EU Confidential Growing pains: Can the EU handle enlargement?
Nov 14, 2025
In this discussion, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, head of Europa Nostra, emphasizes the cultural unity needed for a complete Europe while highlighting the dangers of enlargement fatigue. Vjosa Osmani, Kosovo's president, passionately advocates for her country's merit-based EU membership amidst ongoing reforms. Eirikur Bergmann, an Icelandic political analyst, shares insights into Iceland's complex relationship with the EU and the renewed interest in membership driven by geopolitical changes and local debates.
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Enlargement Now Feels Existential
- Geopolitics has re-energized EU enlargement and reframed it as a matter of existence, not just policy.
- The war in Ukraine made EU membership a security and identity imperative for neighbors like Moldova and Ukraine.
Western Balkans Are Europe's Inner Courtyard
- Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović says momentum for reunion exists and Western Balkans are an 'inner courtyard', not periphery.
- She warns leaving the region unstable invites outside powers to destabilize Europe.
Pull Countries In Before Full Membership
- Use creative integration steps to bring candidates into EU structures without immediately granting full voting rights.
- Let aspirant countries participate in programs to bind them closer while easing member-state fears.