European Union Enlargement: Past Lessons for Future Decisions

2026-07-22

The module will analyse the pre-accession process and enlargement negotiations from political, economic, and legal perspectives - why and how the EU is expanding, as well as the rationale for non-member states to apply for membership or vice versa. It will compare different enlargement rounds from a historical-political perspective, as well as the processes themselves. Particular attention will be paid to the current negotiations, the existing candidates, their aspirations, sectoral readiness and recommendations as envisaged in the European Commission’s assessment reports, and path towards membership + the case of Georgia, of course - what is the role of the neighbourhood policy/Eastern partnership/association agreements, what is the correlation between the enlargement policy and the said policies, to what extent they can be considered as instruments of enlargement on the example of Ukraine and Moldova, etc. The overall objective of the project is to raise the awareness of the Georgian youth and young academics about the EU’s enlargement policies, dynamics, and enlargement negotiation procedures from political, economic and legal perspectives through teaching, policy discussions and practical workshops. Objective 1: Equipping the students of the European University as well as the other youth from the regions with theoretical and practical knowledge about the EU Enlargement Policies and Politics through formal and non-formal educational activities. Objective 2: Supporting the academic advancement of young European Studies specialists by encouraging their contribution in research and policy work in Georgia and beyond. Objective 3: Promoting the policy dialogues between European University academics, policymakers and broader society through public discussions and international experience sharing.

Georgia

2025-10-15