European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos has outlined four areas in which the EU should adapt its enlargement process to today’s geopolitical realities. Kos called for internal EU reforms to make decision-making more efficient, including limiting opportunities for individual Member States to block decisions. She also stressed the need for stronger safeguards against democratic and rule-of-law backsliding after accession. A third priority is a more ambitious approach to gradual integration, allowing candidate countries to benefit from closer integration before full membership and moving beyond the traditional “all or nothing” model. Finally, Kos highlighted the need for transitional measures to manage the effects of future enlargement on existing Member States and the EU budget. She argued that lengthy accession processes create uncertainty that geopolitical rivals can exploit and stressed that enlargement must evolve as candidate countries move closer to membership. Read more here.
European Western Balkans