The European Union and its Eastern Partners - Current approaches to regional cooperation
Practical information
The Eastern Partnership Reflection Forum 2017 (EaP-RF) is an initiative inspired by the on-going “EU-Western Balkans Reflection Forum Initiative” (WB-RF). The latter was launched in 2015 in support of the so-called “Berlin Process”, an intergovernmental initiative aimed at promoting reforms and regional cooperation in the Western Balkans. The WB-RF, now backed by the CEI, emerged as the expert component within the Berlin Process.
It convenes a community of experts in order to encourage a wider strategic reflection on EU relations with Western Balkan states and build bridges with national and international administrations. The value-added of the WB-RF is its capacity to facilitate a pan-European dialogue on the EU’s strategy towards the Western Balkans by mobilising a pool of EU and non-EU experts; capacity to disseminate discussions throughout Europe (EU and non-EU) through outreach and in-reach public seminars; and willingness to create long-stranding synergies by fostering cooperation amongst experts and with foreign policy actors.
Programme
10 December 2017 18h00-19h00: Welcoming cocktail offered by Austro-French Centre for Rapprochement in Europe
19h00-20h30: Evening talk – Security dialogue & regional cooperation in and with the Eastern Partnership region
11 December 2017 8h45-18h00: Main event
18h40-21h30: Closing Reception given by the Embassy of France in Minsk (upon invitation)
12 December 2017 8h35-11h45: Optional guided tour of the MTZ tractor factory & surrounding area (upon registration)
Organised and coordinated by
Austro-French Centre for Rapprochement in Europe (CFA),
Vienna Minsk Dialogue Track II Initiative (MD), Minsk
Centre international de formation européenne (CIFE), Nice/Berlin
French Institute for International Relations (Ifri), Paris/Brussels
German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Berlin
Estonian Center of Eastern Partnership (ECEAP), Tallinn
Austrian Institute for International Politics (Oiip), Vienna Istituto affari internazionali (IAI), Rome
Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA), Bratislava
European Institute for Peace (EIP), Brussels
Other events
Assessing the Balance of Power between Europe and Russia
The evolving U.S. strategic posture and the intensification of the war in Ukraine are reshaping the security landscape in Europe. This context calls for a clear assessment of the balance of power between Europe and Russia.
Europe in turbulence: navigating a new world order without the United States?
The foundations of the post-1945 international order, long anchored by U.S. leadership, are shifting. Amid intensifying geopolitical rivalry, democratic backsliding, and strategic fatigue in Washington, the question arises: what if the United States no longer plays its pivotal role in international security? Simultaneously, the Global South is asserting new political and economic agency, complicating the old binaries of West vs. Rest. For Europe, this landscape is both a challenge and an inflection point.
The future of space cooperation in the new strategic context
The policy orientations of the Trump II administration profoundly challenge the foundations of international cooperation in space science and exploration. This shift reflects a broader trend of strategic disengagement and weakening of multilateral mechanisms in the space domain.