EU Enlargement and European Integration: Challenges and Perspectives

At the beginning of 2022, a major EU enlargement seemed unlikely in the near future. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 fundamentally shifted the European Commission’s stance. Ukraine and Moldova were granted EU candidate status, and Georgia was added to the list of potential candidates. This raises questions about the future of the European Neighbourhood Policy. While EU enlargement has gained momentum, certain areas of integration have stalled, such as the expansion of the eurozone and the Schengen area - despite Croatia’s recent accession, Romania and Bulgaria remain in waiting. Meanwhile, new formats of continental cooperation, such as the European Political Community, launched in 2022, raise the question of whether more differentiated integration models will emerge. Additionally, the war in Ukraine has exacerbated other crises, including inflation, the energy crisis, food shortages in the Global South, and unprecedented refugee movements - not only from Ukraine but also other regions. Against this backdrop, the 14th Network Europe Conference examined EU enlargement prospects and the challenges facing European integration in times of global crisis. This publication features contributions from Fatlum Ademi, Antonina Bakardjieva Engelbrekt, Melita Carevic, Jelena Ceranic Perisic, Viorel Cibotaru, Waltraud Hakenberg, Garine Hovsepian, Andreas Kellerhals, Lee McGowan, Henri Vogt and Ralph Weber. Network Europe was founded in 2003 by the Europa Institute at the University of Zurich with support from the Swiss government. It serves as a forum for scholarly exchange on legal and political aspects of European integration, bringing together researchers from across Europe.