For nearly 30 years following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the violent break-up of Yugoslavia, our two countries were divided over the “name dispute”, which obstructed the relations between our peoples and weakened regional stability and the European perspective of the Western Balkans, write Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev.
Enlargement to the East, and to the Western Balkans, is a geostrategic imperative and will require reforms on both sides, writes Paulo Rangel.
While the current EU member states need a specific day as a reminder that belonging to the bloc bears advantages, for those outside, every day is ‘Europe Day’.
The European Union needs to create clearer benchmarks for the rule of law and judicial reform in Ukraine, which could then be replicated for other reform areas, write Snizhana Diachenko, Liubov Akulenko, and Viktoriia Melnyk.
Twenty years ago, on a sunny Saturday on 1 May 2004, three former Soviet Republics, three former Soviet satellite countries (one of them having split in two), one former Yugoslav republic, and two former British colonies joined the EU.
Showing courageous responsibility means today that we must make our European Union fit to take in new countries already in this decade, writes German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
Is it possible that a single piece of legislation could sway Georgia - an official candidate for EU membership since December - away from its EU path? And if so, does it mean that Vladimir Putin is winning back this former Soviet republic, the birthplace of Stalin?
Despite the security risks involved, there can be no going back on the EU’s commitment to a renewed enlargement process. But policymakers need to take steps to fulfil the EU’s aspiration of securing stability, writes Sir Michael Leigh.
Gradually integrating civil society from candidate countries into the EU will give them the ability to become as strong as they should be by the time of accession, write Oliver Röpke, Milojko Spajić and Edi Rama.
Two decades since the EU's “big bang” enlargement in 2004, the bloc's long-stalled ambition to accept new members has experienced a striking revival. Yet, beyond the moral and geopolitical arguments lurks a seldom asked question - is there an economic case for enlargement, and if so, for whom, write Mirek Dusek and Andrew Caruana Galizia.
Spain’s recognition of Kosovo passports has revitalised the debate over Kosovo’s statehood and what this means for Catalonia but the continued comparison of Kosovo with Catalonia is ill suited from the legal and political standpoint, argues Kushtrim Istrefi.
It will be the million-euro-question when EU leaders gather in Brussels on Thursday for the toughest summit of the year: What is it that Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán really, really wants?
In the Western Balkans, good things happen when the West is resolute, and the opposite is true when there is drift or apathy sets in. EU leaders would do well to bear this in mind when they meet for the EU-Western Balkans summit this week, write Michael Keating and Senad Šabović.
In science, the phrase 'quantum jump' or 'quantum leap' refers to a change of the state of an electron in an atom or molecule from one energy state to another, but in everyday usage, it describes a great improvement in a situation or a significant advance.
Sandwiched between two major conflicts – Russia's war in Ukraine to its east and the conflict in Gaza to its south – the EU needs much unity at home. Sorting out Schengen, the border-free area, could be a good way …
With the European Commission's enlargement report out, the ball is now in the court of EU leaders to decide how to proceed with the accession process - and their own reform homework.
Ukraine has made progress in implementing EU-mandated reforms, which are key for the start of its accession talks, but more will be needed down the line. In this opinion piece, Olena Halushka and Alyona Getmanchuk assess the progress made so far.
EU leaders must now give the green light for Ukrainian EU membership and prepare for a new round of enlargement, says European Council boss Charles Michel.
Assuming that the future of the EU migration and asylum pact is resolved next week, the attention of European leaders will shift to the bloc’s future, specifically whether it will take on new members. The matter will likely be high …
As the EU continues its soul-searching exercise to structure its approach to future enlargement, hopefuls outside the bloc now float 'progressive' integration as the short-term answer.
With EU enlargement back on the political agenda, the West has an opportunity to revitalise its policy toward the Western Balkans. To achieve this goal, the US must assume greater leadership by advocating for a staged and reversible accession process and increasing its efforts to reduce intra-regional tensions, write Nicholas Lokker and Kristen Taylor.
The Western Balkan countries aspiring to join the EU can count on Slovenia's support in their quest to join the bloc, write Slovenian leaders Nataša Pirc Musar, Robert Golob, and Tanja Fajon.
The clock is ticking for Ukraine: It will need to show whether it can reclaim Russian-occupied territories with Western weapons by autumn. After that, Western attention could start to falter.
Finland has a long-standing strong interest in the Western Balkans and supports its partners there in their European journey. But we also expect them to align fully with the EU's foreign and security policy and uphold human rights and the rule of law, writes Pekka Haavisto.
