Grading the EU hopefuls

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

77% : Despite the challenges, he argued, "Türkiye's EU membership will be the most beneficial and meaningful, contributing to a truly global actor EU.
68% : Someone call Dua Lipa: it's time for an EU accession banger. DRIVING THE DAY: REPORT CARD DAY RESULTS DAY:
67% : ** Ukraine's "strategic imperative": Kyiv's Ambassador to the EU Vsevolod Chentsov expressed pride with his country's reform progress under the most challenging conditions of war -- "something no other candidate country has faced."
65% : Albania gets an A-, Moldova a B+, Ukraine a solid B. Gold star: Having aced the test, Podgorica wants the EU to get to work on its diploma.
64% : "I believe the time has come for the EU to match our ambition with a clear political signal: to start drafting the Accession Treaty."
62% : Playbook's EU accession professors (me and Seb Starcevic) got a preview of what's coming via conversations with officials and diplomats, and have assigned each of the hopefuls a grade based on what we've learned.
62% : He added: "Ukraine's path to Europe must also become the EU's strategic imperative, backed by decisive action for a strong and united Europe.
62% : The tower's facelift was part of the €6.9 million "Caput Mundi -- Next Generation EU for Touristic Great Events" program.
61% : ** SUBSCRIBE to the POLITICO newsletter family: Brussels Playbook | London Playbook | London Playbook PM | Playbook Paris | EU Election Playbook | Berlin Playbook | Global Playbook | POLITICO Confidential | Sunday Crunch
59% : Kosovo isn't technically a candidate, though the Commission still assesses its progress after it formally submitted an application for EU membership in December 2022.
59% : Tensions over the EU's next seven-year budget will come to a head during a closed-doors meeting Wednesday afternoon between Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin and the European Parliament's top brass.
58% : Mini enlargement summit: Euronews hosts an EU Enlargement Summit at Autoworld in Brussels, featuring European Council President António Costa, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić and North Macedonia's Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.
57% : " Still there: Kaymakcı added that "the stronger the EU membership perspective, the faster and more comprehensive the Turkish reforms and alignment will be, as was the case from 1999 to 2006."
57% : "In previous months we have prepared the ground for a 'big bang' in material defense readiness, now is the time for implementation and delivery," he told POLITICO, referring to the Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030 and other recent EU initiatives which will be the focus of today's talks.
56% : College of Commissioners meeting at noon; readout and press conference by High Representative Kaja Kallas at 2:15 p.m. -- European Council President António Costa meets Moldovan President Maia Sandu at 10 a.m.; meets North Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski at 11:45 a.m.; delivers a speech at Euronews' EU Enlargement Summit at 2 p.m.; meets Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić at 3 p.m. -- European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is in Rome; meets Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri at 9:30 a.m., the board of Confagricoltura at 10:15 a.m.; addresses the opening of the Sigma Summit at noon. -- Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius attends the NATO North Atlantic Council meeting; meets NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. -- Executive Vice President for Social Rights and Skills Roxana Mînzatu is in Doha, Qatar.
56% : | EU Influence | London Influence | Berlin Bulletin |
55% : The EU will today publish its annual enlargement progress reports -- essentially grading each wannabe member on its reform homework.
55% : The medieval tower was undergoing EU-funded restoration work as part of Italy's massive €194.4 billion post-Covid recovery plan -- the biggest in the bloc.
54% : While its report is expected to note some economic progress and stronger foreign policy alignment with the EU, overall the dial hasn't moved much since last year.
53% : EU funds for such projects are released in tranches once milestones are met, and the Torre dei Conti wasn't included in the Commission's intermediate progress check, meaning some of the money earmarked for the restoration was yet to be disbursed.
52% : Enter Olivier Salles, the freshly minted head of the EU's recruitment agency.
52% : Liberties, a network of civil liberties groups across the EU, will today release analysis of the Commission's most recent rule of law report.
51% : At 2:15 p.m., the Commission will give its readout, with Kos and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas returning from Parliament to brief the press.
51% : " Kubilius weighs in: Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius argued the EU's history proved it could come up with the goods when it needed to.
49% : Though famously divided, Russia's anti-Kremlin forces appeared united on three points: 1) The war in Ukraine must end; 2) Putin must go; 3) and the EU -- since we're giving grades in today's Playbook -- gets a C-, at best.
46% : The SEP regulation aimed to curb lengthy patent litigation over technologies like 4G and 5G, but the Commission quietly binned it in July, citing a lack of political backing.
45% : (The process can't move forward until the five EU member countries that currently don't recognize it as an independent state change their position.)
45% : Playbook feels for European Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall and Sweden's EU Minister Jessika Rosencrantz, who constantly get confused for one another.
42% : Still hopeful: Ankara's Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı told Playbook he hopes the report "treats EU candidate Türkiye fairly in the enlargement context," and "frees Türkiye-EU relations and the membership process from the abuse of the veto right based on narrow-minded, maximalist national gains.
38% : Two EU officials said the dispute could end up in a three-way negotiation between the Commission, Council and Parliament.
38% : maybe: Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs will this morning vote on whether to urge Roberta Metsola to take the Commission to the Court of Justice for breaching EU law by pulling the file.
29% : The European Parliament's Petitions Committee votes today on a short motion for resolution addressing mounting criticism of the EU's recruitment arm, EPSO, and its troubled remote testing system.
28% : "This meeting isn't likely to be useful -- Serafin has no mandate to amend the proposal," one Socialist MEP grumbled.
26% : " Get over it: MEP Sergey Lagodinsky told Russians in exile not to wallow in their disappointment with the EU.

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