Webinar fact-checking: Enlargement, a danger for the EU? Replay available
On January the 20th, we launched the Notre Europe Academy’s ‘fact-checking’ webinar series with a burning question: is enlargement a danger to the EU?
This webinar highlighted how this issue, long relegated to the background, has returned to the forefront of the European debate. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has revived the strategic importance of the Union, while reactivating a set of fears widely echoed in public debate: dilution of the European project, loss of sovereignty, ungovernable institutions and excessive costs.
It is in this complex and often misunderstood context that our webinar was designed to put the facts back at the heart of the debate. Together with Benjamin Couteau, searcher at the Centre Grande Europe of the Jacques Delors Institute and a specialist in relations between the EU, the Western Balkans and Turkey, we explored three key questions: does enlargement weaken or strengthen the European Union? What would be the real costs and benefits? Can the European Union grow without renouncing its European values?
What the webinar highlighted:
During the discussion, one key idea emerged: far from the alarmist views that sometimes dominate public debate, enlargement can be a strategic lever for strengthening the European Union. As Benjamin Couteau pointed out, new enlargements are no longer solely driven by democratic or economic consolidation, but are taking place in a context where Europe’s power and security are once again at the centre of the political agenda.
Beyond the differences of opinion and criticism raised by the subject of enlargement, Benjamin Couteau makes one thing clear: the subject is not sufficiently present in European and national debates. With each new accession, the Union undertakes reforms and deepens its functioning, changes that affect all European citizens.
‘Enlargement goes hand in hand with the deepening of the European project and the strengthening of the European Union’ says Benjamin Couteau.
A highlight:
This first webinar in the debunking series highlighted how essential it is to move beyond impressions and return to the facts. It was reiterated that, beyond preconceived notions, enlargement remains a strategic, structuring and deeply political project that deserves a clear and informed debate commensurate with the challenges at stake. Whether seen as a threat by some or a magic solution by others, enlargement remains above all a major political tool that will shape the future of the European project.
