This paper argues that strategic autonomy as a new layer of accession conditionality, focusing on the V4 countries. We argue that since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, expectations of candidate alignment have gone beyond the rule of law and legal requirements to include priorities linked to the EU’s strategic autonomy agenda. The paper also provides a conceptual framing for this shift, theorising how strategic autonomy operates as an additional, new layer of conditionality that links enlargement progress to security, industrial, and resilience objectives.

Using the process tracing method, we examine how V4 countries shape and contest this emerging layer through V4 presidency programmes and EU Council bargains on enlargement and strategic autonomy documents. We show that the Visegrad states diverge on what strategic autonomy means and on the extent to which it should condition enlargement progress. In this paper, we examine the V4 positions on enlargement and strategic autonomy issues and show that strategic autonomy can enable geopolitical enlargement but also contribute to new divisions in the EU.

AI factories and their Antennas form the foundation of the European Union efforts aiming to ensure Europe's strategic autonomy in the field of Artificial Intelligence through control over key infrastructure, data, and human capital. Collectively, AI Factories and their Antennas form a network that aspires to transform Europe into a global leader in trustworthy artificial intelligence. The AI Factories Antennas initiative represents an innovative area of the development and implementation of the European Union policy towards Artificial Intelligence, since it fosters inclusivity and accelerates AI innovation both within the EU and in partner countries. The establishment of these Antennas is intended to advance the integration of European AI ecosystems and to promote a cohesive, unified approach towards the global AI race. Through this initiative, more states will be enabled to participate actively in the EU’s Artificial Intelligence ecosystem without the need for investments in own supercomputing infrastructure. The AI Factories Antennas can also be viewed as an instrument of industrial and digital cooperation with EU candidate countries, given that three Antennas are planned for launch in Moldova, North Macedonia and Serbia. This paper aims to analyse and compare the investments in AI Factories Antennas within these states.

The research addresses a research gap concerning the role of EU candidate countries in the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence policy.It seeks to answer the following research questions: How can the role of Artificial Intelligence Factories and AI Factories Antennas policy be characterised in the context of the European integration and collaboration with partner countries? In which ways do the AI Factories Antennas in EU candidate countries contribute to the strategic autonomy objectives of the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence policy?

The research employs a qualitative methodology, relying primarily on analysis of relevant literature (especially political communications on the subject) and semi-structured in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, including representatives of political elites and Antennas’ coordinators.

This paper offers a critical analysis of the EU’s turn towards strategic autonomy by contrasting its logics with a relational understanding of power. Grounded in empirical research of EU cultural politics conducted in Brussels and Georgia in the South Caucasus, the paper challenges strategic autonomy as a technocratic or defensive adjustment to geopolitical uncertainty, and outlines a relational, dialogue-based approach to engage with the neighbourhood countries.

Drawing on empirical research conducted in policy-making arenas in Brussels, the paper examines how strategic autonomy is articulated and normalised within EU cultural politics. This is juxtaposed with an understanding of the EU’s actorness, based on ethnographic immersion in Georgia, where EU policies are encountered as external governance and foreign policy practices, revealing limited understanding and use of relational ‘power’.

The analysis demonstrates that strategic autonomy operates through hierarchical imaginaries of capacity and security that re-centre decision-making power within the EU core, while reframing neighbouring regions as sites of risk management rather than political partnership. From a relational power perspective, these dynamics obscure the mutual dependencies linking the EU, Central and Eastern Europe, and the South Caucasus, and marginalise alternative forms of solidarity based on co-constitution and reciprocity. The paper argues that strategic autonomy risks deepening internal East–West divisions within the EU while simultaneously reproducing asymmetrical relations with its eastern neighbourhood. By foregrounding cultural narratives and everyday practices across EU and non-EU contexts, the paper contributes to debates on strategic autonomy by revealing its unintended consequences for European cohesion and the EU’s external relations, and by outlining the analytical and political potential of relational power as an alternative framework.

The paper elaborates Croatia’s post-accession experience in order to analyse how the idea of Europe and and the key challenges currently facing the EU are constructed, contested, and reimagined in national policy discourses and, on the other hand, how Croatia valorize its strategic competitive advantages in the EU. While the country has formally aligned with EU norms, public debate often emphasizes ideological narratives, sometimes overshadowing discussions on economic development, infrastructure, and strategic priorities. At the same time, Croatia’s central position on European transport and energy corridors, maritime and agricultural assets, and strategic infrastructure remains underutilized and neglected, limiting both national growth and its potential as a regional connector.

In the context of prolonged polycrisis, marked by geopolitical instability, strategic autonomy emerges as a central priority. Strengthening Croatia’s capacity to manage critical infrastructure, economic resources, and energy corridors would enhance domestic resilience and enable the country to support EU integration across the Western Balkans. This raises a critical question: what does the concept of a strategic autonomy mean for the EU, and what does it imply for Croatia as a member state with unique geopolitical and economic characteristics? The analysis focuses on the extent to which Croatia mobilises its geostrategic position on key maritime, transport, and energy corridors within the framework of EU Strategic Autonomy and the Connectivity Agenda for the Western Balkans.

The paper argues that realizing this potential requires a development-focused approach grounded in effective crisis management, long-term planning, and infrastructure investment. A crucial dimension of national policy discourse must be the promotion of European values, a core requirement of EU accession, closely linked to economic progress, regional prosperity, and the development of infrastructure that benefits the whole region. National narratives must go beyond ideological or historical debates to actively foster democracy, rule of law, human rights, and social cohesion, while simultaneously emphasizing Croatia’s role as a regional connector and facilitator of integration. Croatia’s case study demonstrates how strategic resource management and progressive, democratic public discourse together could translate European values into tangible benefits for both national development and progress for the broader region.