“Widening” with Integrity? The Democratic Legitimacy of the EU’s Enlargement Process in a Geopolitical Era

This article explores the democratic legitimacy of the European Union's (EU) enlargement process in the context of significant geopolitical shifts, particularly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and broader global power realignments. As the EU embarks on renewed enlargement efforts, it becomes crucial to critically examine the democratic foundations of this process. In a geopolitical landscape marked by rising authoritarianism, escalating security threats, and shifting global alliances, the EU’s credibility and legitimacy have become central to contemporary academic and policy debates on the Union’s international role and identity. The research employs a dual framework of legitimacy—input and throughput—to assess the democratic quality of the EU’s enlargement process. Input legitimacy focuses on the extent to which EU and accession country citizens’ preferences are accommodated in the different stages of enlargement (granting candidate status, screening process, membership negotiations, monitoring process, closing negotiation chapters). Input legitimacy is assessed by exploring how citizens and national parliaments in both EU member states and candidate countries can influence enlargement decisions, through mechanisms such as public consultations, citizens' assemblies, and parliamentary debates. Throughput legitimacy focuses on the quality of the decision-making in enlargement processes, with particular attention to transparency, accountability, and inclusiveness, including how the EU communicates progress, ensures decision-making processes are accessible, and engages civil society in the different stages of the enlargement process. Drawing on examples from the ongoing enlargements involving the six Western Balkan countries, and Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, the article evaluates the democratic quality of the respective enlargement processes, and how geopolitical priorities, such as security and stability considerations and recent calls for a ‘rapid enlargement’, have impacted on the input and throughout legitimacy of these processes over the past decade. This article makes significant academic contributions by bridging discussions on EU enlargement, the legitimacy of European Foreign Policy (EFP), and the role of national parliaments in EU foreign policy. It uniquely focuses on the democratic legitimacy inherent in the enlargement process itself, addressing a critical gap in existing literature that has primarily examined how enlargement impacts EU legitimacy or democratic representation and legitimacy in accession countries. The article's focus on the democratic legitimacy of EU enlargement adds a nuance to the debate on "widening" and "deepening". It examines how the enlargement process itself, rather than just its outcomes, affects the EU’s internal democratic structures by introducing challenges related to transparency, participation, and accountability within the Union. The article also sheds light on how geopolitical factors complicate the balance between “deepening” (democratic integrity) and “widening”. Additionally, the article goes beyond public perceptions to analyse the structural aspects of democratic legitimacy, such as mechanisms of citizen participation and representation in the EU enlargement process. The article also expands on EFP legitimacy by specifically addressing enlargement as a key component, thereby enhancing understanding of EFP legitimacy. Furthermore, it contributes to the field of national parliaments' roles in EFP by examining their involvement in the enlargement process, adding a new dimension to scholarly works.