EU enlargement takes mainly place as bilateral talks between representatives of candidate countries and the European Commission to assess progress in EU accession. However, winning and maintaining the support of the member and candidate countries‘ population is by far the more challenging task. Even though support for EU membership is strong in Ukraine, it is important to inform and engage the Ukrainian public throughout the enlargement process.
To contribute to a better understanding of EU politics and enlargement, Coopera e.V. organises a series of online workshops for a group of young journalists from Ukraine. For IEP, Laura Christoph and Julian Plottka held a virtual session on the EU enlargement policy and Ukraine’s accession process. Following two briefings on the enlargement process in general and the current state of the reforms in Ukraine, a lively discussion took place on Russia’s imperialism, disinformation and corruption, which some of the participants considered as the main obstacle to Ukraine’s EU accession.
In a group exercise, the Ukrainian participants changed perspectives and took on the roles of Ursula von der Leyen and the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. In a mock talk show, moderated by Laura Christoph, they debated the pros and cons of enlargement, each presenting their arguments for and against Ukraine’s EU membership.
During the closing Q&A session, it became clear that Ursula von der Leyen as a staunch supporter of Ukraine’s EU accession is viewed as a superhero for many in the younger generation.
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