O futuro alargamento da União Europeia: recuo ou prioridade política?

The long journey of European integration has been accompanied by factors that can either contribute to its mobilization or its disintegration. Economic integration has demonstrated Europe’s ability to create a significant regional bloc in the context of world trade. At the same time, between 2004 and 2013, we witnessed successive accession processes for new member states – to which must be added the ongoing negotiations with the Balkans – which have greatly contributed to the economic and political strengthening of the European Union (EU). The situation arising from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has posed new challenges to European security which, strategically, have led to the approach of new candidates, namely Ukraine itself, followed by Georgia and Moldova. This article aims to analyze how European regional security priorities have triggered the emergence of new accession processes to the east, implying the establishment of a geopolitical and security framework that is somewhat complex and difficult for the EU to articulate, with an impact on the relationship between the states themselves as well as on the relationship between the EU and its neighborhood.