InvigoratEU Youth Lab at the Razumkov Centre
On April 30, 2025, Razumkov Centre hosted a youth laboratory seminar „Specifics of Transformational Processes and Prospects of the EU Enlargement in the Context of Ukraine’s European Integration“ for students of the Faculty of Law and International Relations of the Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University. The seminar was held as part of the „InvigoratEU“ project, implemented by the Centre in a consortium with TEPSA.
In his opening remarks, Razumkov Center President Y. Yakymenko spoke about the Centre’s role in the „InvigoratEU“ project, outlined the thematic areas of this project, and described the state and prospects of the EU development.
The Co-Director of Foreign Policy and International Security Programmes at Razumkov Center M. Pashkov held an interactive dialogue with the seminar participants on the regulatory and legal mechanisms of the European Union, specifics of the Ukraine-EU contractual relations, the progress of negotiations between Kyiv and Brussels, etc.
The security component of the Ukraine-EU partnership in the context of the large-scale Russian aggression was covered by O. Melnyk, Co-Director of Foreign Policy and International Security Programmes at Razumkov Centre.
Having discussed the current EU policy, problems and prospects of further development of the European Union, the students had an opportunity to present their proposals and recommendations on intensification and improvement of the process of the EU enlargement, strengthening its resilience in the context of modern internal and external problems and challenges.
The seminar participants put forward recommendations for improvement of the education system to enhance the knowledge of young people about the EU current activities and prospects. The students also focused on the EU steps intended to speed up Ukraine’s European integration and strengthen support for Kyiv, resisting Russian aggression, as well as on the internal reforms, which Ukraine must implement to successfully advance on the path of European integration.
InvigoratEU Youth Lab: Students from the University of Passau Discuss Challenges of EU Enlargement Policy
During Europe Week at the University of Passau Florence Ertel and Julian Plottka organized an InvigoratEU Youth Lab. 30 motivated students discussed challenges of EU enlargement policy and developed concrete policy proposals.
The EU’s decision to grant candidate status to Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine has led to new momentum for EU enlargement policy. However, in addition to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine there are more geopolitical threats to the EU. China, Russia, Turkey and other third countries are trying to exert political influence on EU member states and countries in the EU’s neighbourhood. In order to withstand these influences, the EU, its member states, and neighbouring countries must become more resilient to external shocks.
How to achieve this goal was the guiding question of the InvigoratEU Youth Lab. Florence Ertel (Jean Monnet Chair of European Politics, University of Passau) and Julian Plottka (Institut für Europäische Politik, Berlin, and Jean Monnet Chair for European Politics, University of Passau) organized it during the university’s Europe Week 2025.
Following an introduction to the concept of resilience with a special focus on the EU’s military capabilities, 30 participants discussed specific challenges of European neighbourhood and enlargement policy in seven working groups. The debate cantered around EU cohesion, along with energy, migration, and economic policy as well as the Russian war of aggression. The students were concerned both about the EU’s insufficient actorness, with the 27 member states often showing a lack of political will to act, and about societal cohesion, which is being undermined by democratic backsliding, nationalism, disinformation, and the direct influence of third countries.
After analysing the problems, students prioritized the identified challenges. They identified foreign influence, democratic backsliding, lack of political will to cooperate, and fragmentation of civil society as the most important. In four working groups, the participants developed specific recommendations on how the EU can overcome these challenges. All groups concluded that strengthening of societal cohesion and more efficient decision-making at the supranational level – with less power to obstruct for individual member states – are urgent measures to address the challenges.
Discussions were in the tradition of the Schuman Declaration of 1950, on the occasion of its anniversary the InvigoratEU lab was held. Both the problem analysis and policy recommendations will feed directly into the work of the research project InvigoratEU: Invigorating Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy for a Resilient Europe, which is funded by the European Union through its Horizon Europe program.
Author: Jan Luka Keusemann
New Publication "The Impact of Infrastructure Development on the Economic Growth of the Countries in the Western Balkans and their EU Future" by Prof. dr Danijela Jaćimović, Milena Lipovina-Božović, Bojan Pejović and Sunčica Vuković
The infrastructure investment could strongly influence the economic growth in the Western Balkans countries and contribute to improved regional cooperation and reconciliation and to faster integration into the EU. However, it is essential that public investments in infrastructure are properly financed and managed. To measure the impact of infrastructure indicators on economic growth, panel regression analysis was used for the period 2000-2021, in six Western Balkan countries. The paper addresses the important question of how to intensify investments in infrastructure to achieve sustainable growth in the Western Balkans. The obtained results confirm the earlier findings about the significant impact of energy, ITC, and road infrastructure on economic growth in the Western Balkans.
InvogoratEU Youth Lab at the University of Montenegro
Our latest InvigoratEU Youth Lab was arranged and held at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Montenegro on the 10th of April to engage young people in participating in shaping the future of the European Union. Throughout the workshop, 31 students participated actively in a two-hour workshop focused on EU enlargement and sustainability. The workshop started with input by Prof. Danijela Jaćimović, who presented the current challenges of the EU and the strategic role of the enlargement process in the global context of the current era. In small groups, the participants named key challenges related to the accession policy of the EU and proposed concrete recommendations for policymakers. An open discussion followed, during which students emphasized the need to modernize the enlargement process in order to incorporate the new geopolitical reality and bring more transparency, efficiency, and public involvement. At the same time, they highlighted sustainability as a key pillar of the EU’s future, urging the integration of sustainable strategies into all policy-making domains in order to promote long-term economic and environmental resilience. The workshop provided valuable youth perspectives and made a significant contribution to the wider debate on the future of EU policy in a changed world.
ETH Zurich hosts an InvigoratEU Youth Lab discussing EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy
On 15 April, ETH Zurich hosted an InvigoratEU Youth Lab. The workshop gathered 24 undergraduate and graduate students of various academic disciplines to discuss the issues related the EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy. Following the initial input regarding the history of EU enlargement and InvigoratEU’s modernization and geopolitical logic of understanding and interpreting the enlargement policy, the Youth Lab participants engaged in group work exercises.
Participants first brainstormed about the challenges the EU enlargement policy currently faces, and then they worked in small teams to elaborate on how policy makers should solve these challenges and how educators should contribute to the advancement of knowledge about the EU among the European societies. Among the most acute challenges, the participants identified the need for the internal reform for the EU and territorial conflicts in candidate countries. Consequently, the recommendations focused on ensuring that the EU is institutionally ready to enlarge and that candidate countries have clear solutions to their border disputes before accession. Particular emphasis was placed on the need to educate EU citizens on the EU affairs since a young age, for example, by introducing school subjects on EU studies.
The workshops created space for young people to freely express their ideas as well as concerns regarding the current developments in the EU domestic politics as well as external relations and think about what can be done to improve the situation. Their ideas, will inform the further work of the InvigoratEU’s team.
Youth Lab at the Vilnius University
First InvigoratEU Youth Lab in Barcelona
The first InvigoratEU Youth Lab was held in Barcelona on 27 March, organised and facilitated by CIDOB. The workshop gathered 27 students who brainstormed and discussed about EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy. Participants were divided into groups to identify challenges and then worked to formulate concrete recommendations for policymakers as well as for the education sector. Students reflected on a range of issues such as the necessity for internal reforms and institutional change, the importance of strengthening civic society, or the need to reflect on EU’s own identity. All in all, their insights greatly contributed to a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy.
New Publication! "Differentiated democratic enlargement to sharpen EU accession process"
February 5, 2025
The newly published article „Differentiated Democratic Enlargement To Sharpen EU Accession Process“ by Richard Youngs (Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe) addresses the future of further EU enlargement and is closely related to the InvigoratEU project.
Find the article here.
The future of EU enlargement: Views from Helsinki, Stockholm and Vienna
The Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) and the Austrian Society for European Politics (ÖGfE)/Europa Club Wien, brought together experts from Austria, Finland and Sweden to discuss the three countries’ views on EU enlargement in a dedicated online discussion on 5 December 2024 at 9:30 CET / 10:30 EET. The event was hosted on Zoom and livestreamed on TEPSA’s YouTube channel.
See more information on the TEPSA website.
Polish Pre-Presidency Conference | Who Should be the Real Time-Keeper in EU Enlargement?
At the Polish Pre-Presidency Conference, which took place on 21-22 November in Warsaw, TEPSA hosted a panel on EU enlargement which you can see in the following video.
Elections in Georgia and Moldova: What Next for the Accession Path?
The Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA) and the Policy Management and Consulting Group (PMCG) hosted the public webinar “Elections in Georgia and Moldova: What Next for the Accession Path?” on 8 November. The event took place online via Zoom and was livestreamed on TEPSA’s YouTube channel.
See more information on the TEPSA website.
Enlarging, Fast and Slow: European Integration under a Security Imperative
Veronica Anghel (EUI) and Frank Schimmelfennig (ETH Zürich) will direct a workshop on “Enlarging, Fast and Slow: European Integration under a Security Imperative” at the Joint Sessions of Workshops of the ECPR in Prague, 20-23 May 2025. Please find additional information here and submit a paper proposal before 21 November 2024.
Call for Applications - InvigoratEU Academy: "Making EU Enlargement a Success."
Deadline October 15!
The EU’s approach to enlargement has undergone significant transformation since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. To discuss these changes and reflect on the necessary policy adjustments needed to enable the EU enlargement, we invite you to join us for the InvigoratEU Academy: “Making EU enlargement a success” that will take place in Brussels from 3-6
December 2024. This programme will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of EU enlargement policies and the current geopolitical needs and will offer you the chance to meet senior professionals working on these topics. Through expert-led sessions and meetings with leading EU practitioners, you will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to actively shape and influence the future of the EU. Read the draft agenda at the end of this document.
For more information visit the TEPSA website here or have a look at the pdf below:
Call for applications: Making EU enlargement a success
Job advertisement: Research Associate, 75%, TVöD 13, 15 June 2024
As part of the Horizon Europe project InvigoratEU, funded by the European Commission, on the EU’s relations with the Eastern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans, the Institute for European Politics (iep) is looking for a research associate with an average weekly working time of 29.25 hours as of 15 June 2024. Remuneration will be based on the federal TVöD 13 collective agreement. The position is limited to the three-year project duration until 31 December 2026.
For more information: https://iep-berlin.de/en/about/career/research-associate-invigorateu/
TEPSA Academy 2024 – EU enlargement
Call for applications!
The programme has been conceptualised with the goal of providing students from all over Europe with a comprehensive overview of the key debates surrounding enlargement from the EU’s perspective. By involving experts and practitioners from European institutions, think tanks and academia, it aims to create a space for brainstorming and discussion with students on why enlargement is a defining challenge, but also opportunity for the Union. We hope to open a debate and exchange between policy-makers, experts, and students on how to achieve enlargement without compromising on deepening in the EU, while focusing on the EU’s absorption capacity and analysing specific policies that will be particularly affected by an enlarged Union. Attention will be paid to differentiated integration, the EU’s transformative power in the context of enlargement, issues related to the rule of law, and the legal aspects of enlargement.
For more information see the Call and the detailed programme here:
Future of EU enlargement – 20 years’ experience and future perspectives
On April 18th the Institute of Political Science of the University Duisburg-Essen is inviting to a panel about the future of EU enlargement featuring Prof. Danijela Jacimovic (University of Montenegro), Prof. Boštjan Udovič (University of Ljubljana), Prof. Michael Kaeding (University Duisburg-Essen) and Oliver Schwarz (University Duisburg-Essen).
Job Vacancy - Director of Studies (30-50% FTE) - Department of European Transformation and Integration Studies (Tirana, Albania)
The College of Europe is seeking applications for the position of Director of Studies (30-50% FTE) of the study programme „Master of Arts in European Transformation and Integration – The EU and Southeastern Europe” (ETI) at the newly established Department of European Transformation and Integration in Tirana, Albania [coleurope.eu/tirana], starting from the academic year 2024-25 onwards (i.e. assuming responsibilities in August/September 2024 at the latest). The successful candidate will be contracted for the initial academic year, with an envisaged extension of two additional academic years (and renewable 3-year appointment periods afterwards).
For further information: Job Vacancy
New Horizon Europe Project
Preparing Europe for the future
With Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, the number of official candidate countries for accession to the European Union has grown to ten. This means that EU enlargement is once again a key strategy for contributing to greater stability and prosperity throughout Europe in times of new geopolitical challenges. From January 1, 2024, InvigoratEU* – a new Horizon Europe project coordinated by the EU-Chair at the University of Duisburg-Essen together with the Institute for European Politics in Berlin – will examine how the EU can structue its future relations with its eastern neighbours and the countries of the Western Balkans. The consortium will initially receive around three million euros in funding from the EU over the next three years.
New Publication "Enlargement and the Future of Europe - Views from the Capital"
Short, opinionated chapters offering different perspectives from in- and outside of the EU, including most of our InvigoratEU consortium members. Big thanks to the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA) for their support and to the editors Michael Kaeding (InvigoratEU coordinator), Johannes Pollak, and Paul Schmidt (InvigoratEU Advisory Board Member) for their coordination. 
#InvigoratEU #EuropeanFuture #Enlargement #TEPSA
Learn more: https://tepsa.eu/book-on-the-future-of-europe/
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