Event report

The opinions and views expressed by participants during the conversation: “In 1992 the question arose, ‘Where does Europe end?’ It has not been properly answered yet” “The EU needs to keep the membership perspective open” “Early and generous accession rather than paternalistic lecturing can be more effective in securing commitment to European values” “Any membership perspective must be realistic, otherwise it may lead to more frustration. It is most likely to span over a generation, which is why it is important to work with young people” “The trio countries are doing their best, now they need some encouragement” “Some EU countries do not want more problems with Russia” “EU should help the trio countries in areas such as disinformation and cyber security” “EU should start differentiating between EaP members to recognise the efforts of the ‘Associated Trio’” “We should not take differentiation too far” “We must come up with new ways to recognise and appreciate the commitment of the trio countries” “We need to be careful not to allow a Russian or Chinese Trojan Horse into the EU” “EU needs to be careful not to become a periphery of Eurasia” “There is a crisis in liberal democracy, and the quicker Europe deals with that the better” “The EU never seems to win the narrative battle” “The EU is still in the process of reinventing itself from being the club of a few countries in western Europe to being a continent-wide Union with the diversity that that entails”