Empowering the Geopolitical EU in the Eastern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans

ongoing

GEO-POWER-EU's main objective is to contribute to the empowerment of the EU to manage security threats within the deteriorating geopolitical environment that lies in its Eastern Neighbourhood and in the Western Balkans. The project’s main ambition is to go beyond the ‘state of the art’ and articulate a proposal for a comprehensive EU strategy towards these regions that will employ new and reformed means and policy instruments, taking into consideration foresight concerning the strategic ambitions of other geopolitical actors. To address this ambition, GEO-POWER-EU’s workplan builds on 6 specific objectives: i) propose ideas for the adaptation of EU Enlargement policy to the new realities, ii) interrogate the continued relevance of the EaP and articulate policy prescriptions for its reform, iii) assess the influence of other geopolitical actors (United States, Russia, China and Turkey) in the two regions, iv) provide strategic foresight about the prospects of geopolitical competition in the two regions, v) explore the growth of the EU ability to contain military threats from the deteriorating geopolitical environment beyond its borders, vi) propose a comprehensive and multidimensional EU strategy that will guide relations with the WB/EaP countries. The project’s research results will go beyond the ‘state of the art’ to advance a new conceptual framework and an innovative policy framework built on the use of quantitative and qualitative methods in the policy cycle. In terms of methodology, the project is mobilizing cutting-edge expertise from different disciplines to implement a multi-stage plan, grounded in a participatory and inclusive approach, with all partners contributing to data collection and processing. The project’s participatory and co- creation methodology relies on the systematic involvement of researchers from third institutions, decision-makers, stakeholders, and citizens – including in the regions being analysed - throughout the project cycle.