The EPC's Task Force on the future of enlargement aims to fill a critical gap in communication surrounding the future of EU enlargement. Specifically, it seeks to evaluate whether the EU can meet its ambition to expand to 30+ member states and identify sustainable pathways toward achieving this goal.
Successful EU enlargement involves more than simply overcoming logistical obstacles in the accession negotiations. It also necessitates addressing deep-seated polarisation and issues that have divided EU member states for years, including the limits of enlargement and its implications for the balance of power, voting rights, seat distribution, decision-making, and policies in the EU.
Comprised of leading experts, academics, and policymakers from the EU and candidate countries, the goal of the Task Force is to:
- Carry out in-depth thematic discussions that offer a forum for participants to engage on the most pressing challenges surrounding EU enlargement. Topics include the geopolitical and moral imperative for EU enlargement, its impact on EU governance, and the potential for policy innovations to expedite the enlargement process.
- Develop a series of EPC Commentaries analysing key issues and potential solutions, as well as a final Strategic Paper that presents a workable strategy for the EU to successfully fulfil its enlargement promise in response to the new security reality arising from the war in Ukraine.
This Task Force is coordinated by
Teona Lavrelashvili, Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre, and it is an initiative of the EPC's European Politics and Institutions and Europe in the World programmes.
To find out more about the Task Force, watch this short YouTube video: