on a case-by-case basis depending on each country’s reform progress and alignment with EU rules. The initiative aims to maintain momentum among candidate countries by offering tangible rewards while full membership negotiations continue – a process that often takes years. “The approach is also designed to keep candidate countries such as Ukraine – whose accession is likely to take years despite strong political backing – fully engaged in the process without promising rapid membership,” as per the Politico report. Unlike earlier proposals for so-called “reverse enlargement,” which would have granted political rights before full accession and failed to gain support among member states, the new plan focuses solely on economic integration.