As France managed to delay start of working group to draft Montenegro's accession treaty, new focus of enlargement debate in 2026:
📌 internal EU reforms
📌parameters of the future membership

🔴 Risk: as 🇪🇺 is not (yet) ready to enlarge, some will hide behind tougher scrutiny of the leading hopefuls

Thanks for picking up my comment in today’s Newsletter:

🟢 How France tried to slow Montenegro’s EU accession

For a week 🇫🇷 was blocking 2 out of 5 negotiating chapters. “Paris was toying with the idea of slowing down 🇲🇪 in order to achieve some other objectives,” said Milan Nič @dgap.org👇

Een nieuwe Tsjechische regering onder leiding van populist Andrej Babis is nabij, en daarmee een nieuwe uitdaging voor de EU. Wat kunnen we verwachten?

www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/... in @nrc.nl

Thanks to @milanninberlin.bsky.social from @dgap.org en @janfarsky.bsky.social from @europarl.europa.eu

Conference on EU connectivity in the Eastern neighborhood just started in Brussels

Organized by @dgap.org with support from @ec.europa.eu

dgap.org/en/events/eu...

Starting soon at DGAP in Berlin - podium discussion on 🇷🇸 Serbia’s escalating domestic crisis & implications for EU enlargement, Germany’s Balkan policy

dgap.org/en/events/se...

That‘s why it‘s all the more important to take a close look at what Washington Post photographer captured.

This is fantastic journalism, and analysis. Hats off to @christopherjm.ft.com

Well worth a read

www.ft.com/content/4d61...

Kudos to @shahinvallee.bsky.social
@josephdeweck.bsky.social for putting together a great forward-looking workshop on ‘Reforming the #Schuldenbremse & #EU Fiscal Framework’ at @dgap.org with @delorsberlin.bsky.social

„Von Weckrufen & Instrumentenkästen“ – beim @internationalepolitik.de-Event mit @joerglau.bsky.social, @carlomasala1.bsky.social & @claudmajor.bsky.social sezieren wir Phrasen der Außenpolitik. Lau kritisiert: „Prinzipielle Statements ersetzen die strategische Diskussion.“ Heute reden wir Klartext.

A terrific visual investigation about Russia’s low-risk, high-reward hybrid war on NATO countries’ critical infrastructure ig.ft.com/baltic-sea/?...

Musk joins German far right's opening rally remotely, instructs Germans to stop feeling guilty and reminds them how impressed Caesar had been with German tribes' ability to fight.

Could not make this up.

Unsurprising

We are discussing shifting security trends, the war’s impact on 🇪🇺 strategy and key elements for a revised EaP policy & the interplay between domestic & foreign threats. #Geopolitics #EU #EaP /2

@meistefan1.bsky.social @pociumban.bsky.social

DGAP is thrilled to hold a workshop of the Eastern Partnership Think Tank Network under the 🇪🇺 Polish Presidency 🇵🇱 on redefining the EU’s role as a security actor in the Eastern Neighbourhood. With 🇷🇺’s war on 🇺🇦 & hybrid threats, trade & energy are increasingly securitized. /1

Welcome dinner at Warsaw workshop on security dimension of EU policy towards Eastern neighborhood #EaP co-organized by @dgap.org @mieroszewskipl.bsky.social @poland25eu
@polandmfa.bsky.social

What to expect in the Western Balkans in 2025? Last Friday, our expert Milan Nič took part in a virtual panel discussion organised by @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social on the region & the key developments we can expect in the upcoming months.

Take a look now! 📺