Brussels – It will be a first of its kind, conveying a key message from the European Commission. EU enlargement will happen—sooner or later—and the EU institutions, national authorities, and all stakeholders must be ready. On 18 November 2025, at the first-ever EU Enlargement Forum, it will become clear whether the prospect of a larger Union is within reach.
“The EU Enlargement Forum is the European Commission’s flagship initiative to elevate the conversation on EU enlargement as a shared political, societal, and generational project,” reads the event’s presentation, which will bring together a broad and diverse range of participants under the slogan Completing the Union, Securing Our Future.
From high-level national and regional political leaders to civil society representatives, entrepreneurs, artists, young voices, and policy experts from both EU Member States and enlargement countries, the EU Enlargement Forum will be the meeting point for all professionals working on one of the key priorities of the European Commission’s 2024–2029 mandate, “actively engaged in the most ambitious enlargement agenda in over a decade.”
Discussions will also revolve around the upcoming 2025 Enlargement Package and the EU’s pre-enlargement reforms—both to be published exactly two weeks before the EU Enlargement Forum—as “the time has come to move from ambition to delivery with a credible, inclusive and forward-looking approach that reflects Europe’s values, strengthens its global role and prepares it for the future,” the Commission recalls.
Designed to be interactive and inclusive, and to bring enlargement closer to citizens—despite the not particularly original decision to organise the event in Brussels—the discussion on the future of an enlarged Union will be complemented by satellite workshops and presentations organised by stakeholders wishing to explore and showcase different perspectives through public events on topics relevant to EU enlargement policy.
The programme of the EU Enlargement Forum
The EU Enlargement Forum will open with a video message from Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, followed by a keynote address from Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, who will also chair the Forum. The day will conclude with a closing speech by European Council President António Costa.
High-level panelists include the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama; the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajić; the Speaker of the National Assembly of Serbia, Ana Brnabić; the Chair of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET), David McAllister; the Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius; and the Director-General of DG ENEST, Gert Jan Koopman.
The first panel will explore how EU enlargement policy has gained renewed urgency in the wake of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine and rising geopolitical competition in the EU’s immediate neighbourhood—from the Western Balkans to Moldova and Georgia. It will consider how completing the European Union is essential for safeguarding peace, security, and strategic autonomy across the continent.
The second panel will focus on how public attitudes are shaped by national contexts, political narratives, and low levels of awareness about enlargement policy and candidate countries. Particular attention will be given to the role of member states and regions in fostering “a more constructive and informed public conversation” on EU enlargement and institutional reforms.
The third panel will bring together voices from sports, culture, and civil society across enlargement partners to reflect on how the EU is perceived beyond its current borders, and how these perceptions are shaped by experience, aspiration, and identity. It will provide a space to challenge preconceptions and stereotypes that often influence misinformed public opinion about candidate countries in current member states.
Building on these discussions, the final session will examine how to complete the accession process—from concluding negotiations and drafting accession treaties to securing the necessary public support—as the question shifts from whether countries are ready to join, to how and when they will. “That moment requires careful preparation and joint work by all institutions,” the Commission warns, urging institutions, businesses, and civil society alike to “play a role in ensuring that, once conditions are met, the EU is ready to move decisively.”
