(Re)uniting the East and West: Reflections on the 2004 EU enlargement

ongoing

The proposed project is focused on the commemoration of the 2004 “big bang” EU enlargement at the occasion of its upcoming 20th anniversary in May 2024. This event had numerous positive effects on shaping Europe as we know it today, boosting its security, economic potential, and spreading democracy, good governance and European values across the European continent. However, despite being a historical moment of European integration, the 2004 enlargement is also often viewed as a root of many challenges that the Union is currently facing, such as democratic backsliding in some new EU Member states or the rise of Euroscepticism. Consequently, doubts about the success of past EU enlargements shape the current discussions and have a negative impact also on the ongoing process of integrating countries of the Western Balkans and Associated Trio into the EU. Through the combination of local, national and international public events, collection of historical memories and narratives, studies on impacts of 2004 enlargement, costs of non-enlargement and role of women in the process, as well as exhibitions and media articles, the project contributes to wider contemporary efforts of EU memory politics. Facilitating the exchange of views and memories, reflecting on the differences in perceptions across Europe and in different generational and socio-economic groups, and providing research outputs objectively assessing the impacts of the Eastern enlargement on newly acceded countries and the EU as a bloc, the project aims to create a shared and more cohesive understanding of EU enlargement as an important milestone in our common European history deeply rooted in shared values embodied in the European Union with unmatched transformative influence.