Download European Family Action Plan 
Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine reopened the discussion on enlargement policy as a transformative and stabilizing tool in the EU’s neighbourhood. In the December 2023 European Council, the EU leaders decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, while granting candidacy status to Georgia.
It is fair to say that the European Union has advanced very rapidly when it comes to Ukraine’s application, but the symbolic and publicly visible steps of this enlargement process, the celebrations and the big announcements, are now behind us. The calls for a quick geopolitical enlargement have also mostly faded into the background. Given that full accession is years away, we find ourselves amidst debates about staged accession or alternative forms of integration, as proposed in various studies about Europe of variable geometries.
We are at a point where the EU should develop a new form of realistic transitionary integration, one that prepares candidate countries for EU membership while including them in policies, programs, agencies, and funding, and, most importantly, inviting them to partake in shaping the EU beyond their already existing Association Agreements. What is needed now is a European Family Action Plan.
Download Enlargement: Securing Europe in Times of War
More than two years since the start of Russia’s aggressive assault on Ukraine, there has been a notable shift in the European Union’s stance on enlargement. Despite initial hesitations from many member states, including the strong reservations expressed by Hungarian Prime Minister
Viktor Orbán, the European Council of December 2023 endorsed the European Commission’s recommendations to begin accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, and to recognise the candidate status of Georgia. The EU’s increased prioritisation of enlargement has also accelerated the process with the six Western Balkan countries, notably the start of accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
These decisions, unthinkable just three years ago, represent a landmark change in European integration. This paper analyses the factors driving this change, argues that the next enlargement
is unlikely to be quick and easy, and considers the EU policy priorities – in the security, defence, and foreign policy areas – that most urgently require reform.