REUNIR – RESILIENCE, ENLARGEMENT, UNION, NEIGHBOURHOOD, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS. Future-proofing EU security, enlargement and eastern neighbourhood policies for a new age of international relations.
By granting candidate status to Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, the EU has rejected a Russian sphere of influence and instead determined where its future borders should lie. It has been more difficult, however, to change policies in order to effectively respond to an evolving geopolitical context, which also sees China and other state actors competing for influence.
Throughout the accession process, existing procedural structures have already been pushed to their limits. Challenges include, among other things, the obstructionism by certain Member States that is linked to the divisive issue of EU internal reform. This issue has cost the EU a significant amount of credibility in the Western Balkans and will take years to resolve.
The event kicked off REUNIR’s investigation into foreign threats to the military, socio-economic, and democratic resilience of nine neighboring countries. The project identified capability shortfalls, gauged local perceptions of the EU’s support, and gained insights into political perspectives inside the EU on neighborhood relations. Outlining scenarios up to 2035, REUNIR offered evidence-based policy recommendations to mitigate malign foreign interference and strengthen the EU’s external action.
The kick-off event “Staying the course towards EU enlargement in a contested neighbourhood” was held on February 23, 2024, at the CEPS office in Brussels, Belgium.
The project is funded under the European Commission’s Horizon Europe programme, project ID No. 101132446.
