Brussels has a new plan for the Balkans: a few more carrots and bigger sticks.

Those are the key ingredients in a European Commission proposal to reform how the EU deals with countries seeking membership. The plan, presented on Wednesday, aims to overcome divisions within the EU, with its two most powerful members, France and Germany, on opposite sides of the argument.

French President Emmanuel Macron has sharply criticized the EU enlargement process and blocked the opening of membership talks for Albania and North Macedonia at a summit last year. He branded the current system "bizarre" and declared the EU should be able to reverse the process if candidate countries backslide on key issues such as the rule of law.

The Commission and EU leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel have pushed for a swift start to negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, arguing that the two Balkan countries have undertaken important reforms and that other powers such as Russia, China, Turkey and Gulf states will gain influence in the EU's neighborhood if the bloc does not act.

The Commission's new plan is sub-titled "a credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans" — a reflection of the fact that all the countries in the midst of membership talks and those that hope to begin them in the months or years ahead are all from that region. Turkey's bid for EU membership stalled as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's rule became increasingly authoritarian.

"It has to be a politically driven process, it cannot be just administrative" — European Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi

Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi said much of the proposal was about changing the balance among elements of the accession process rather than reinventing the whole system.

"We had to pick up the pieces and try to create something new," he told POLITICO. "We never said we would come up with something completely new."

The plan reflects many of France's demands. It would allow EU members to put negotiations "on hold" or decide they should be "suspended overall" if a candidate country is deemed to have stagnated or slid back on key issues, according to the text.

The new method would also give EU governments more say in judging candidates' progress toward meeting EU standards — a task now largely in the hands of the European Commission, which has been accused by member states of being too upbeat in its assessments.

"It has to be a politically driven process, it cannot be just administrative," Várhelyi said. However, he also said the aim is to have a "process that has to be more predictable."

On the plus side for candidate countries, the Commission says they could benefit from "increased funding and investments" from the EU and greater integration into the bloc before becoming members if they are judged to have met certain benchmarks.

"If they are ready, we are also ready to move faster," Várhelyi said.

Summit in sight

It is unclear whether all EU countries could agree on all the details and adopt the new plan ahead of a regular leaders' summit next month, at which Merkel has said the EU should give Albania and North Macedonia the green light for talks.

Six Western Balkan countries harbor hopes of EU membership. Serbia and Montenegro have been in accession talks for years, with no imminent prospect of joining the EU. Albania and North Macedonia are still hoping for the green light soon. Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo are classed as "potential candidates" by the Commission.

Commission officials are hoping the new plan strikes a balance between demands for change from France and other enlargement skeptics such as the Netherlands and Denmark on the one hand, and countries such as Germany and other Central and Eastern European nations on the other, who want a strong commitment to membership prospects for Western Balkan nations.

The new plan features another key element pushed by Paris — an emphasis respect for the rule of law.

"The Commission has built a solid bridge for France. We are counting on Paris to walk over this bridge, join the EU consensus and pave the way for the start of accession talks," one EU diplomat said.

The new plan features another key element pushed by Paris — an emphasis on respect for the rule of law. It envisages "a roadmap for the rule of law" for would-be members and makes clear no other chapter of the negotiations will be closed until benchmarks in this area have been met.

Várhelyi argued this new emphasis is not only due to French worries. "We also consider it to be a priority," he said. "It is also the European Parliament that considers it a priority and many other member states and also national parliaments like the Bundestag or the Dutch parliament."

France's EU minister Amélie de Montchalin signaled backing on Monday for the new approach but it's unclear whether it will accept the plan as it stands or seek changes.

"I'm cautiously optimistic," Várhelyi said. "I was very glad to read the very positive message from Paris ... but I still consider that work needs to be done and I don't take for granted that Paris is supporting it."

France faces local elections next month and Macron's government has long been wary of far-right opponents using enlargement against him. Critics of enlargement argue that it will lead to more migration and the EU would be asking for trouble by taking in more members from a region that was the scene of a series of wars in the 1990s and is plagued by organized crime and corruption.