How the EU can – and should – enhance its security and global competitiveness
To achieve the objectives of security and competitiveness the EU will absolutely need to prioritise its enlargement policy, defence strategy and global partnerships over the coming years to 2030 and beyond. To make the EU fit for 30+ members, it will have to start by reforming its enlargement methodology towards a ‘staged accession’ procedure and […]
The EU’s security commitments to negotiate Ukraine’s accession
The distinguishing characteristic of the EU’s next eastward enlargement is that it is more security-driven than before. Negotiating accession with a country at war is different from the theoretical deterrence drive of previous integration rounds or from providing a prescription for post-conflict peacebuilding in the Western Balkans. Defence owns the hard meaning of the concept […]
Strengthening Europe’s democratic identity and security in a more autocratic world
Much attention is rightly being paid to the well-documented tendencies in most of the world’s regions for autocracy to have been gaining some ground in the last two decades at the expense of democracy. Europe has not been immune from the impact of the several megatrends and profound systemic shocks that seem to have been […]
Georgia’s ongoing struggle goes beyond the bill. It’s about finally breaking free from Russian influence
In 2023, Georgia found itself in the spotlight due to ongoing large-scale public demonstrations against the introduction of Russian-style laws that threatened to derail the country’s European journey. One such proposal was the now infamous ‘Agents of Foreign Influence’ bill, which the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party was forced to drop due to intense public […]
EU enlargement issues for the next Commission
The EU’s enlargement process is at a cross-roads. There have been some positive steps recently, but these are not in themselves credibly answering the question whether the process is really on track for a new round of accessions, even over a long-term horizon; or whether the long and complex procedures are masking a political reality […]
The three pillars of the EU’s new enlargement agenda
The 2004 ‘big bang’ expansion of the EU was “the best prepared enlargement in the history of the Union”. That was the modest opinion of Günter Verheugen, the European Commissioner who oversaw the final years of work of the fifth round of EU enlargement. Preparations started well before his tenure. Conceived at the Madrid European […]
Next Steps for EU Enlargement
The EU’s present enlargement process, once applauded as the EU’s most successful foreign policy, is not working well. With the addition of candidate status for Ukraine and Moldova the case for a serious reform of existing procedures is widely recognised. This is witnessed by the emergence of several proposals, mostly for restoring the incentive power […]
Yet another failure of EU leadership in the Western Balkans
The European Council that took place on 23-24 June will be remembered for the historic decision to endorse Ukraine and Moldova’s application for EU membership and to grant them candidate status. For the countries of the Western Balkans, whose leaders were invited to a pre-European Council conference by the French Presidency of the Council, it […]
Interpreting the Commission Opinions on the membership applications of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, and next steps for the European Council
The Commission’s three Opinions on the membership applications of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, if endorsed by the European Council as seems likely on 23-24 June, will mark a geopolitical turning point for Europe, bringing the three eastern European states into the EU’s enlargement process, albeit with a less advanced formulation for the time being for […]
The New Agenda for the EU’s Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policies
The war in Ukraine, triggering membership applications from Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia and coming on top of widespread calls for reinvigorating the stagnant accession process in the Western Balkans, has led Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Charles Michel to open up a fundamental debate on the EU’s enlargement and neighbourhood policies. Ideas include a revamping of […]
Georgia’s dubious application for EU membership
Barely a week after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Georgia submitted its application to accede to the EU on 3 March, following Ukraine and alongside Moldova. The European Commission has been invited by the European Council to deliver its ‘Opinion’ on each of the three cases, and these are expected at the beginning of June. CEPS […]
Can the war in Ukraine revive the EU’s enlargement agenda for the Western Balkans?
For years the EU has been repeating the mantra of its enlargement policy representing ‘a strategic investment in peace, stability and economic growth on our European continent’. Yet it has singularly failed to deliver on its promises towards the Western Balkans region, with a succession of blockages and delays, many of which have more to […]
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