Does Europe's long-term peace and security depend on enlargement?

The guest on the Global Conversation is Olivér Várhelyi, the EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement. The interview took place in Brussels ahead of the EU Western Balkans summit and the discussion covered all aspects of the EU's enlargement process.

The first question by Euronews journalist Sándor Zsiros was why the Western Balkans enlargement should be a priority for Europe during the War in Ukraine and an energy crisis.

"If Europe wants to create its long-term peace, security, and prosperity, it has to enlarge. Because if the region surrounding is not part of the European Union, it is clear that the vulnerabilities of these regions will only increase." Replied Várhelyi. "I think if there is one positive outcome of this war if there is any, is that it is a clear reinforcement of the need to enlarge the European Union." 

There is an upcoming EU Western Balkans summit in the Albanian capital Tirana, and Várhelyi explained why he felt this was important and that many shared challenges lay ahead, including tackling the current energy crisis. 

"We need to keep the Western Balkan partners fully involved and included in our debates." He said. "For example, the energy crisis in Europe doesn't have borders, and the migration pressure on the Western Balkan route is also pressure on Europe."

One candidate country is Serbia, which is failing to align with the EU sanctions regime against Russia. This poses the question, can they keep their candidate status and have an opt-out from the EU sanctions?

On this point, Várhelyi was most forthright. "I don't think that they have an opt-out on sanctions. Don't forget that Serbia still has to finish a dialogue on the Belgrade-Prishtina dialogue to get to an agreement on the modalities