The EU’s new enlargement package puts geopolitics firmly at the centre – and rightly so. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine jolted enlargement out of a decade-long slumber and turned it into a core European security imperative. The European Commission also frames enlargement as a source of prosperity, drawing a straight line between past accession rounds and today’s stronger, safer EU. With these messages, the new enlargement package strikes the right tone – in timing and political intent – but they will only matter if the EU shows the resolve to turn momentum into action.  

Read the full publication by the Centre for European Policy Studies here.