“Bridging Values and Geopolitics” – seminar organised by IEŚ and the Permanent Representation of Poland to the EU in Brussels
On 5 November 2026, a seminar entitled “Bridging Values and Geopolitics. The EU and the Western Balkans on the Eve of the Next Enlargement” was held at the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the European Union in Brussels. The event was jointly organised by the Institute of Central Europe (IEŚ) and the Permanent Representation of Poland to the EU.
The event provided an opportunity to present IEŚ research on the prospects for EU enlargement to the Western Balkan countries in Brussels. The seminar took place one day after the European Commission announced its 2026 Enlargement Package and marked the culmination of several months of cooperation between the two institutions.
The discussion was based on the latest IEŚ policy paper, “The EU’s Geopolitical Turn towards the Western Balkans. What about the people?”. The publication, prepared by Agata Domachowska and Spasimir Domaradzki, Head of the IEŚ Balkans Team, is the third edition in a series examining the social and political factors shaping the region’s European integration. The paper also includes analyses by experts from all six Western Balkan countries.
The authors highlight a significant discrepancy: although public support for EU membership remains largely positive across the region, confidence in the accession process itself is gradually declining. These findings provide an important point of reference for the debate on the future of enlargement and its geopolitical and social dimensions.
The seminar was opened by Tomasz Wiśniewski from the Permanent Representation of Poland to the EU and Anton Saifullayeu, Deputy Director of the Institute of Central Europe. The keynote address was delivered by Michał Giergoń, Deputy Director of the Department of Enlargement and Eastern Policy at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Following the presentation of the report’s key findings and recommendations, a panel discussion was held on the costs of further non-enlargement of the European Union.
