A Bigger European Union Must Be a Better One, Too

Does the European Union — 27 states, 450 million people, politically fractious even in the best of times — need to expand even more? The answer, in the European way, is a qualified and equivocal yes.

Nine countries are officially in line to join the bloc, and EU officials have recently hinted some may be added by 2030. The European Commission’s latest progress report exposes the gap between ambition and readiness. Tiny Montenegro has quietly done much of the hard work required for accession; Albania, Moldova and Ukraine are far behind. Others are unlikely to join anytime soon.