The International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS) is organising a public stakeholder conference held in the framework of the REDEMOS (Reconfiguring EU Democracy Support. Towards A Sustained Demos in The EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood) Horizon Europe project.
As Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine rages on for the third year, the whole region of the EU’s eastern neighbourhood is profoundly affected by tightened geopolitical competition. The worsened security situation has put fragile political systems in several countries under strain. The EU has been forced to look for new ways to make a difference in the region, inter alia by supporting Ukraine’s war effort, while continuing to advance democratic reforms. Some countries, notably Ukraine and Moldova, have taken important steps towards EU membership, while Georgia’s European aspirations have been pushed back by a democratic decline. To complicate things further, China is gradually building up a stronger presence in the region, while the future commitment of the US is uncertain.
This conference will discuss the competition between major external actors in the EU’s eastern neighbourhood, its impact on democratisation, and the EU’s response to geopolitical contestation, focusing predominantly on Ukraine and Georgia.
Time: Friday, 8 November 2024, at 9:30-13:10.
Place: ICDS seminar hall, Narva Rd 63/4 (East Building), Tallinn.
Agenda
09:30-09:40 Opening remarks
Kristi Raik, Deputy Director and Head of Foreign Policy Programme, ICDS, and Madalina Dobrescu, Principal Investigator of REDEMOS and Associate Professor, NTNU, Trondheim
09:40-10:10 Keynote speech
Luc Pierre Devigne, Deputy Managing Director for Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia, regional cooperation, and OSCE in the EEAS, Brussels
10:10-11:25 Session 1: What is left of Georgia’s European dream?
Ekaterine Metreveli, President, GFSIS
Kai Kaarelson, Research Fellow, ICDS
Julia Bader, Associate Professor, University of Amsterdam
Moderator: Steven Blockmans, Senior Fellow, CEPS and ICDS
Coffee break
11:45-13:00 Session 2: How to secure democracy and peace in Ukraine
Yuliya Bidenko, Associate Professor at Karazin Kharkiv National University; Research Fellow at Carnegie Europe
Marko Mihkelson, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament
Lavly Perling, Member of the Ethics Council of Ukraine, Prosecutor General of the Republic of Estonia (2014-19)
Moderator: Igor Gretskiy, Research Fellow, ICDS
13:00-13:10 Closing remarks
Participation
Attendance at the conference is by invitation only.
If you are interested, please contact [email protected]
As the number of seats is limited, only registered guests will be able to attend. Registration closes on Wednesday, November 6.