InvigoratEU publications

Analytical Glossary

The Analytical Glossary by Funda Tekin and Hannah Brandt provides detailed and concise definitions, terminology, concepts and benchmarks as key reference document for InvigoratEU research.

InvigoratEU conceptual background paper

The InvigoratEU conceptual background paper by Funda Tekin, Hannah Brandt, Pol Bargués and Ramūnas Vilpišauskas provides academic reflections on Europe’s resilience and a (re)invigorated EU enlargement and neighbourhood strategy. It first outlines the milestones of the EU’s policies with its neighbourhood. A guiding question is whether and if so in how far the EU’s enlargement policy can live up to its reputation of being one of the EU’s most successful foreign policies again – a label that has seemed too ambitious for the past two decades in view of the countries in the Eastern Neighbourhood and Western Balkans.  Subsequently, the concept of resilience is introduced and critically assessed in the context of EU foreign policy. The InvigoratEU Triple-R-Approach: Reforming, Responding, Rebuilding guides the remaining part of the study, in which the challenges and potentials of EU enlargement and neighbourhood policies will be assessed. These will be analysed in terms of contribution to democratic consolidation, conflict prevention, capacity-building, enhancing security and the protection against hybrid threats and potentials for connectivity and sustainable (social and economic) development.

Report on EU´s enlargement & neighbourhood policy toolbox

The Report on EU’s Enlargement & Neighbourhood Policy Toolbox by Frank Schimmelfennig and Levan Kakhishvili critically examines the European Union’s (EU) enlargement and neighbourhood policy, focusing on its existing tools, objectives, and necessary reforms. The analysis aims to inform future policy development to enhance the EU’s resilience, particularly in light of evolving geopolitical contexts and the ongoing integration challenges within the Eastern Neighbourhood and Western Balkans. The report divides the evolution of the EU enlargement policy into three phases: the “big bang” enlargement of 1990-2004, protracted enlargement of 2005-2021, and geopolitical enlargement since 2022. It has been found that different sets of factors have determined the variation of the EU strategy for enlargement across the timeframe. These factors include the domestic EU context, the progress of transformation in aspirant countries, and geopolitical considerations. although the policy of conditionality has had profound positive effects on democratization and economic liberalization of Central and Eastern European countries, it has also been associated with undesirable effects. Surveying these effects on the political and economic transformation of the EU aspirant countries reveals areas for improvement for the future of the EU enlargement strategy. Finally, the report recommends strengthening conditionality mechanisms, enhancing civil society engagement, addressing regional disparities, promoting public engagement and adopting a differentiated integration model, to invigorate the EU enlargement strategy and help build a united and prosperous Europe.