4th Ideas go public Lab – Public Debate: The path to the EU – how the war in Ukraine has reopened the case for enlargement, 19 May 2022, Paris, 19.00-20.30

Right in between the tail of the presidential race and the head of the parliamentary elections, our WB2EU 4^th Ideas go public Lab will focus on the general politics of enlargement in France. The Russian aggression on Ukraine has rekindled a movement of solidarity and mobilisation akin to those of 1956 for Hungary, 1968 for Prague, or the 1980s for Poland. The reconfirmation for Ukraine of its European destiny in the face of war and its domino effect on Georgia and Moldova triggered a refreshed interest in the French public and political spectrum for the EU’s enlargement goals and processes. In this regard, we found it relevant to reflect on what this novel context could mean for the Balkans’ path into the EU. And the associated political narratives and plays.

Following the usual pattern, the Ideas go public Lab will have an afternoon specialist round table, an evening public event – followed by a formal get together – and a WB2EU Network meeting for debriefing and reflecting on the next steps in the framework of the project.

So, the WB2EU 4^th Ideas go public Lab will serve the following purpose:

• To have an intensive debate about the general politics of enlargement in France and the EU’s enlargement goals and processes
• To reflect on what the latest developments in Europe mean for the Balkans’ path into the EU
• To have an exchange with political stakeholders and further establish an academia-policy-politics alliance around the project

19.00–20.30: Public debate (livestreaming will be provided)

Venue: EuropaNova premises, 64bis av. de New Yok, 75016 Paris

The path to the EU – How the war in Ukraine has reopened the case for enlargement

Welcome: Edouard Gaudot, EuropaNova, WB2EU Network

Keynote speech: André Gattolin, French Senator LREM, Vice-chair of the European Affairs

Discussants:

Tineke Strik, Dutch MEP Greens EFA (video message)
Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, French MEP Greens EFA
Nebojsa Vukadinovic, Expert for the European Commission on pre-accession funds
Oana Popescu-Zamfir, Director, GlobalFocus Center (Bucharest), WB2EU Network

Moderated by Paul Schmidt, General Secretary, Austrian Society for European Politics (ÖGfE), WB2EU Network

Concluding remarks: Elise Bernard, EuropaNova, WB2EU Network