| Author (Person) | Scazzieri, Luigi |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Centre for European Reform (CER) |
| Series Title | CER Insight |
| Publication Date | November 2022 |
| Content Type | Research Paper |
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Summary: Russia's attack on Ukraine propelled enlargement back to the top of the EU's agenda after many years of stasis. In June 2022, EU leaders agreed that Moldova and Ukraine would become candidates for EU membership. They also agreed Georgia could do so if it met certain conditions. In July 2022, the EU began accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, after years of delay. And in early October, the European Commission recommended that Bosnia-Herzegovina should be given candidate status if it further strengthened the rule of law and fundamental rights. It would be difficult to maintain this momentum, however. There were two sets of obstacles. First, the Commission's annual reports on enlargement, released in October, made clear that the candidates faced daunting challenges in meeting the conditions for membership. Second, many member-states, including France, Germany and Italy, were lukewarm about enlargement and thought that the EU needed to reform before it expanded – but member-states struggled to agree on reforms. That meant the near-term focus of enlargement policy should be on helping the candidate countries to reform themselves, and finding ways to integrate them more closely with the Union before membership. |
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| Source Link |
https://www.cer.eu/insights/can-eu-enlargement-gain-momentum
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations |
| Subject Tags | EU Enlargement, European Neighbourhood Policy [ENP], Regional Dimension |
| Keywords | Western Balkans |
| Countries / Regions | Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Ukraine |
| International Organisations | European Union [EU] |
