Τhe European Union (EU) has been hit with unexpected challenges since February 2022. The war in Ukraine and its territorial impact on certain EU countries have led to many questions, including with regard to the implications for the EU budget and the “flexibility” of cohesion policy. The EU candidate status awarded to Ukraine, one of the world’s largest agricultural producers, has generated new calls for changes in EU governance. This paper has a policy-oriented approach. It explores cohesion policy in the context of current geopolitics and EU enlargement. The analysis looks at cohesion policy with a view to resilience and economic security in the eastern regions of the EU. The research methodology is qualitative and includes the case study of Poland. The research finds that there are many intertwined and complex issues. From the perspective of economic policymaking some solutions may require changes of the EU Treaties, if new candidate countries become full members of the EU. Certain options may not be appealing to EU candidate countries, while there isn’t a lot of enthusiasm for those solutions that would require amendments of the EU Treaties.