Theses
My research focuses on EU enlargement, in particular looking at EU enlargement policy and practice in Central and Eastern Europe.
Currently, my thesis is examining the EU’s decision to grant candidacy to Moldova and Ukraine in 2022, following the renewed Russian invasion of Ukraine. This decision, undertaken in June 2022, marked a significant change in the EU’s external facing - prior to this decision, the EU has not considered enlargement to the east a priority since the admission of Bulgaria and Romania in 2007, with the matter appearing to be permanently shelved with the launch of the Eastern Partnership program in 2008 as part of the European Neighbourhood Policy’s goal to bring the EU’s external neighbours into alignment with the EU without needing to grant them membership. Instead, EU efforts at enlargement seemed to be directed towards the states of the Western Balkans, though their progression through the stages of candidacy has been significantly slower than most other candidates the EU has admitted.
As such, the rapid decision to grant Moldova and Ukraine candidacy (and the decision to reject Georgia’s application, filed at the same time) raises several questions about the European Union’s enlargement policy, in particular the question of how consistently and impartially the EU applies its criteria for candidacy to prospective states, and to what extent the enlargement process is dictated by external concerns.
