- Lykke Friis, Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow, Robert Bosch Academy; Director, Think Tank Europa
- Mark Leonard, Co-founder and Director, European Council on Foreign Relations
- Thu Nguyen, Senior Policy Fellow, Jacques Delors Centre; Member, Franco-German expert group on EU institutional reforms
About
During the last decade, “enlargement fatigue” has been a dominating feature of the EU. But Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the geopolitical developments in the aftermath have triggered an abrupt turn-around. Once again, enlargement is back atop the EU agenda, illustrated by the decision to grant candidate status to Ukraine, Moldova, and potentially Georgia.
In October 2023, EU member states will embark upon the first strategic debate on how to get enlargement on track. This will be followed in December by the important decision on whether to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. However, despite the urgency, the debate on how to pursue enlargement has barely started.
This event will explore the revival of EU enlargement and discuss the following questions: Does the geopolitical turmoil require the EU to rethink the process of enlargement? What is at stake for the EU internally, for its ability to play a bigger role globally, and for the candidate countries? How could a “staged integration” look, as a way to square the circle between the need to enlarge quickly and to protect the EU’s governability?
Registration for this event is closed.