Opinion: "Associate memberships revisited: Getting the EU enlargement policy right"
Europe
Caucasus
Western Balkans
Ukraine
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Comment
In an opinion piece for Frankfurter Rundschau, Andreas Wittkowsky argues for “Associated EU memberships”.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, three countries of the EU’s Eastern Partnership – Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia – have applied to join the European Union. The informal EU summit in Versailles on 10-11 March 2022, while reaffirming that the countries were part of the “European family”, did not raise hopes for rapid accessions. Indeed, the process to membership does not lend itself to geopolitical shortcuts. Nevertheless, the EU should not remain on the defensive but send a powerful political signal. Associate memberships would be an innovation serving that aim.