The EU’s Eastern Enlargement and Differentiated Democracy Support

Irakli Sirbiladze and Elena Ventura consider the EU's approach in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine and make recommendations, grounding their observations in political and practical considerations regarding the changed landscape with Russia's war in Ukraine and the EU's recent decision to respond positively to Moldova, Ukraine, and—with qualifiers—Georgia’s membership applications. In Ukraine, while significant progress has already been made, there is still further to go regarding rule of law, anti-corruption and support for civil society. In Moldova, corruption is also an issue, coupled with low administrative capacity and the threat of pro-European forces losing political ground; and in Georgia the dominant Georgian Dream party continues to hinder reforms in line with accession criteria.

Read the full piece here in Carnegie Europe. The article is part of the European Democracy Hub initiative run by Carnegie Europe and the European Partnership for Democracy.