What changed

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

P10_TA(2026)0077

on the EU enlargement strategy

(2025/2110(INI))

Committee on Foreign Affairs

PE778.144

European Parliament resolution of 11 March 2026 on the EU enlargement strategy (2025/2110(INI))

– having regard to the Treaty on European Union (TEU), in particular Article 49 thereof,

B. whereas enlargement is one of the EU’s strongest foreign policy and geopolitical tools and remains a key driver of long-term security, peace, stability and prosperity in Europe, based on shared democratic values; whereas enlargement represents a historic and unique opportunity with significant socio-economic, political and security advantages for both the EU and the enlargement countries;

C. whereas the latest Eurobarometer report on enlargement indicates that 56 per cent% of EU citizens support further enlargement of the European Union, with Ukraine being the most favoured candidate for accession once all EU membership criteria have been met;

D. whereas according to the Eurobarometer report, previous rounds of enlargement are perceived to have delivered the greatest benefits in the areas of economic growth and competitiveness, followed by strengthened global influence of the EU and enhanced security and defence;

E. whereas the EU accession process delivers tangible results in itself, with the EU remaining the principal political, economic and trading partner of the enlargement countries; whereas the total trade volume of the Western Balkans with the EU increased by 62 per cent% after the Stabilisation and Association Agreements came into force; whereas the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements had a transformative effect on Moldova and Ukraine in terms of both trade and economic development, increasing their trade by 65.4 per65,4 cent% and 64.7 per64,7 cent% respectively;

F. whereas Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine poses a serious threat to security on the European continent and beyond, demonstrating that non-enlargement carries significant strategic costs and undermines security and stability across our continent; whereas stagnation in the enlargement process in recent years has created a vacuum, thus opening the space for Russia and China and other harmful non-EU actors; whereas Russia deliberately interferes in the countries of the Eastern Partnership and the Western Balkans through hybrid threat operations, including election interference and foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) campaigns, seeking to stall the EU accession process in these countries and posing a threat to security both for these regions, through its illegal occupation of parts of the territory of three candidate countries, and for the entire continent;

K. whereas the decision-making process on enlargement is laid down in Article 49 TEU and in the negotiating frameworks drawn up for each candidate country;

LL. whereas Parliament remains a reliable partner for accession countries and an advocate of the enlargement process, enabling institutional and socio-economic reforms for the benefit of citizens;

Geostrategic dimension of enlargement

32. Repeats its call for the EU’s capacity to act to be enhanced through the introduction of qualified majority voting (QMV) in areas relevant to the accession process by abolishing, in particular, the requirement for unanimity in the intermediate steps in the enlargement process when deciding on the opening and closing of individual negotiating clusters and chapters; regrets the fact that the overuse of unanimity in the intermediate steps in the enlargement process has repeatedly slowed down EU enlargement and is undermining popular support for EU integration;

33. Reiterates its position that, in addition to improving the decision-making process by implementing QMV in areas such as the protection of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, the multiannual financial framework (MFF), sanctions and other relevant foreign policy decisions, institutional reforms concerning the workable size and efficient functioning of key EU institutions must be considered, which includes composition of the Commission, the size of Parliament and the system of rotating presidencies of the Council; stresses that all of these reforms must strengthen citizens’ participation and involvement;

33. Considers a review of EU sectoral policies necessary to assess how to accommodate new Member States and ensure the efficient functioning of an enlarged Union; welcomes the forthcoming pre-enlargement policy reviews as an essential step in preparing the Union for new members;

34. Considers a review of EU sectoral policies necessary to assess how to accommodate new Member States and ensure the efficient functioning of an enlarged Union; welcomes the forthcoming pre-enlargement policy reviews as an essential step in preparing the Union for new members;

34. Emphasises that the enlargement process offers considerable potential for convergence in several key areas, such as the economy, environmental protection and security, as previous enlargement rounds have shown; welcomes the early convergence effects triggered by a European perspective; underlines that cohesion policy and the common agricultural policy play a central role in promoting convergence among EU Member States and should be safeguarded for an enlarged Union;

35. Emphasises that the enlargement process offers considerable potential for convergence in several key areas, such as the economy, environmental protection and security, as previous enlargement rounds have shown; welcomes the early convergence effects triggered by a European perspective; underlines that cohesion policy and the common agricultural policy play a central role in promoting convergence among EU Member States and should be safeguarded for an enlarged Union;

35. Acknowledges the importance of broadly applying gradual integration, in a merit-based and reversible manner, into EU common policies, such as the single market, including the digital single market, for candidate countries that make substantial progress on EU-related reforms, while fully preserving the integrity of the EU internal market and maintaining a level playing field; stresses that while the gradual integration of candidate countries can help them implement the EU acquis and thus make the transition towards EU membership smoother, it cannot replace full membership of the EU; underlines that future Member States should have the same rights and obligations as current Member States and strongly opposes creating different classes of membership;

36. Acknowledges the importance of broadly applying gradual integration, in a merit-based and reversible manner, into EU common policies, such as the single market, including the digital single market, for candidate countries that make substantial progress on EU-related reforms, while fully preserving the integrity of the EU internal market and maintaining a level playing field; stresses that while the gradual integration of candidate countries can help them implement the EU acquis and thus make the transition towards EU membership smoother, it cannot replace full membership of the EU; underlines that future Member States should have the same rights and obligations as current Member States and strongly opposes creating different classes of membership;

36. Highlights the fact that the most rewarding and best-received outcome of gradual integration is visa liberalisation; supports the new rules that would allow the suspension of visa liberalisation for nationals of enlargement countries who are responsible for democratic backsliding and grave human rights violations, including the persecution of and use of violence against peaceful protesters, civil society, media workers and opposition politicians;

37. Highlights the fact that the most rewarding and best-received outcome of gradual integration is visa liberalisation; supports the new rules that would allow the suspension of visa liberalisation for nationals of enlargement countries who are responsible for democratic backsliding and grave human rights violations, including the persecution of and use of violence against peaceful protesters, civil society, media workers and opposition politicians;

37. Stresses that opportunities for gradual integration should be made available to the candidate countries in line with the merit-based and conditionality approach; emphasises that it is essential to ensure the reversibility of gradual integration in cases where a candidate country backslides in delivering on commitments;

38. Stresses that opportunities for gradual integration should be made available to the candidate countries in line with the merit-based and conditionality approach; emphasises that it is essential to ensure the reversibility of gradual integration in cases where a candidate country backslides in delivering on commitments;

38. Reiterates that the enlargement process should be supported by the involvement of candidate countries in the functioning of the EU institutions, including through observer status in relevant bodies and institutions, including Parliament and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights;

39. Reiterates that the enlargement process should be supported by the involvement of candidate countries in the functioning of the EU institutions, including through observer status in relevant bodies and institutions, including Parliament and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights;

39. Stresses the importance of fostering public awareness within European societies about EU enlargement and its role in future-proofing European integration; highlights the fact that a successful enlargement process will depend significantly on a clear and transparent communication strategy;

40. Stresses the importance of fostering public awareness within European societies about EU enlargement and its role in future-proofing European integration; highlights the fact that a successful enlargement process will depend significantly on a clear and transparent communication strategy;

Supporting enlargement countries on their path towards EU membership

41.40. Stresses that in addition to setting individual reform targets, roadmaps and intermediate timelines for each accession country, the EU should enhance the transparency of the process and establish clear and predictable timelines for the accession of the candidate countries most advanced on their accession path in order to avoid losing momentum and credibility; believes that EU enlargement should take place as soon as all accession conditions are met in the candidate countries concerned;

42.41. Stresses that key reforms affecting the functioning and independence of institutions must not be rushed or politically instrumentalised, particularly in candidate countries with complex constitutional arrangements; underlines that accelerated procedures or pressure to meet political timelines must not come at the expense of the legal quality and institutional integrity of the reforms;

43.42. Considers that pre-accession financial assistance, including the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova facilities, is pivotal for ensuring that enlargement countries receive structured financial support for institutional and economic transformation; stresses that all EU financial assistance must observe and maintain pre-accession support conditionality, including on the rule of law and the fight against corruption, in order to safeguard the financial interests of the EU and the citizens of both parties; notes the need to adjust IPA implementation modalities to facilitate the preparation and learning process necessary for the use of structural funds;

44.43. Emphasises that enlargement necessitates financial reforms to address challenges in cohesion and agricultural policies, among others, and to ensure that the EU budget continues to have the capacity to deliver on existing programmes and political priorities;

45.44. Notes that the Commission’s proposal for the 2028-2034 MFFmultiannual financial framework (MFF) clearly identifies enlargement as one of the EU’s strategic priorities; highlights the fact that enlargement is a central pillar of the Global Europe instrument, accounting for 21 per cent% (or EUR 43.143,1 billion) of its proposed budget, covering all current and potential candidate countries as well as partners in the Eastern Neighbourhood, and providing targeted funding for pre-accession assistance, institutional strengthening and the EU’s internal preparations for future accessions;

46.45. Calls for adequate pre-accession funding under the new MFF, suitable for the expected EU enlargement during its application as some candidate countries are likely to join the EU during the application period of the upcoming MFF; calls for clear and consistent allocations and earmarking of pre-accession funds for candidate and potential candidate countries in the Global Europe pillar of the MFF and stresses that these must be safeguarded from diversion to other external priorities and should clearly reflect the priorities in the fundamental areas while improving the visibility and transparency of pre-accession assistance; insists that funds must directly support the rule of law, public administration reform, social and territorial cohesion, and the empowerment and involvement of local civil society actors and independent media in order to ensure transparency, prevent misuse of funds and maintain the public accountability of beneficiary governments; calls on the Commission to consistently apply targeted conditionality on the basis of clear progress benchmarks, rewarding reforms and sanctioning regression or a persistent lack of progress;

47.46. Reiterates its call for the establishment of a framework for effective cooperation between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the accession countries; encourages candidates and potential candidates for EU accession to swiftly conclude bilateral working arrangements with the EPPO in order to facilitate close cooperation and the prosecution of the misuse of EU funds;

48.47. Underlines the need to strengthen and better align funding for the implementation of environmental, climate and animal welfare measures, as well as capacity-building support for candidate countries; notes the cross-sectoral nature and high cost of these measures and the fact that they are crucial for sustainable development, alignment with the EU Green Deal and animal welfare legislation, and integration into the internal market;

49.48. Highlights the importance of including candidate countries in ongoing and future EU projects on EU connectivity, transport, energy infrastructure, the green transition, digital security, resilience and military mobility, so as to strengthen Europe’s security in a challenging geopolitical environment;

50.49. Stresses the strategic importance of the Black Sea region for the security and prosperity of the entire European continent; underlines the need to enhance connectivity between Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria and Türkiye across transport, energy and digital infrastructure, in order to reinforce regional resilience, diversify supply chains and secure alternative trade routes;

51.50. Stresses the strategic importance of transport and energy infrastructure projects in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans with a view to strengthening the EU’s geostrategic autonomy, and calls for their swift completion and full operationalisation;

52.51. Is concerned about China’s increasing influence in the enlargement countries, the economic and political dependencies resulting from China’s financial assistance programmes and considerable investments in key sectors such as energy, telecommunications, infrastructure and the extractive and raw material sector, and the long-term consequences for democratic resilience, economic security and European interests; calls for stronger, more visible EU engagement, including through credible investment alternatives;

53.52. Welcomes the tangible results achieved for citizens by reducing roaming charges between the EU and the Western Balkans; calls on the Commission to accelerate efforts to extend such roaming arrangements to all enlargement countries in order to achieve ‘Roam Like at Home’ and a Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) for all candidate and potential candidate countries as soon as possible;

54.53. Calls for greater focus on investment in human capital to foster competitiveness and innovation in the candidate countries and find tangible solutions to youth unemployment;

55.54. Reiterates its calls on the Council, the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to strengthen proactive and strategic communication efforts on the tangible benefits of EU membership in enlargement countries and within the Member States, by developing tailor-made, fact-based and results-oriented communication strategies that underpin EU objectives and include local civil society and media, rather than relying on generic communication campaigns; highlights, in this context, the crucial role of young people, as youth movements have repeatedly proven key in contributing to pro-democratic activism in candidate countries; reiterates, furthermore, its call on the Commission to ensure full visibility and public awareness of the EU’s support and investments in candidate countries, including when these are channelled via international organisations, with clear signposting and the flag of the EU; emphasises that while the United States has stopped supporting independent media and civil society actors in candidate countries, the EU has a strong interest in stepping up rapidly; emphasises that citizens’ support will be decisive in ratification processes and that communication must therefore appeal to both reason and emotion; urges the EU institutions to foster inclusive public debates on enlargement, engaging the general public in meaningful debate and enabling their effective participation in the process; underlines the importance of greater grassroots engagement of citizens in the enlargement process, both in the EU Member States and in accession countries;

56.55. Emphasises the key role of authorities and political leaders in the enlargement countries in building cross-party cooperation towards EU accession reforms, maintaining cross-societal consensus for EU membership and communicating the benefits of EU accession to citizens efficiently and continuously; highlights the crucial role of civil society organisations in promoting fact-based public discourse on EU integration, countering disinformation and facilitating informed public debate; calls on the Commission and the Member States to systematically involve civil society actors in strategic communication efforts relating to enlargement and EU-supported reforms;

57.56. Urges the Commission, including at the highest level, to use clearer and more direct language in its public communication, including on shortcomings, lack of progress and backsliding, particularly regarding the rule of law, in order to uphold conditionality, defend EU values and maintain the confidence of pro-European and pro-democratic actors;

58.57. Calls for the EU institutions and the Member States to fully engage in further strengthening the reform processes in the candidate countries, in particular by enhancing their administrative capacities through targeted capacity-building programmes; calls for academic and educational cooperation among EU Member States and enlargement countries to be boosted by encouraging training courses focused on European values and the rule of law, good governance, public administration and the eradication of corruption, and by creating a venue for joint training for public officials from enlargement countries, including officials from local and regional authorities; highlights the success of twinning projects in transferring sectoral expertise and stresses the need to build on this positive experience, not least to increase ownership of the enlargement process within the Member States; stresses that capacity-building programmes should also prioritise strengthening independent civil society organisations and safeguarding the space in which they operate; calls on the Commission to support programmes that empower local communities, volunteers and civic initiatives that promote democratic culture, European values and social cohesion;

59.58. Underlines the role of parliamentary diplomacy, accountability and EU democracy support programmes in sustaining the reform momentum; reiterates its readiness to enhance regular and transparent dialogue and cooperation with the national parliaments of candidate and potential candidate countries by building on previous positive experiences and successful formats, making full use of Parliament’s existing democracy support tools and initiatives and promoting increased parliamentary oversight of the EU accession process and related reforms;

60.59. Underlines the need for electoral reforms that ensure free, fair and democratic elections in line with international standards; stresses that benchmarks on pluralism, party integrity, the transparency of party and media financing, and judicial and media independence are preconditions for financial support and progress; encourages the EU and the Member States to use participatory instruments involving citizens, parliaments, civil society and young people to exchange views, increase mutual understanding and instil a sense of ownership before formal accession takes place;

61.60. Is concerned about the large-scale and malicious disinformation campaigns that have been continuously conducted by Russia and other actors for many years, which have increased in intensity since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; notes that candidate and potential candidate countries and the EU’s neighbourhood have been a clear focal point of Russian FIMI operations, one of the aims of which is to discredit the EU and diminish the perceived value of EU integration;

62.61. Encourages stronger EU dialogue with civil society and greater support for independent investigative media, fact-checking bodies and civil society organisations working on media literacy in order to effectively counter disinformation and foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI); highlights the need for continuous support for and close cooperation with all enlargement countries facing strong external interference in their process of convergence with the EU and in their electoral processes; calls for the lessons learned from the EU Partnership Mission in Moldova to be applied; stresses the importance of assessing and improving the effectiveness of EU instruments designed to assist candidate countries in countering FIMI; welcomes the Commission’s intention to expand the proposed European Democracy Shield to the accession countries, thereby reinforcing their capacity to respond to threats such as FIMI and disinformation campaigns; calls on the Commission and the EEAS to deepen cooperation with vulnerable enlargement countries on information resilience, cybersecurity and hybrid threats; calls on the EEAS and the EU delegations in third countries to further strengthen their respective capacities to fight and counter disinformation and propaganda against the EU’s CFSP, including by investing in communication campaigns to fight foreign influence;

63.62. Notes with concern that Russia has increasingly portrayed itself as a global defender of ‘traditional values’ by instrumentalising the Russian Orthodox Church as a vehicle for disinformation and soft-power projection, particularly in the countries of the former Soviet Union; underlines that such practices are designed to undermine democracy, social cohesion and pro-European orientations; calls for the CFSP and the enlargement policy to include specific measures to counter such influence, including faith-based diplomacy, strategic communication, and support for religious communities that were victims of Soviet oppression;

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64.63. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, and the governments and parliaments of the enlargement countries.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the ongoing significant geopolitical shifts have prompted a new dynamism in the enlargement process. With the granting of candidate status to Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, there are now ten countries that have embarked upon a path towards the EU. From the EU’s perspective, enlargement is a geo-strategic investment in peace, security, stability and prosperity. While the expectations and progress of individual candidate countries are different, they are all evaluated based on fair and rigorous conditionality, the principle of own merits and reversibility.

This report evaluates the suitability and relevance of the current EU political position on enlargement and the methodology applied by the Commission, assessing the overall progress in the accession preparations and negotiations to drive forward irreversible reforms. It draws on AFET’s prior work on the subject, including annual country enlargement reports and recommendation.

ANNEX: DECLARATION OF INPUT

The rapporteur declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not include in his report input from interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies, to be listed in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Date adopted

28.1.2026

Result of final vote

+:

–:

0:

44

11

8

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL BY THE COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

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