Can enlargement policy once again live up to its reputation as one of the EU’s most successful foreign policies? And how can a (re)invigorated neighbourhood strategy strengthen the EU’s external action at a time of increasing geopolitical uncertainty? These guiding questions form the analytical starting point for InvigoratEU’s conceptual framework.
A central element is the concept of resilience, which must be critically assessed in the context of the EU’s foreign policy. Rather than treating resilience as a catch-all term, the framework examines its political, institutional, and societal dimensions to determine how resilient structures can enhance the EU’s capacity to respond to external challenges. Building on this assessment, the InvigoratEU Triple-R Approach – Reforming, Responding, Rebuilding – structures the project’s analysis of the opportunities and constraints shaping EU enlargement and neighbourhood policies. It does so by examining (1) the reforms required inside and outside the EU, (2) how the EU can respond more flexibly and strategically to crises, and (3) how long-term rebuilding efforts can create more sustainable relations with partner countries. Only against this analytical backdrop does the framework revisit key milestones in the EU’s neighbourhood relations to show how past dynamics inform current policy challenges.
These reflections formed the basis of a presentation by Funda Tekin, IEP Director and scientific lead of InvigoratEU, at the 29th Annual Congress of the German Political Science Association (GPSA) from 24 to 27 September 2025 in Göttingen, delivered as part of the panel “The Future of the EU’s Democracy Promotion – In Search of Innovative Tools and Appropriate Policies”. The academic feedback received during the panel contributes to the ongoing refinement of InvigoratEU’s conceptual approach.
The full conceptual framework is available here: InvigoratEU’s Conceptual Background Paper
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