20 years after the EU's largest accession round, in which the Union grew by ten new member states, EU enlargement policy is in a phase of new relevance for the future of Europe. During the so-called big bang enlargement, the focus was on stabilising the neighbourhood through transformation processes, so that the accession process was characterised by a logic of modernisation. With Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the geopolitical environment has changed drastically. Enlargement itself is intended to ensure stabilisation according to a geopolitical logic. This has led to a revitalisation of EU enlargement policy after almost two decades of stagnation and its extension to the former association trio of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
The relevant question now is "How can the EU strengthen its enlargement and neighbourhood policy to increase Europe's resilience?". The background paper on the Horizon Europe project InvigoratEU presents the details of the conceptual framework that will guide the corresponding analyses in the project. The publication takes a critical look at the concept of resilience, discusses the two logics of enlargement policy and their mutual relevance and presents the Triple R approach: Reform of the current neighbourhood and enlargement policy, reaction (respond) to geopolitical challenges and holistic reconstruction (rebuild) of Europe.
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