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Ukraine’s membership bid has placed enlargement high on the EU’s agenda. The bloc must rethink the accession process to make it more effective while maintaining democratic and rule-of-law standards.
The EU needs to plan now for a new policy toward its Eastern neighbors. It cannot wait for Russia to end its destruction of Ukraine or destabilize other countries in the region.
After Viktor Orbán’s landslide victory, the illiberal Hungary experiment will continue. Brussels must respond decisively to the erosion of democracy and media freedom.
Moscow is seeking to revise the existing world order. Liberal Europe’s biggest mistake would be compromising on its core values and legitimizing Putin’s approach to international politics.
Ukrainians fleeing their homes in cities under Russian bombardment have been met with kindness and solidarity in Poland. To fully restore its image in the EU, Warsaw must show it respects the values Ukraine is fighting for.
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, no country in the EU’s Eastern neighborhood can feel secure about its future. Strengthening the resilience of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Moldova must become the union's immediate priority.
Belarus is instrumental in Russia’s ongoing military attack on Ukraine. Developments since the 2020 rigged election in Belarus and the forthcoming changes to its constitution reflect Lukashenko’s growing dependence on Putin.*
Putin continues to focus on the preservation of his system by means of Russian domestic and foreign policy. His threat of invading Ukraine is leaving other troubling developments out of the headlines.
Three decades after Maastricht, the EU remains a work in progress. While the political constellation in 2022 seems favorable to reforms in several policy areas, the union could easily once again be thrown into crisis mode.
Civil society is under attack in the EU’s neighborhood. To defend democracy, academic freedom, and independent thought, Europe should step up its assistance to repressed voices.*
Differing threat perceptions in Western and Central Europe combined with democratic backsliding risk creating dangerous fractures within the EU. Building a shared understanding of today’s security challenges must go hand in hand with strengthening democracy in the bloc.
The fate of Serbia’s democracy is in the hands of its citizens. If the country is to move toward democratic accountability, it will be through bottom-up action, not the EU’s membership conditionality.
The EU’s Eastern Partnership has brought tangible benefits to its member countries but does not reflect today’s geopolitical realities. The approaching summit is a chance to tailor the initiative to partners’ diverging needs.
Together, the United States and Europe can modernize the post–1945 international order. This requires a strong commitment to democracy and the defense of the norms and values that define the West.
To avoid an open rule-of-law dialogue with the EU, Turkey is being selective in its areas of engagement with the bloc. The union must make clear that compartmentalizing EU-Turkey relations to suit Ankara’s domestic political convenience is not acceptable.
Among Belarusians, trust in the political elite remains low while the perceived effectiveness of EU sanctions is decreasing. The union must keep the latter in mind when assessing its strategy toward the country.
The EU remains the Western Balkans’ primary trading partner and investor. But failing to step up engagement and deliver on enlargement promises will come at a high cost and benefit the likes of Russia and China.
With twenty months left until Turkey’s legislative and presidential elections, the political debate will be fierce. The West may choose to sit it out rather than see its relationship with Ankara deteriorate even further.
Belarus is illegally sending migrants to Lithuania and Poland in response to these governments’ outspoken criticism of Lukashenko’s crackdown on the opposition. This cynical strategy is prompting the EU to forge its own short-sighted migration policy.
For Georgia’s ruling party, regime survival seems to trump all other considerations. Georgian Dream’s fight with Western partners and persistent political polarization risk undoing the country’s democratic progress.
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