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EU Enlargement Dilemmas

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 Read more
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 […] Read more
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 Read more
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 Read more
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 Read more
February 28, 2025

🧭 EU enlargement is about narratives, not just policy

Milica Uvalić The EU and the Western Balkan countries view enlargement differently. Milica Uvalić argues that despite renewed EU engagement since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, misperceptions persist, hindering Western Balkan countries’ accession. Bridging these misunderstandings is crucial to revitalising the process and aligning expectations for a shared European future Read more
February 24, 2025

🧭 Could the spillover effects of war strengthen EU enlargement?

Maryna Rabinovych Maryna Rabinovych argues that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reshaped EU enlargement dynamics, creating both pressure and opportunity. To sustain momentum, the EU needs a strategic vision and transparent policies. By harnessing wartime spillover effects, the EU can transform reactive measures into structured accession pathways for Ukraine and Moldova Read more
February 13, 2025

🧭 Reasserting the meaning of integration: a new history of the present

Ferenc Laczó Ferenc Laczó reconsiders European integration as a history of the present, focusing on the roles East Europeans have played. He argues that the foremost representatives of East European states now remind their fellow Europeans of the existential stakes of the European project Read more

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