Mission almost impossible. Dilemmata of a southern and eastern enlargement of the European Union

Tensions between enlargement and further integration have accompanied the EU’s development for a long time. Under the special geopolitical conditions under which enlargement to include the Balkan and Black Sea countries must take place, this gives rise to several dilemmas that are difficult to resolve. The policy brief discusses geopolitical rivalry, time pressure, democratic deficits in the accession countries, sovereignty consciousness in the accession countries and sovereignism in the EU, multiple distribution conflicts and elimination of buffer zones including war.