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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
A Template for Staged Accession to the EU
An idea is gaining ground that a system of accession to the EU in stages is now needed to revive and sustain the incentives for the states of the Western Balkans to continue their European integration journey and overcome an apparent impasse over accession prospects. At the same time there is the need to ease […]
Enlarging the European Defence Union to the Western Balkans
The European Council’s failure to agree on enlargement conclusions on 17 December 2020 will surely slow Western Balkan progress towards EU membership. One key policy domain is often ignored when speaking of enlargement, however. The Western Balkans’ security and defence architecture stands to lose from EU inertia. Elements of the Western Balkans’ efforts to converge […]