Listening possible in: CS/DE/EN/FR/IT/PL/RO/HR/KA/MK/SQ/TR/UA
Speaking possible in: All of the above + HU/SR
Webstreaming:
https://frontend.cor.smv.cloud/en/sessions/reference/enlargement-day-plenary-session
09:30–10:00
Introduced by Nenad Šebek
Opening Session
- Mr Vasco Alves Cordeiro (PT/PES), President of the European Committee of the Regions, Member of the Azores Regional Parliament (video message)
10:00–10:45
The Western Balkans and Turkey: Finally Some Movement – or More of the Same?
Panel debate moderated by Nenad Šebek
- Ms Anna Magyar (HU/ECR), CoR rapporteur on
TheEnlargement Package 2021, Member of the County Council of Csongrád Megye
- Ms Dragana Sotirovski, Mayor of Niš (Serbia), Co-chair of the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) CoR-Serbia
- Mr Nikola Dobroslavić (HR/EPP), Chair of the CoR Working Group on the Western Balkans, President of Dubrovnik-Neretva Region
- Mr Mehmet Hilmi Güler, Mayor of Ordu Metropolitan Municipality (Turkey)
- Mr Dušan Raičević, Mayor of Bar (Montenegro), Co-Chair of the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) CoR-Montenegro, Second Vice-President of the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS)
Serbia and Montenegro are busy negotiating their accession, Albania and North Macedonia are still waiting to open negotiations, Kosovo* and Bosnia and Herzegovina are at the end of the queue as "potential candidates". Can the local and regional authorities help move things forward, or is enlargement something that only happens in faraway ministries and even more remote Brussels?
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution UNSCR 1244/1999 and the International Court of Justice Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
10:45-11:00
Coffee Break
11:00–11:45
Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova - New Applicant Countries, New Directions, New Expectations
Panel debate moderated by Bert Kuby
- Mr Oleksandr Symchyshyn , Mayor of Khmelnytskyi, Member of the Board of the Association of Ukrainian Cities
- Ms Tatiana Badan, Mayor of Selemet (Moldova), Past President of the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS)
- Mr Zurab Abashidze, Member of Tbilisi City Council (Georgia), Head of the Georgian Delegation to the Conference of Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership (CORLEAP)
- Mr József Kóbor (HU/EA), Member of the Local Government of Pécs with county rights, Member of the CoR Working Group Turkey
- Mr Georg Ziegler, Team Leader - Support Group for Ukraine, European Commission, Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR)
The membership applications of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova have changed the entire landscape of the EU's enlargement policy. What are the hopes and fears of the "new enlargement" countries, are their expectations of a fast-track membership realistic, and where would that leave the countries that have already been in the EU's waiting room for a long time?
11:45–12:30
Youth and EU Enlargement
Panel debate moderated by Silke Toenshoff
- Mr Tine Radinja (SI/Greens), Mayor of Škofja Loka, CoR rapporteur on
The Future of Youth Policy in the EU
- Ms Tatiana Yehorova-Lutsenko, Chair of the Council of Kharkiv Oblast (Ukraine)
- Ms Eriselda Sefa, Mayor of Lushnja (Albania)
- Ms Filiz Gencan Akin, Councillor, Edirne Municipality (Turkey)
2022 is the European Year of Youth. For the young people in the enlargement countries, many of the opportunities - available to their fellow young Europeans in the EU - remain elusive. What are the needs and priorities of the young, and can they mobilise to move the process forward themselves?
12:30–13:00
Closing Remarks: What Will the EU Do Now?
- Michela Matuella, Acting Director (Western Balkans), European Commission, Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR)
- Ms Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, Mayor of Gdańsk (PL/EPP), Chair of the CoR Working Group on Ukraine