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Intereconomics / Events / EU Enlargement in a New Light

Event Review: EU Enlargement in a New Light

Tuesday, 21.06.2022

13:45 – 17:00

Joint Intereconomics/Bruegel Conference in Brussels (hybrid event)

What would increase government support around EU enlargement, and what role could membership play in future peace talks?

During two summits in March 2022, in Versailles and Brussels, European leaders expressly declined to grant candidate status or even a membership perspective to Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. While supporters of the expansion called for a recognition of Ukraine’s place in the European family, most governments were skeptical and reluctant to take the process further. Why is that? What would it take to garner more support for the initiation of the expansion process? And what role could membership play in future peace talks? The question of EU enlargement requires an examination of the topic from multiple perspectives.

Studies and conclusions of the conference speakers are published in the Forum of Intereconomics No. 4 / 2022..

In cooperation with

The joint Intereconomics/Bruegel event explored what would increase government support around EU enlargement, and what role could membership play in future peace talks.

Studies and conclusions of the conference speakers are published in the Forum of Intereconomics No. 4 / 2022.

Program

Session 1: To Expand or Not to Expand: For and Against the Enlargement of the European Union

  • Discussion of EU architecture and enlargement from a political economy perspective. Deepening vs widening is the trade-off at the heart of the EU’s future enlargement.
  • Marek Dabrowski
    Non-Resident Fellow, Bruegel
  • André Sapir
    Senior Fellow, Bruegel
  • Chair
    Maria Demertzis
    Deputy Director, Bruegel

Session 2: The Political and Security Concerns of EU Enlargement: The Case of Ukraine

  • Focus on the economic, political and security aspects of enlargement in the specific case of Ukraine as well as the unique features to the case, particularly its reconstruction.
  • Tinatin Akhvlediani
    Research Fellow, CEPS
  • Elise Bernard
    Director of Studies, EuropaNova
  • Ilona Sologoub
    Director of Political and Economic Research, Kyiv School of Economics
  • Chair
    Jiffer Bourguignon
    Editor, Intereconomics