Nikola Dimitrov

By the all out brutal war against Ukraine, a sovereign European country, without any provocation, Putin’s Russia attacked the European security order. In this watershed moment for the continent, facing a dangerous and highly uncertain geopolitical framework, the EU must think big again, act strategically and take enlargement seriously. If it wants to do justice to Ukrainians fighting and dying to be able to be an equal member of the European family, if it wants to firmly anchor the countries in the Western Balkans on their European path and close the pockets of instability that can be fueled by Kremlin, if it wants to avoid counter narratives and further disillusionment, if it wants to show Georgia and Moldova that enlargement can indeed be successful, it must urgently create a credible, realistic and performance based integration process, with timely incentives.