Brussels – ESI at off-record discussion on EU prospects for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia

Photo: ESI

ESI’s Kristof Bender was invited to a roundtable on “EU Enlargement and the Eastern Partnership: Challenges and Prospects”, organised by Carnegie Europe in Brussels. The event was held in accordance with Chatham House rules. 

Kristof, participating via zoom, spoke on a panel on “EU accession: perspective and challenges”. In his intervention, Kristof talked about the problems of the accession process at the example of the Western Balkans and how they can be overcome. 

The other speakers on Kristof’s panel were Katarina Mathernova (Deputy Director-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations and incoming Ambassador of the EU to Ukraine) and Kataryna Wolczuk (Co-Director of the Centre for Russian, European and Eurasian Studies at the University of Birmingham). It was chaired by Rosa Balfour (Director of Carnegie Europe).

Another panel chaired by Thomas de Waal, Senior fellow at Carnegie, focused on dynamics in Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.  

• ESI proposal: Offer the four freedoms to the Balkans, Ukraine, and Moldova
• ESI proposal:  End the turtle race
• ESI Background Paper: Scoreboard. The true stat of accession - What the Commission assessments reveal, 17 March 2023
• Kristof Bender, The Western Balkans, Ukraine and the EU, Tipping Point, 16 March 2023
• Programme, EU Enlargement and the Eastern Partnership: Challenges and Prospects