Event

Georgia’s goal of developing closer ties with the EU and NATO are important factors influencing Georgia’s foreign and security policy. Further engagement with the EU is expected to represent a symbolic breakthrough in the Europeanisation plans of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, all of which are about to enter into a new chapter of internal development that is strongly driven by a feeling of “irreversible Europeanisation” in large segments of public opinion.

10 years on from the launch of the Eastern Partnership initiative, the “Associated Trio” expects to benefit from European aid and monitoring, democratic conditionality strategies, institutional and knowledge transfer, free trade and foreign investment. This process, if successful, could become of crucial importance for the future development of the region.

This event will bring together prominent European scholars and local stakeholders for knowledge exchange and critical discussion to unpack the three-fold challenges to Europeanization in the Eastern neighborhood: from the perspective of recipient countries; from the Russian qualms, and finally, from within Europe itself.

The event is part of the GEOPATH project.

PROGRAMME:

10.00-10.10 - Welcome remarks:

• Prof. Tamar Dolbaia, Dean, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TBC)
• Prof. Kornely Kakachia, Department of Political Science, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University

10.10-10.40 - Round table discussion:

• Dr. Ketevan Bolkvadze, Lund University
• Dr. Julie Wilhelmsen, NUPI
• Prof. Kornely Kakachia, Georgian Institute of Politics, TSU
• Moderator: Dr. Helge Blakkisrud, NUPI, Oslo, Norway

10.40-11.00 - Q&A