According to a Eurobarometer survey, just over half of Europeans (53%) support further enlargement of the European Union to include new member states. Denmark, which takes over the EU Council presidency on July 1 after Poland, has announced that enlargement will be one of its priorities for the coming six months, calling it a “geopolitical necessity” crucial for stabilizing Europe.
On Monday, June 30, and Tuesday, July 1, a meeting will take place in Skopje between EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kós and leaders from the Western Balkans countries to discuss the implementation of the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. This €6 billion plan supports the economic integration of the region with the EU, enabling investments in sectors such as energy, transport, and digital transformation.
“We want a stronger European Union. I believe that every new member who meets the criteria and successfully passes through the accession process, including the approval of successive clusters, has a place in the Community. These efforts mainly concern Western Balkan countries—for example, Albania is effectively advancing its negotiations,” said Michał Szczerba, Member of the European Parliament from the Civic Platform party, speaking to the Newseria agency.
Currently, nine countries have official candidate status for EU membership (excluding potential candidates like Kosovo): Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Georgia, Moldova, Turkey, and Ukraine. Turkey has held this status since 1999, but negotiations have been frozen for several years. The Georgian government has also decided to suspend its accession talks. The closest to joining the EU are Albania and Montenegro, with Moldova potentially joining within a few years.
“Moldova is a country that narrowly avoided disaster by maintaining societal control over its state. We intend to support Moldova by strengthening its institutional and democratic resilience. The plan for Moldova, valued at €1.9 billion, aims to reinforce institutions but also to protect the country from unauthorized interference by third countries, especially the Russian Federation,” Michał Szczerba emphasized.
Moldova has been a candidate country since 2022, and accession negotiations began in June 2024. The EU foresees a possible accession date by 2030. The recently adopted EU Reform and Growth Plan for Moldova, worth €1.9 billion (including €520 million in grants and €1.5 billion in loans), aims to accelerate Moldova’s socioeconomic transformation and EU integration. One of the biggest geopolitical challenges in Moldova’s EU integration process is the status of Transnistria, a separatist, pro-Russian region in the east of the country.
“There are always unresolved issues and conflicts that are temporarily or longer dormant. However, I am fully convinced that Commissioner Marta Kós is consistent in this regard. She has cooperated with the Polish Foreign Minister to ensure that enlargement is not just a slogan but a concrete task that will be accomplished,” the Civic Platform MEP said.
The Stockholm Center for Eastern European Studies states that the EU’s decision to begin accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova is a geostrategic investment that can strengthen European security order and prevent Russia from achieving its ambitions. If Ukraine and Moldova remain in the gray zone between the EU/NATO and Russia, this could pose significant security risks to all of Europe, as Russia might use these countries as arenas for continuing conventional and hybrid aggression. Furthermore, delayed or failed EU enlargement would allow other countries, such as Russia or China, to increase their influence in the region.
“I’m rooting for all countries heading towards membership. Undoubtedly, after the end of hostilities and, hopefully, a victory over Russia, Ukraine could quickly embark on the path to enlargement,” Michał Szczerba assessed. “We should support this country. At the same time, we must also defend our interests, for example in agriculture or the influx of products that could destabilize our market. Politically yes, but at the same time, we should act in the interest of our producers, who were once poorly treated by the previous government when it led to an uncontrolled inflow of grain to the Polish market, causing major destabilization and reduced income for Polish producers.”
Potential Ukrainian accession would pose a significant challenge for Polish agriculture. Ukraine is a competitive agricultural producer due to favorable soil and climatic conditions, as well as large-scale, export-oriented farms with low production costs. According to European Commission data, in 2023 Ukraine was the third-largest source of EU agri-food imports by value, with cereals accounting for nearly 22% of total exports.
