Kaja Kallas names EU enlargement antidote to Russian imperialism

The European Union must move faster toward including new members and expanding the club of 27 countries, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said, expressing support for Ukraine, Montenegro and other candidate countries waiting for membership.

“Enlargement must remain merit-based, but in the current context we must accelerate the pace,” Kallas said at the annual conference of EU diplomats in Brussels.

“Enlargement is the antidote to Russian imperialism and a sign that the most ambitious multilateral project in history, the European Union, is here to stay,” she added.

Her call for faster integration of candidate countries comes amid tense discussions between the European Commission, which advocates rapid enlargement, and national capitals that support a more gradual approach.

At a dinner last week attended by the chief of staff to the Commission president, Bjoern Seibert, EU ambassadors rejected the possibility of admitting new members with limited privileges.

Kallas’s remarks strongly support the idea that enlargement is not just a bureaucratic process of meeting criteria, but also a geopolitical choice, as previously suggested by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“Enlargement has been described as the Union’s most successful foreign policy, expanding the area of stability, peace and prosperity,” Kallas said, referring to Eurobarometer data showing broad support for expanding the 27-member bloc.

“It is up to us to keep telling the enlargement story,” she added.

A senior EU diplomat, speaking anonymously, said countries would do everything possible to keep the enlargement process on track despite differences between the Council and the Commission.

Work is currently underway to ensure that the next three presidencies of the Council of the European Union focus on bringing in new members, with the goal of completing negotiations with Ukraine by the end of 2027, although signing an accession treaty could take longer.

The possibility of a public debate on Ukraine’s membership worries some European leaders, who fear it could give arguments to far-right parties ahead of elections in France, Finland and other countries next year.

“You need a political narrative about Ukraine,” the senior EU diplomat said.