I'm drunk hence thinking philosophy. What differentiates Germany from Russia? Both are unlovable. Yet Germany somehow pulled the trick of having the neighboring countries join the union not just voluntarily but eager to do so while Russia with all the "if you don't love me then I'll show how much I love you" still struggles to follow suit.
Lorbing forward... the (European) Union has run out of low hanging fruit. I mean like Ukraine wasn't even orchard ready and problems started pouring in. Apart from Turkey which is kept as the eternal comfort wife "if everything fails there's still Turkey", I think the bold and only forward step for the (E) Union would be Africa. Only question is who would be first? Can you imagine Egipt or Nigeria "in"? Or Canada. Of course we'd have to rename it differently, like "GU" (Global Union). Afterwards, incorporating US would be a breeze, probably through a surprise attack in California, they never expect that from Canada Mexico qualifies as well of course but it's too obvious that California follows next