(EU Enlargement Forum banner, fair use)
Earlier today, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said “the last wall in continental Europe falls” as the border between Spain of the European Union and Gibraltar of the United Kingdom was more fully opened (see Gibraltar: ‘Europe is back’ as border removal closes ‘open wound’ as ‘the last wall in continental Europe falls’).
But, that is only true for the western part of the European continent.
However, the European Union also wants all of the east to be part of it as well.
Here are some comments:
July 15, 2026
A Renewed Enlargement Policy
For a stronger European UnionRenew Europe strongly supports EU enlargement as a strategic investment in peace, security, democracy, and prosperity across the continent. Our MEPs lead enlargement efforts by sharing expertise and shaping the Parliament’s stance on strategy and institutional impacts. The future of the European Union is inextricably linked to the successful integration of candidate and potential candidate countries, especially those in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe. Enlargement remains one of the EU’s most effective foreign policy tools, fostering stability, security, democratic transformation, respect for fundamental rights, the rule of law and economic convergence.
The long-term cost of non-enlargement far outweighs the financial and political complexities of admitting new members, as it risks creating geopolitical “grey zones” vulnerable to antagonistic foreign influence. Enlargement contributes to a stronger, more influential and prosperous European Union, capable of acting in its own interests and upholding its values in an increasingly multipolar international order. Enlargement must add value for both the EU and candidate states, prioritising the EU’s internal stability.
Today’s enlargement agenda reflects a profoundly altered geopolitical landscape and growing security threats, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and hybrid warfare in the EU’s neighborhood and global south, complex relations with the US, deepening instability in the Middle East, and China’s expanding strategic reach have collectively created a world defined by great-power rivalry and resurgent nationalist competition. https://www.reneweuropegroup.eu/policies/2026-07-15/a-renewed-enlargement-policy
It’s ‘Super Tuesday’ for EU enlargement as 4 candidates move forward with negotiations
July 14, 2026
BRUSSELS (AP) — Four countries hoping to join the European Union took important steps forward on their membership quests Tuesday, in one of the bloc’s biggest enlargement moves in more than 20 years.
Intergovernmental conferences were being held in Brussels to ceremonially open or close negotiating tracks for the top four candidates to join the 27-nation EU: Albania, Montenegro, Moldova and war-ravaged Ukraine. But it could still be years before any of them join.
“We have not seen this in more than two decades. The last time, it was in 2002. This is a Super Tuesday for EU enlargement and Ukraine is part of it,” Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told reporters.
While holding four meetings in one day is a rarity, 10 countries — most of them from central Europe — joined the EU in 2004. Croatia, the last country to be welcomed into the world’s biggest trading bloc, joined in 2013. …
But Europe’s biggest land war in decades and its fallout have altered that calculus. The EU has sought to encourage reform in the candidate nations, fearing the growing influence of Russia and China.
Ukraine’s progress has been impressive. It only applied for membership in 2022, four days after Russia launched a full-scale invasion. Moldova too has been under heavy Russian pressure. …
The prospect of EU membership is a powerful driver for pro-democratic reform, and joining has boosted trade and creates jobs, notably in the volatile Balkans region, where a series of wars in the 1990s tore apart the former nation of Yugoslavia. Most candidates for EU member are Balkan states.
Countries hoping to join the EU must complete negotiations in 35 policy areas, known as chapters, from agriculture to taxation and energy to trade. That process can take years. …
Nine countries are officially candidates to join the EU: Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Turkey. Accession talks for Georgia and Turkey are on hold due to concerns about democratic standards.
Kosovo has also applied to join but has not been granted candidate status. https://apnews.com/article/europe-enlargement-ukraine-moldova-albania-montenegro-88bf733d154e9e383451c27d104ad27b
July 14, 2026
EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said on Tuesday that Serbia has recently taken some steps forward it its accession process but much remains to be done, especially in the area of the rule of law.
“We are now getting signals from Serbia that they are ready to go more into strategic alignment with the European Union,” Kos said in Brussels … If Serbia delivers, the Commission will proceed with a recommendation for the next step, Kos added. https://seenews.com/news/serbia-moves-forth-in-eu-accession-much-work-remains-kos-1298014
Let me add that a Chancellor of Germany stated, “The European Union is only complete with the Western Balkans as part of it.” Expansion of the European Union is the plan as confirmed by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (see EU meets with Balkan leaders on the hope of expansion at Berlin Process Summit 2024).
Most of the nations in the Western Balkan region have waited for a long time to be in the EU, and many expected that process would be completed–or at least much further along than it is by now.
Probably at least partially because of the delays to get into the EU, Serbia has made deals with Russia and the Russian-dominated Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) (e.g. Iran praises Eurasian Economic Union, Serbia enters its deal with the EAEU, and China’s connection: Is the time of the Gentiles approaching?) as well as China (see China’s President says relationship with Serbia is ‘Ironclad’).
The EU wants the Balkans, not only because they are part of Europe but because they do not want Serbia to remain an ally of Russia. The ethnic Serbs (which are also in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina), fought against the Axis powers (which included Germany, Bulgaria, and Italy) in WWII. The Germans would prefer to have some control over Serbia itself and do not want to fight the Serbs in the future. Serbia, itself, took another step towards the EU last year when it elected to purchase military planes from France instead of Russia (https://www.ft.com/content/fa26d185-6b54-481a-b5b8-1ff41a0ab724). The EU also wants rare earth and other minerals in the Western Balkans.
There are divisions among the EU states about expansion and many other issues. Of course, division in Europe was prophesied as the following in the Book of Daniel shows:
41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. (Daniel 2:41-43)
However, Daniel also prophesied that the European Beast power will expand to the south and the east:
9 And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. 10 And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. 11 He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. 12 Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered. (Daniel 8:9-12).
And while the above had a past fulfillment, this prophecy seems to be dual (compare with Daniel 11:27-39). The European Union has mainly expanded south and east of the Benelux nations (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg)–which is where it initially formed.
The Balkans are south and east of the Benelux nations.
Currently, approximately 450 million people are now under a new, single (though not completely united) government, called the European Union, headquartered in Brussels.
The European Union currently has 27 member states. If you were to add the six Western Balkan areas that want to be in, plus Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, that brings the total to 36. Plus there is Turkey, but that is another matter.
Now there are groups (such as PCG and LCG) that tend to insist that the final European Beast power will only have ten or eleven nations. They look to be wrong, and thus look to be caught off guard unexpectedly (cf. Luke 21:34) if the final Beast power has more than 11 nations (See also Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations?).
In the old Radio Church of God, the late evangelist Dr. Hoeh taught that this little horn of Daniel 8 was the power that would become the final King of the North:
Turn in your Bible to verse 9: “And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.” …
The King of the North
The little horn in Daniel 8 is none other than the LAST KING of one of the four divisions of Alexander’s Empire. He is, in fact, the final “King of the North” described in Daniel 11. (Hoeh H. The 2300 Days. Plain Truth, August 1965)
The European Union has demonstrated a history and willingness to enlarge–and it is interested in the Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia.
Items related to the ‘little horn’, Russia, the Balkan nations, the EU, and the Beast were discussed in the following sermon:
1:00:37The Bible tells of a time when the Anglo-American order will be temporarily replaced by a new world order that will be dominated by a European power called the Beast of the Sea. This will be primarily a Caucasian Gentile power, with support of some with Israelitish heritage. In this sermon, Dr. Thiel goes over nearly all the nations in Europe and ties them in with progenitors listed in the Bible.
Here is a link to the sermon: Gentile European Beast.
Of course even now, not all in the Balkans, Moldova, and Georgia want to be part of the European Union. Some prefer to be in Russia’s Eurasian Union (though this is likely diminishing because of Russia’s ‘special military operation’ into Ukraine).
Regarding the Balkans, notice the following from our free online book Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?:
The Slavic Peoples …
The Slavic nations are in lands south and east of the Benelux nations—so consistent with Daniel 8:9, many in Slavic Europe will support the end time European power. …
Though Slavic, historically, Serbia has differed from most others in eastern Europe.
Unlike many eastern Europeans who supported Germany in WWI and WWII, the Serbs (which mainly live in Serbia, and Montenegro) were opposed and supported the Allied forces. The Serbs also worked with Russia in WWII against Hitler’s forces. Serbia is considered significantly stronger militarily than many countries with similar populations.[i]
The Bible tells of a son of Shem named Elam (Genesis 10:22). History shows that there were also numerous tribes of Elamites.[ii]
Yet researchers have concluded:
Any attempt to trace the Elamites ethnologically is beset with difficulties.[iii]
That being said, some Elamites are believed to have been the progenitors of the Serbs,[iv] but some part of the Medes (from Madai) may also have been involved.
According to Herodotus, there were numerous tribes of the Medes.[v] And originally, this was a reference to a geographic region, and not ethnicity[vi] which included areas that the Elamites were believed to have lived in.
Pliny the Younger in his work Plinii Caecilii Secundi Historia naturalis from the first century AD (69-75) mentioned people named Serboi, who lived near the Cimmerians, presumably on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
[In the 2nd century (around 175 AD), the Egyptian Greek scientist Claudius Ptolemy mentioned in his Geography people named Serboi or Sirboi, who presumably lived behind the Caucasus, in the hinterland of the Caspian Sea.][vii]
It is likely that the Serbs were an Elamite and/or Median tribe. Croatians may have come from a different tribe. Some consider that the Serbs and Croatians had the same (or very similar ancestry) but became divided because of culture, geography, and religion: Croatians being more Roman Catholic and Serbs more Russian Orthodox.
Additionally, Croatia was part of the old ‘Holy Roman Empire,’ but Serbia was not.
Historically, the Croatians have been more supportive of Germany than Russia. It is likely that they will remain that way. Serbia has tended to back Russia more than Croatia.
Even though Serbia looks to be a nation that will support Europe for a time, it appears likely that Serbia will be part of the force that will back Russia against end time Babylon, (Ezekiel 32:24-28; Jeremiah 51:11, 27-32). …
Italy and Greece are currently in the European Union and North Macedonia has applied to be.
All of them are expected to support the final Beast power. They will have the temporal financial benefits as well as the plagues (Revelation chapters 15 & 16) and destruction (e.g. Revelation chapter 18; Jeremiah 50:41-46) that will affect the coming European Beast superstate.
Albania and Kosovo
Albanians seem to have derived from Lud (Genesis 10:22) or Canaan (Genesis 10:6).
Albania has applied to be part of the European Union. Despite an Islamic population majority, Albania looks likely to support the coming European Beast superstate. Albania’s currency, called the Lek, is pegged at a fixed rate to the euro.
Though some Kosovars descended from Elam (Genesis 10:22) as many Serbs live there, Kosovo also has an Islamic population majority of people of Albanian heritage.
Before the formal introduction of the euro, which Kosovo now uses, many Kosovars used Germany’s Deutsche Mark as their currency.
Kosovo is recognized by the European Union as a potential candidate for accession and looks likely to support the coming European Beast superstate.
[i] 2022 Serbia Military Strength. GlobalFirePower.com, update of May 02, 2022
[ii] Basello G, et al., eds. The Elamite World. Taylor & Francis, 2018). The tribes of Elam were the Anzan, Uxii or Uxians, Armardians, Mardians, Khapirt, Aipir, Messadatae, Cissi, Cossaei or Coss, and Khuzi or Huzha tribe (White, Origin of Nations, p. 283
[iii] Hinz W. The Lost World of the Elamites. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1972, p. 21
[iv] White C. In Search of … The Origin of Nations, p. 287
[v] Herodotos I-3. Edited by A.H. Sayce. The Ancient Empires of the East. MacMillan & Co., 1883, p. 62
[vi] Ibid, p. 62
[vii] From Petrović AM. Arheografija naroda jugoistočne Evrope, Beograd, 2006, page 19., as Cited in Origin hypotheses of the Serbs. BibleWikipedia, accessed 4/08/22
So based on Daniel 8, Balkan interest in the EU and the EU interest in the Balkans, it is likely that the Western Balkans will, at least for a time, support the coming Beast power in Europe.
Related to that, the Continuing Church of God put together the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:
EU Enlargement of the Beast?
The European Union recently approved its “2025 Enlargement Package”. This means the European Union is continuing to give consideration for inclusion of other countries into its political, military, and economic bloc. Why would the European Union want to do this? The saying “Might makes Right” come to mind. Is it possible the inclusion of the population of other countries along with the increased population, trade, and economic clout would increase the might, of not only the European Union, but also power and economies of the nations being included? Has the growth of Europe, starting with the Benelux nations, already primarily expanded towards the south and the east such as is prophesied for the ‘little horn’ of Daniel 8? Does the EU want the rest of the Balkan nations, which are also basically south and east of Benelux, to be part of it? Will this new Union really be stronger in the long run? If new nations do join the European Union, will they remain joined? So, who cares if other nations join the European Union? Who cares if the EU will be stronger or not? Well, what if Biblical prophecies were being fulfilled? Would anyone care then? Would it matter to you if the European Union plays a major role in Biblical prophecy? What if the European Union was the sixth king of Rev 17:10 would you care then? What if Europe will reorganize and be controlled by the ‘666’ Beast? Would you be concerned? You should be. Here’s the link to our free eBook, “Lost Tribes and Prophecies”, offered in this video that offers much more information on the European Union, the King of the North, and the Beast of the Sea. If you don’t understand the role of the European Union in Bible prophecy, you need to watch this video. The European Union and the Beast of the Sea, listen as Dr. Thiel shines the light of Biblical prophecy on current world events. The time grows shorter.
Here is a link to our video: EU Enlargement of the Beast?
Yes, the European Union wants to enlarge.
Europe is moving towards its prophesied destiny.
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is are links to related videos: European history and the Bible, Europe In Prophecy, The End of European Babylon, and Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European? Here is a link to a related sermon in the Spanish language: El Fin de la Babilonia Europea.
The European Union and the Seven Kings of Revelation 17 Could the European Union be the sixth king that now is, but is not? Here is a link to the related sermon video: European Union & 7 Kings of Revelation 17:10.
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here are links to two related videos: The King of the North is Alive: What to Look Out For and The Future King of the North.
The Great Monarch: Biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies Is the ‘Great Monarch’ of Greco-Roman Catholic prophecies endorsed or condemned by the Bible? Two sermons of related interest are also available: Great Monarch: Messiah or False Christ? and Great Monarch in 50+ Beast Prophecies.
The Times of the Gentiles Has there been more than one time of the Gentiles? Are we in it now or in the time of Anglo-America? What will the final time of the Gentiles be like? A related sermon is available and is titled: The Times of the Gentiles.
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? What about other peoples? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about Africa, Asia, South America, and the Islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon; When Will the End of the Age Come?; Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.