EU enlargement
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Indispensable and imperfectly effective”: Addressing the deficits of EU Democracy Promotion in the Eastern Neighbourhood
The EU's democracy promotion has shifted from a challenge of passing reforms to one of making them last. To strengthen democratic resilience in its eastern neighbourhood, the bloc must invest more in trust, civic participation and local ownership.
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EU enlargement policy and democratisation in the neighbourhood: The role of external actors
The EU's enlargement policy remains a powerful tool—but in hybrid regimes, legal reforms alone are no longer enough. Without rebuilding trust and tackling informal power structures, enlargement risks reinforcing the very systems it seeks to transform.
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Fractured, integrated, at war? Five Scenarios for the geopolitical futures of Western Balkans in 2035
This paper outlines five plausible geopolitical futures for the Western Balkans by 2035 amid intensifying great-power competition and a shifting European security order. Drawing on scenario-building and collaborative foresight, it examines how EU enlargement, external actors, and domestic political dynamics could interact to shape stability, fragmentation, or renewed democratic momentum
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The interest of values: The EU’s democracy promotion in the Western Balkans and the eastern neighbourhood
This paper examines the policies and instruments the EU has deployed to promote democracy in the Western Balkans and the eastern neighbourhood
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Letting Ukraine into the EU will reinforce, not undermine, Europe’s security
Many Europeans fail to realise that EU enlargement is the only way to counter Russia and China – but this week, leaders must act
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Catch-27: The contradictory thinking about enlargement in the EU
A new power audit of member states’ positions on EU enlargement shows broad agreement that it is a geopolitical necessity, but major disagreements about how to prepare the EU.