Fear of populists is pushing governments to oppose expanding the EU

(Nicholas Vinocur, Gabriel Gavin and Sebastian Starcevic – Politico) Ursula von der Leyen’s vision of a vastly expanded European Union that includes Ukraine is running into a hard obstacle: Many current members don’t want to talk about it. Fear of giving ammunition to populists, nightmare national referendums on each new country joining, and the collective trauma of dealing with Hungary since it joined in 2004 are all contributing to the reluctance in several EU capitals, according to nine EU diplomats and officials who spoke to POLITICO. No nation has joined since Croatia in 2013. Bringing in new members, or “enlargement” as it’s known — a push spearheaded by European Commission President von der Leyen — was scheduled to be on the agenda of an EU summit in Nicosia, Cyprus, later this month. But, in a sign of ambivalence from leaders, it is now unlikely to feature, said one senior EU official involved in the preparations. – Fear of populists is pushing governments to oppose expanding the EU – POLITICO