High Profile Roundtable Policy Discussion in the European Parliament on Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova
The European Neighbourhood Council held a roundtable policy discussion with experts representing academia, think tanks and European Union (EU) officials in the European Parliament on September 29th, 2016.
In order to foster relevant dialogue, the roundtable included officials from the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Parliament, regional diplomats and a representative from each of the Ukrainian, Georgian and Moldovan representations.
Shaping EU foreign policy: exchanging ideas with policy makers and experts
Among the distinguished speakers were Mrs. Clara Ganslandt, Head of Division, EU Common Security & Defense Policy (CSDP) Partnerships and Agreements at the EEAS, Prof. Bruno Coppieters, Head of the Department of Political Science at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Mr. Sergiy Solodkyy, first Deputy Director of the Kyiv-based think-tank Institute of World Policy (IWP), and Mr. Stanislav Secrieru, policy analyst at the Open Society European Policy Institute (OSEPI). The roundtable was introduced and moderated by Samuel Doveri Vesterbye, Director of the European Neighborhood Council and Ilhan Kyuchyuk, ALDE Member of the European Parliament.
Increased need for EU consultations on security and NATO
On the record, Mrs. Ganslandt stressed the importance of the Eastern Partnership Panel on CSDP and the need for more consultations on security-related issues.
Prof. Coppieters, spoke about the concept of forgotten conflicts on behalf of the international community, referring to the cases of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia while placing the conflict in Transnistria (Moldova) under the same category.
Mr. Solodkyy underlined the necessity to strengthen and deepen the cooperation among all stakeholders (Ukraine, EU and NATO) in the area of intelligence sharing.
The Moldovan perspective was presented by Mr. Secrieru who stressed the importance of the EU’s support in order for Moldova to stay on the right course and tackle internal issues.
Future research on Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova
ENC will publish the remaining research and commentaries anonymously in our upcoming research contributions.
The purpose of High Profile Roundtable Policy Discussions, held jointly with parliamentarians, is to inform and exchange ideas on specific policy topics in order to improve inter-institutional dialogue while improving best practice and EU policymaking.
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Click to download the full event description.
European Neighbourhood Council (ENC) – together with the Clingendael 
The training session opened with remarks by ENC’s Managing Director Samuel Doveri Vesterbye who presented ENC’s research activities across the wider European Neighbourhood, including also accession countries and Central Asia. Emphasis was put on ENC’s unique organizational structure and academic council, which is made up of university scholars from across most of Eurasia, enlargement countries and North Africa. Mr. Doveri Vesterbye also spoke about the need for increased dialogue, innovation and regional consensus in foreign affairs.
Dr. Andrea Mogni, ENC external advisor and former senior policy coordinator and financial expert at the European External Action Service (EEAS), spoke about the business opportunities and the economic potential that Central Asia and Mongolia have vis-a-vis Europe. He referred to the financial instruments which Central Asian scholars have access to, such as the Horizon2020, which is the biggest EU-funded project, covering scientific and societal matters among other things.
The Training Session for junior diplomats is also part of ENC’s 2017 European Diplomatic Training Program, in which various speakers, including Dr. Mogni, teach diplomats in EU affairs, financial instruments and decision-making.