In the thirty-third episode of the EU to go podcast, Johannes Lindner talks with Thu Nguyen and Nicolai von Ondarza (SWP) about why institutional reforms are needed in the EU and how EU enlargement will impact the debate.
Nearly 15 years have elapsed since the last significant EU reform undertaken through the Lisbon Treaty. During this time, not only has a reform backlog accumulated, but the EU has also weathered numerous crises, leading to apprehensions about its efficacy in taking decisive action. At the same time, Ukraine's candidate status rekindles the prospects of EU enlargement, reigniting deliberations on the institutional framework necessary to accommodate an EU with over 30 member states. What concrete changes are desired, how does the reform process work, and what timeframe is realistic?
In this episode, Johannes Lindner, Thu Nguyen and Nicolai von Ondarza, EU Head of Research Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik), discuss why institutional reforms are becoming relevant right now and explore the diverse stances adopted by various member states regarding this matter. Will the unanimity principle soon be history, or is resistance to reform too strong after all?
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