Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered a renewed enlargement momentum in the European Union (EU), replacing years of ‘enlargement fatigue’ with the recognition of four new candidates and...Show moreRussia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered a renewed enlargement momentum in the European Union (EU), replacing years of ‘enlargement fatigue’ with the recognition of four new candidates and five new negotiating states in under two years. Yet, the unprecedented speed of progress in the accession processes of candidates like Ukraine, paired with their stagnant and often declining democratic and rule-of-law performance, raises questions about the extent to which the Union may be sacrificing such values in the face of a novel geopolitical struggle vis-a-vis Russia. Exploring the cases of Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina, this study conducts a qualitative frame analysis to determine the extent to which the EU’s framing of challenges to democracy and the rule of law in candidate states has softened since Russia’s invasion, despite declining democratic/rule of law levels in both countries. The study also compares the two cases to determine whether states perceived as under direct threat of Russian aggression - and hence are more geopolitically significant - are more likely to be framed softly. The findings indicate that such a shift in framing is manifest, but notably more pronounced in directly threatened states. This hints at a flawed EU accession process, contradicting core, treaty-derived European values and the Copenhagen Criteria, while threatening the Union’s democratic credibility and institutional robustness.Show less