You searched for 🧭

June 16, 2025

🧭 Why the EU must act before public support for enlargement fades

Dmytro Panchuk

Russian aggression in Ukraine triggered a surge in support for EU enlargement — but public goodwill is beginning to fade. Dmytro Panchuk argues that this moment of elite-public alignment is rare and fragile. To seize it, EU leaders must act decisively before war fatigue and populist rhetoric erode the case for widening

June 10, 2025

🧭 Enlargement and the rise of endless conditionality

Beáta Bakó

Membership of the EU no longer guarantees access to its core benefits. With funding now tied to rule-of-law compliance, aspiring member states are subject to increasing scrutiny. Beáta Bakó examines how this shift reshapes accession prospects – and why candidate countries may find themselves caught in a new cycle of disillusionment

June 3, 2025

🧭 Why EU enlargement is a strategic necessity for the United States

Nicholas Lokker

EU enlargement serves not only European interests but also those of the United States. As Nicholas Lokker argues, expanding the European Union strengthens peace in a vital region and enhances the EU’s capacity to act as Washington’s partner of first resort amid mounting global challenges

May 21, 2025

🧭 The risks of wartime politicisation of enlargement

Miruna Butnaru-Troncotă

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine forced the EU to revive its enlargement agenda, but growing politicisation risks sidelining the Western Balkans yet again. Miruna Butnaru Troncotă argues that the EU's future credibility and cohesion hinge on treating Western Balkan integration just as urgently as Eastern enlargement

May 9, 2025

🧭 The EU must confront the challenges of enlargement to Ukraine

Antoaneta L. Dimitrova

EU enlargement to Ukraine is a strategic necessity, but cannot rest on geopolitics alone. To avoid backlash, the EU must confront policy dilemmas openly, from rule of law to agriculture, and offer realistic compromises. Antoaneta Dimitrova argues that public support depends on political leaders’ ability to offer a credible narrative to counter negative publicity

April 28, 2025

🧭 Why the 'eternal waiting room' is a risky strategy for EU enlargement

Magdalena König

Enlargement’s symbolic revival after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine risks repeating past failures. Magdalena König warns that without credible timelines and reform momentum, the EU may trap candidates — old and new — in an ‘eternal waiting room’. Frustration, backsliding, and geopolitical drift are likely unless promises are matched by progress

April 22, 2025

🧭 Differentiated membership, strategic necessity, and the risk to ever-closer union

Stefan Telle

Differentiated membership may offer a pragmatic path to EU enlargement, but it risks undermining unity in a multipolar world. Stefan Telle argues that without investment in centre-formation and shared political identity, the EU could drift into transactionalism, weakening its global voice and eroding the ideal of an ever-closer union Differentiated membership is gaining traction as […]

April 10, 2025

🧭 Russia’s hybrid warfare on EU enlargement

Denis Cenusa

Russia’s hybrid tactics — emboldening sovereigntist populism, spreading disinformation, and weaponising economic hardship — threaten EU enlargement. Countermeasures, argues Denis Cenusa, are thus essential to protecting the enlargement process and the Union’s strategic resilience

March 26, 2025

🧭 EU enlargement: why citizens matter in shaping the debate

Giselle Bosse

EU enlargement can benefit democracy and the rule of law, but the process often excludes citizens from decision-making and cost-benefit framing. For Giselle Bosse, this raises questions about legitimacy — and whether the process truly reflects the priorities of member states and candidate countries

March 17, 2025

🧭 EU enlargement and the critical role played by the European Council

Lucas Schramm

Rising geopolitical pressures, including an ongoing war in its immediate neighbourhood, have thrust EU enlargement back onto the agenda. Lucas Schramm contends that the European Council must reconcile the dual challenges of widening and deepening, as it has done historically. Despite formidable obstacles, enlargement could spur internal reforms and innovations

1 2 Next »

🧭 Why the EU must act before public support for enlargement fades

🧭 Enlargement and the rise of endless conditionality

🧭 Why EU enlargement is a strategic necessity for the United States

🧭 The risks of wartime politicisation of enlargement

🧭 The EU must confront the challenges of enlargement to Ukraine

🧭 Why the 'eternal waiting room' is a risky strategy for EU enlargement

🧭 Differentiated membership, strategic necessity, and the risk to ever-closer union

🧭 Russia’s hybrid warfare on EU enlargement

🧭 EU enlargement: why citizens matter in shaping the debate

🧭 EU enlargement and the critical role played by the European Council

The Loop