Enlargement is a priority for the European Union, and progress by candidate countries requires the EU to deliver. For the first time in 17 years, the EU established a working group in April to draft an accession treaty for Montenegro, signaling that Montenegro is viewed as the next member state. Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has returned enlargement to the center of European politics, shifting it from a technical process to a geopolitical and security issue. Member states recognize the geopolitical need for enlargement while insisting on a merits-based approach that assesses reforms without shortcuts. The debate increasingly focuses on whether the EU’s traditional accession model, based on methodology developed decades ago, should be updated, including consideration of gradual integration principles used in the single market.
"“Enlargement is the priority for the European Union, and if our candidates deliver, then we have to deliver, too,” Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels earlier this month. As proof that the EU is moving beyond rhetoric, Kos pointed to the fact that for the first time in 17 years, the bloc in April established a working group to draft the accession treaty for a candidate country: Montenegro. “There is no clearer signal that the EU sees Montenegro as its next member state,” Strahinja Subotic, program manager and senior researcher at the European Policy Centre (CEP) in Belgrade, told DW."
"“The geopolitical need for enlargement is recognized by all member states,” said Steven Blockmans of the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS). “But it is always coupled with two things: On the one hand, a merits-based approach, whereby candidate countries are assessed on their reforms and where no shortcuts are being offered, and secondly, the need for the European Union to change its policy and governance methods,” he told DW."
"Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 put the subject of enlargement back at the center of European politics, turning what had long been a technical process into a geopolitical and security issue. “Enlargement is the priority for the European Union,” says EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta KosImage: Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu/picture alliance “The geopolitical need for enlargement is recognized by all member states,” said Steven Blockmans of the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)."
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