Ukraine represents a "complex dilemma" in the context of EU enlargement, with questions regarding corruption, the independence of the judiciary and other fundamental values of the bloc on the one hand, and recognition of the need to reform the accession process on the other, according to a Financial Times publication, UNN writes.
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EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos says that previously, adding new members was viewed as an economic compromise, whereby new members opened their markets to existing members in exchange for development investment, which rapidly increased their GDP. Now there is a significant security and defense aspect.
NATO has provided Europe's security umbrella for generations, but Trump's attitude toward the alliance has prompted many capitals to question the transatlantic defense pact, the publication writes. Although few believe that the EU's mutual-defense clause is analogous to Article 5 of NATO, the bloc is presenting itself as an alternative framework for coordinating security policy. The candidate countries Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Turkey are already NATO members.
"Enlargement is not only about enabling the candidates to catch up with us... today it is also security policy. It is increasingly about how we Europeans can work together in the new realities of the world in which we live," Kos says.
Enlargement is about "reshaping Europe's political and security architecture to create a Europe capable of competing with other major global powers," she adds.
"Nowhere is this more evident than in Ukraine, whose armed forces are among the largest, best-equipped and certainly the most battle-hardened in Europe. EU member states want to see Kyiv and its formidable army on their team," the publication says. "But these advantages have a colossal downside. EU officials acknowledge that the scale of concerns over corruption, judicial independence and other fundamental values of the bloc means that the country would not have been granted an official accession process without Russia's invasion."
This contradiction and Ukraine's demand for "accelerated" accession next year as part of a possible peace agreement with Russia, as the publication notes, have forced Brussels to seriously consider whether a new approach to enlargement may be needed to match the new political realities.
The stated goal of joining by January 1, 2027, was "a cry for help," says a senior EU official who participated in negotiations with Ukraine: "[President Volodymyr] Zelensky knew that this was impossible. But he needed to send us, as well as Ukrainian citizens, an unambiguous signal that the ordinary accession agenda would not be enough."
A senior EU diplomat says that "Ukraine represents a complex dilemma." "You cannot bring into the EU a country of 40 million people that ranks 104th in the global corruption rankings. That would make a mockery of the entire project. But you also cannot leave them to their fate. Everyone can see that Ukraine will need something from us to ease the ordeal [of the long wait for full membership]," he said.
"Despite all the hopes and expectations of the candidate countries, the fundamental question remains: is the EU itself ready for new members, regardless of whether the new members are ready for the bloc?" the publication notes.
"Ukraine's greatest impact on the enlargement debate is undoubtedly that it has clearly shown how unprepared we are for new members," a senior EU official said.
"We also need internal commitments to reform," he added.
As enlargement rhetoric gathered momentum, capitals examined "ways of potentially changing the accession process or even the final outcome," the publication writes.
France and Germany initially circulated proposals that would offer a phased, gradual model of integration, with the benefits of membership extended in exchange for achieving reform milestones, instead of the existing system of full membership after the entire process had been completed.
"We need to evolve," EU Commissioner Kos said. "We are still using a methodology that is, more or less, the same as it was 40 years ago, when Spain and Portugal joined the EU."
In light of the proposals from France and Germany, which received an overall moderate reaction from the rest of the EU, "Brussels intends to publish its own proposals on a potential reform of enlargement, including what Kos describes as a technical assessment of the impact of a larger number of members on EU operations and policy, as well as proposals for gradual integration".
"Enlargement is now proceeding at a pace we have not seen in the past 15 years," she notes. "This requires leadership and building trust with all 27 of our member states".
"In the candidate countries, attitudes toward possible halfway membership are mixed. Kyiv has generally rejected anything short of full membership, while Belgrade has signaled its openness to the idea," the publication notes.