Chimdi Chukwukere
The German government is selling its record wage increase as 'support for workers'. But the wage hike also reveals a shift in how the country thinks about migration and economic planning. The higher wage floor is part of a bigger strategy to manage labour shortages, attract skilled talent, and protect long-term competitiveness, writes Chimdi Chukwukere Read more
Veronica Anghel
The Russia-Ukraine war forced the EU to speak the language of power, but it didn’t turn the EU into a state. Veronica Anghel argues that EU geopolitics looks different: dense ties, not just hard power. Enlargement is the EU’s prime relational technology – binding security to markets, institutions, and publics Read more
László Bruszt
László Bruszt and Julia Langbein argue that EU market rules, when applied to weaker economies, can trigger damaging side effects. Unless anticipated and managed, these risks threaten not just candidate countries but the European Union itself. Lessons from the 2004 enlargement are vital as Ukraine moves closer to membership Read more
Lesley-Ann Daniels
Lesley-Ann Daniels and Marc Sanjaume-Calvet explore a paradox at the heart of Ukraine’s path to EU membership: the strongest pro-European voices are often the least supportive of minority rights. Drawing on new survey data, they call for a more adaptive and politically sensitive enlargement strategy Read more
Albrecht Rothacher
On the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre in eastern Bosnia, Albrecht Rothacher looks back at the significance of that event, and the confederal State it produced. Three decades on, can the EU realistically consider Bosnia and Herzegovina as a potential member state? Read more
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 Read more
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