The geopolitics of EU enlargement

Date
March 12, 2026, 9:00 AM to 9:45 AM EDT
Virtual Event
Gert Jan Koopman (European Commission) and Nicolas Véron (PIIE)
Event Summary

The European Union has not admitted a new member state since Croatia in 2013, while the United Kingdom left the block in 2020. Enlargement, however, is now back on the EU agenda. Western Balkan countries such as Montenegro are coming close to EU membership, and the new geopolitical context has fostered a reconsideration of the EU enlargement approach altogether. What factors will determine which new countries will join the European Union and when, and what are the next steps?

HOST

Nicolas Véron
Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)

GUEST

Gert Jan Koopman
Director-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood, European Commission

Video

Series

About This Series

Europe faces a turbulent new era of economic, security, and governance challenges. Join Nicolas Véron, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, for What Now, Europe?, a virtual series and podcast with experts and practitioners diving into Europe's future in a changing world.

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