Thread by @dgapev

Russia‘s 🇷🇺 War in Ukraine 🇺🇦: Rethinking the EU’s 🇪🇺 Eastern Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy - fresh policy paper, have a read! @meistefan1 , @MilanN_inBerlin , @iskrakirova , @StevenBlockmans on key topics👇on.dgap.org/3J9Tcx0 1/8

@meistefan1 @MilanN_inBerlin @iskrakirova @StevenBlockmans 1. Russia’s war in Ukraine has helped European leaders to unite on a more strategic perspective towards Moldova, Georgia & Ukraine to impose severe sanctions on Russia, and to decouple from hydrocarbons, it has not yet led to a new neighborhood and enlargement policy. 2/8

@meistefan1 @MilanN_inBerlin @iskrakirova @StevenBlockmans It will be crucial for the EU in 2023 to rethink enlargement with the Association Trio and the future of an “upgraded” #EaP. 3/8

@meistefan1 @MilanN_inBerlin @iskrakirova @StevenBlockmans 2. The stagnating EU accession process needs political will and procedural changes allowing eastern candidates to advance through staged accession. They should be more supported to use the full potential of gradual economic & sectoral integration with 🇪🇺. 4/8

@meistefan1 @MilanN_inBerlin @iskrakirova @StevenBlockmans 3. Eastern Partnership policy needs an upgrade, to include a comprehensive security dimension to link resilience, connectivity, and defence policy, as well as cooperation in the area of the CSDP. 5/8

@meistefan1 @MilanN_inBerlin @iskrakirova @StevenBlockmans It’s a watershed moment for the EU to engage in the protracted conflicts in the region, as the current formats are blocked, and Russia’s role has weakened. 6/8

@meistefan1 @MilanN_inBerlin @iskrakirova @StevenBlockmans 4. An “upgraded” EaP would be in line with the EU’s connectivity agenda, linking the Black Sea region, the South Caucasus, the Caspian region, and Central Asia. This would bring the post-Soviet countries closer to the EU economically and in terms of norms and standards. 7/8

@meistefan1 @MilanN_inBerlin @iskrakirova @StevenBlockmans 5. A new Eastern Neighborhood Policy should be designed for a wider region, connecting the Black Sea and the South Caucasus with Central Asia and thus creating viable alternatives to the competing geo-economic and governance “offers” of China, Russia, and Turkey. 8/8