How can a much bigger European Union function effectively? Will key national interests be overridden for the benefit of collective decision-making? How should European institutions and budgets adapt to a union of more than 30 members? These are some of the big questions that European leaders are currently mulling over. For more, Talking Europe hosts Daniela Schwarzer, the co-rapporteur of a new report: "Sailing on High Seas: Reforming and Enlarging the EU for the 21st Century". She is a member of the working group convened in 2023 by the French and German governments on reforming the EU.
When asked about the European Political Community, which has just completed its third summit, Schwarzer says: "As a reaction to Russia's war in Ukraine, as a reaction to the fact that the European security order is really destabilised, it's very important to have this kind of dialogue in a very informal setting. And there have been some results, with regards to policy debates, and particularly in the area of energy. But the European Political Community is not a waiting room for countries that want to make their way into the European Union. Countries that want to join will ask for membership and then negotiate their accession process. The European Political Community is really the place where countries can go who don't share fundamental principles that the EU has put in place, like, for instance, the rule of law. They don't want to create something more political. They just want to be in a dialogue format in a rather loose arrangement where diplomatic conversations can happen, where policymakers meet on the highest level. And that's what it's for."
