The kick-off meeting for the GEO-POWER-EU project started yesterday, 11 June 2024, and will continue until today, 12 June 2024, at CITY College, University of York Europe Campus.

Project Goals and Vision

GEO-POWER-EU’s core mission is to advance the EU’s strategic positioning and response to geopolitical challenges in its Eastern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans. The project aims to reform and innovate EU policy instruments and engagement approaches, ensuring they are well-suited to the new realities of geopolitical competition and cooperation.

Throughout its duration, GEO-POWER-EU will:

• Propose adaptive strategies for EU Enlargement policy to reflect the changing geopolitical environment.
• Assess and propose reforms for the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) in light of the influence of global geopolitical actors.
• Provide strategic foresight on geopolitical competition and the EU’s capacity to contain emerging military threats.
• Develop a multi-dimensional strategy for enhancing EU relations with countries in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership.

Project Partners

• University of the Peloponnese, Greece (Project Coordinator)
• Southeast European Research Center (SEERC), Greece
• European Neighbourhood Council (ENC), Belgium
• University of Bologna, Italy
• The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW), Austria
• University of Rijeka / Academy of Applied Arts of the University of Rijeka, Croatia
• Institute for Democracy Societas Civilis, North Macedonia
• University of Belgrade, Serbia
• VE Insight, Austria
• Democratization Policy Council (DPC), Germany
• Institutul pentru Dezvoltare și Inițiative Sociale (IDIS) Viitorul, Moldova
• Odesa Mechnikov National University, Ukraine
• Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (GFSIS), Georgia
• Utrikespolitiska Institutet, Sweden.

Kick-off Meeting Highlights

The first day of the GEO-POWER-EU consortium meetings included the participation of twenty-five researchers from 14 different organizations that gathered to discuss the project concept and work packages, as well as to learn about the projects from researchers of our sister projects.

The meeting saw enthusiastic participation from consortium members, with some attending in person and others joining online. The hybrid format allowed for dynamic discussions and the emergence of interesting theories and ideas. Attendees shared their expertise and perspectives, paving the way for innovative approaches to the project’s goals.

Stay tuned for updates as GEO-POWER-EU unfolds, shaping a more secure, strategically autonomous, and geopolitically empowered European Union.

We invite you to stay connected with the project’s progress and updates by following GEO-POWER-EU on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Soundcloud and Youtube.