GLOBSEC

August 2024

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has reinvigorated enlargement discussions in most European member states, says a new GLOBSEC policy brief by Jan Cingel. Governments now see enlargement policy as an instrument for effectively responding to the evolving geopolitical backdrop and strengthening the EU in its immediate neighbourhood.

It has also influenced discussions about EU integration in Slovakia. Experts and officials alike have underscored the significance of Ukraine’s future EU membership, especially its potential impact on the eastern regions of Slovakia. However, at the Slovak government level, structured and strategic discussions related to future enlargement (and its impact) are currently somewhat limited.

While there is no real ongoing dialogue between government elites and the expert community on enlargement at the moment, some recommendations can be advanced to ensure that Slovakia is adequately prepared for and a participant in the EU’s inevitable internal reform and future enlargement processes:

Prepare for enlargement
Support Ukraine’s victory
Strengthen the economic development and enlargement nexus narrative
Prioritise Ukraine’s EU membership
Shift towards strategic funds

You can find the full text of the policy brief EU Enlargement Discourse in Slovakia: Supporting It, but Better Let’s Not Talk About It here

The policy brief is part of a series of a Collaborative Research Project on EU enlargement and the key institutional reforms of the EU, necessary to prepare an EU with 35+ Member States, carried out in several EU member states and candidate countries by partner think tanks. The initiative is supported by the Open Society Foundations (OSFs), but the opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect OSFs positions. You can find other publications from the series here.