The expansion of geopolitical stability on the continent, the democratic consolidation, and the economic catchup are said to have been remarkable – but do the facts support this assessment? At the same time, it is clear that lessons should be learned from the negative experiences; reflection is necessary to impede future erosions of the rule of law, avert further brain drain, and reform the Common Agricultural and Cohesion Policies more thoroughly. Questions were part of the webinar: How ‘transformational’ has accession been for the EU and the countries that joined in 2004? And what would the EU’s new enlargement agenda have to look like?

The first high-level webinar was organized in the framework of REUNIR, a project funded under the Horizon Europe programme by the European Commission and coordinated by CEPS.