TBILISI, November 4 – European Union leaders and candidate countries are gathering in Brussels today, Tuesday, November 4, for an “Enlargement Summit” focused on the bloc’s next wave of potential members.
The summit coincides with the release of the European Commission’s 2025 enlargement package, which assesses the progress of aspiring member states, including Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova.
According to Euronews, the meeting will bring together top officials from the EU and neighboring countries seeking accession. Participants include European Council President António Costa, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos, and the leaders of several candidate states: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, and North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.
The summit is being held in a televised format, beginning at 5 p.m. Tbilisi time. It aims to review political and institutional reforms in candidate and potential candidate countries and discuss the EU’s readiness to absorb new members amid growing geopolitical challenges.
At the same time, the European Commission is set to approve and publish its 2025 enlargement package, a comprehensive annual report evaluating the democratic, economic, and institutional performance of all countries seeking EU membership. The package is expected to highlight key reform priorities, progress made over the past year, and remaining obstacles to accession.
For Georgia, which obtained EU candidate status in December 2023, the upcoming report will serve as a crucial indicator of how Brussels views the government’s handling of democratic institutions, judicial reform, and political pluralism. The European Union’s Ambassador to Georgia, Paweł Herczyński, is scheduled to hold a press conference at 6 p.m. Tbilisi time to present and discuss the findings specific to Georgia.
