AdvancEU – Advancing Beyond Contestation: Addressing the Challenges of Resilient Enlargement
The geopolitical upheavals of recent years have fundamentally reshaped the European Union. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, intensifying global power competition, and growing uncertainties regarding security, energy supply, and economic resilience have increasingly turned EU enlargement into an investment in Europe’s security, capacity to act, and long-term future. Yet the crucial question is no longer simply whether candidate countries are ready for membership. Equally important is whether the European Union itself is prepared for enlargement.Yet the question is no longer simply whether candidate countries are ready for membership. Equally important is whether the European Union itself is ready for enlargement.
AdvancEU starts from the premise that enlargement is not merely a technical accession process. It is a transformative political project that raises fundamental questions about democracy, governance, security, solidarity and the future direction of European integration.
The European Union is preparing for enlargement at a time of geopolitical rivalry, democratic backsliding, economic uncertainty, climate transition and growing political polarisation. Across Europe, citizens and political actors increasingly contest not only specific EU policies but also the values and assumptions that have guided integration for decades. At the same time, enlargement is widely recognised as a geopolitical necessity and a strategic investment in Europe’s future.
AdvancEU explores how the European Union can successfully reconcile these challenges. Rather than treating enlargement as a risk to be managed, the project investigates how enlargement can become a catalyst for reform, resilience and democratic renewal.
Bringing together leading scholars from law, political science, economics and sociology, the network examines questions such as:
• How can the EU reform its institutions and decision-making structures for a Union of more than 30 members?
• How can democratic legitimacy and public support for enlargement be strengthened?
• How can the Union safeguard its fundamental values while integrating new member states?
• What forms of differentiated or gradual integration are both politically feasible and legally sustainable?
• How can enlargement contribute to a stronger, more resilient and more democratic Europe?
AdvancEU combines cutting-edge research, policy engagement and innovative teaching formats. The project develops evidence-based policy recommendations, engages with policymakers, civil society and citizens, and creates new educational tools designed to foster informed debate about Europe’s future.
Partner Institutions
AdvancEU brings together 15 universities and research centres from across Europe:
• Paris Lodron University Salzburg / Salzburg Centre of European Union Studies (Austria) – Coordinator
• Masaryk University (Czech Republic)
• Justus Liebig University Giessen (Germany)
• Technical University Darmstadt (Germany)
• Eötvös Loránd University Budapest (Hungary)
• Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna Pisa (Italy)
• Sapienza University of Rome (Italy)
• Utrecht University (Netherlands)
• Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (North Macedonia)
• University of Agder (Norway)
• University of Bucharest (Romania)
• Jagiellonian University Kraków (Poland)
• Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain)
• University of Barcelona (Spain)
• Babeș-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca (Romania)
Together, the network connects researchers, students, policymakers and civil society actors in a common effort to shape the future of European integration in an era of enlargement.
Project Information
Project title: Advancing Beyond Contestation: Addressing the Challenges of Resilient Enlargement (AdvancEU)
Programme: Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Actions
Action: Jean Monnet Policy Network on Internal Policies
Grant Agreement No.: 101239778
Duration: 2026–2029
Coordinator: Salzburg Centre of European Union Studies (SCEUS), Paris Lodron University Salzburg
