European Union considers strategic expansion and gradual integration

The European Union is navigating complex strategies for expansion, particularly regarding the Western Balkans and other candidate nations like Ukraine and Moldova. Zoran Jolewski, a former Macedonian defense minister and ambassador to the US, argues in a column for the Council on Foreign Relations that integrating the Western Balkans is a strategic necessity to prevent a power vacuum and mitigate the influence of external actors in the region.

To manage this expansion, the European Commission has proposed a model of ‘step-by-step integration’. This approach could allow candidate countries to participate in certain EU processes, such as appointing a commissioner or accessing the single market and research programs, before full membership is granted. However, the proposal includes strict conditions, such as requiring new members to sign binding commitments to uphold democratic standards and allowing the Commission to impose financial measures if there are regressions in judicial or democratic integrity.