If the European order were redesigned from scratch, many of the countries currently on Europe’s periphery would be core pillars of its resilience. In a new Europe, states like Ukraine and Moldova that were once considered parts of a gray zone between Russia and the EU would be central to the whole structure of regional order and would play an important role in the EU’s architecture.
The countries in Eastern Europe, long treated as peripheral, now carry far greater weight in shaping the EU’s future and agency. Ukraine, in particular, has revived the EU enlargement process while defending the bloc from direct Russian aggression. Moldova’s most recent parliamentary elections have produced remarkable results: not only the victory of the pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) but also the defeat of corrupt, pro-Russia, kleptocratic actors. The pace of reforms in both countries—although uneven and despite hiccups—and the degree to which these nations are actively shaping the EU’s positions mark a genuine shift in engagement between the EU and its neighbors.
A new European order requires the EU to be simultaneously more flexible and pragmatic in its external relations and more rigorous in its internal ones to consolidate societal cohesion. The EU is still Europe’s necessary framework because the alternatives lack both vision and legal, financial, and normative weight. If it is to remain a relevant actor in its neighborhood, the union must reform specific mechanisms and become more strategic and visionary in its approach.
Please find the full article by Anastasia Pociumban here.
