The EU’s secret weapon for enlargement: AI

Several countries are racing towards EU membership, putting strain on staff at the Directorate-General for Enlargement and the Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST), the department that manages candidates’ bids, both of the officials said. They were granted anonymity to speak freely.

Ukraine and Moldova entered the first phase of membership on Monday, a major milestone on their path to joining the bloc, while Montenegro this week closed two more accession chapters, taking its total to 16 out of 33. Albania is also making progress on its membership application, while those of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Georgia have advanced slowly or have completely stalled.

Iceland will hold a referendum in August to decide whether to relaunch its bid to join the EU, with geopolitics injecting a new urgency into countries’ bids to join the bloc since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland.

“In the last 16, 17 months, we have delivered more than in the 15 years before,” Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said.

But candidate countries are skeptical that AI is the answer to the Commission’s workload. Two officials from different candidate countries told POLITICO that the tool should just be used for translation and simple tasks, not for more complex matters.

One of the officials acknowledged the Commission’s workload has dramatically increased in recent years, putting pressure on staff, but urged caution with relying on AI, arguing it could lead to mistakes.

Other departments at the Commission use the AI tool. All three of the EU’s main institutions have banned staff from using artificially generated videos and images in official communications.