Ukraine’s application to join the EU [What Think Tanks are thinking]

EU Heads of State or Government will discuss war-torn Ukraine’s bid to join the EU when they meet at a regular European Council meeting in Brussels next week. The leaders are expected to discuss Ukraine’s request to gain the status of official EU candidate along with French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to create a ‘European Political Community’, with Ukraine as a member, as news media have reported, quoting draft Council conclusions. The meeting on 23-24 June is unlikely to make any firm decisions on either of the two proposals, the quoted draft conclusions suggest. EU enlargement, which had been on the backburner for some years, returned to the spotlight after Russia attacked Ukraine on 24 February. Having failed to conquer Ukraine quickly, Russia is now concentrating its war effort in the south-eastern provinces of the country. This note gathers links to recent publications and commentaries from many international think tanks on Russia’s war on Ukraine. Earlier analyses of the implications of the war can be found in a previous edition of the ‘What Think Tanks are Thinking’ series.