Professor of European Politics, Queen's University Belfast. EU politics, treaty reform, enlargement, Brexit/Protocol/Windsor Framework
David Phinnemore
fulfil its international treaty obligations sunk to new lows.
And rebuilding trust takes time.
Of note is that four infringement proceedings launched by the European Commission in response are yet to be closed. They remain 'active'.
ec.europa.eu/implementing...
Significant milestone Monday towards the accession of Moldova and Ukraine to the EU.
Fundamentals cluster of negotiation chapters to be opened.
www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/pre...
Four years ago today the UK Government published the NI Protocol Bill.
With it post-Brexit UK-EU relations entered possibly their most strained period.
Much has changed with the Windsor Framework (2023), a first EU-UK Summit (2025) etc.
But trust in the UK to...
www.gov.uk/government/n...
“If war continues, it cannot be because EU leaders failed to recognise the importance of this moment in offering Ukraine the credible and speedy path to EU membership it needs – and deserves.” - @mijrahman.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/world/commen...
"Asked if talks were deadlocked on a scheme to allow under-30s to travel freely on a three-year visa scheme for youth, [Šefčovič] said it was one of the top three issues, and one that EU ministers cared deeply about."
As close to a 'yes' as we're likely to get?
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
“Kyiv and Chisinau applied for EU membership at the same time, meaning that Moldova’s bid can only advance if Ukraine’s does too.”
Nonsense.
Principle of ‘own merits’ well established
www.politico.eu/article/ukra...
“Some EU member states have expressed doubt about doing a deal with a potentially outgoing [PM]… others argue… talks with Britain would lose momentum if the summit were postponed.”
Šefčovič: “the expectation is that we will have the summit, most probably in July.”’
www.ft.com/content/c746...
“Magyar… also set out conditions, predicting that negotiations would drag on into 2041. Only then… would Hungary put Ukraine’s membership to a legally binding referendum… dependent on Ukraine’s treatment of the Hungarian minority in the Transcarpathia region.”
www.euractiv.com/news/hungary...
Today, the House of Lords Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee publishes a public call for written evidence for its new inquiry on Article 2 of the Protocol/Windsor Framework.
committees.parliament.uk
Hungarian officials have signaled they intend to drop their opposition to Ukraine’s EU membership bid, diplomats told POLITICO.
www.politico.eu
‘The new idea is to create a set of “building blocks”… to involve Balkan governments more in specific areas of the EU… Closer involvement in the institutions and policy areas would… be “reversible” in case of backsliding on Brussels’ “core values and principles”.’
www.euractiv.com/news/eu-enla...
Western Balkans countries and Moldova should be involved more in the daily business of the EU, as they progress on domestic reforms, a Franco-German paper suggests
