EU politics in focus: Students examine challenges and opportunities!

EU politics in focus: Students examine challenges and opportunities!

The exciting InvigoratEU Youth Lab took place on May 14, 2025 as part of the European Week at the University of Passau. Organized by Florence Ertel and Julian Plottka from the Jean Monnet Chair for European Politics, the event brought together 30 students to actively discuss the challenges of EU enlargement policy and develop concrete policy recommendations. These discussions have been particularly stimulated by the recent granting of candidate status to Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, which could give new impetus to the EU's enlargement policy.

The participants addressed the question of how the EU can strengthen its resilience and that of its member states and neighboring countries against external shocks. External threats such as the increasing influence of Russia, China and Turkey as well as other third countries were discussed. A central concern was to discuss the EU's military capacities and to make the challenges in neighborhood and enlargement policy visible.

Key challenges and issues

The discussion about EU enlargement policy focused on several key topics. These include energy, migration and economic policy as well as the challenges caused by the Russian war of aggression. Serious concerns were expressed about the ability of the EU with its 27 member states to act and about social cohesion in the member states. Particular attention was paid to identifying existing challenges such as foreign influence, progressive de-democratization and the lack of political will for cooperation, which is fragmenting civil society.

The seminar participants developed recommendations for strengthening social cohesion and more efficient decision-making at the supranational level. These results will be incorporated into the research project “InvigoratEU: Invigorating Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy for a Resilient Europe”. This project is funded by the EU within the framework of “Horizon Europe” and aims to strengthen the EU enlargement and neighborhood policy in order to increase Europe's resilience.

Goals and approaches of the project

The InvigoratEU project aims to reform the EU enlargement strategy in a new geopolitical phase. An evidence-based, future-oriented vision for the EU's political agenda should be developed. To achieve these goals, a three-pronged approach will be adopted, including reform, response and reconstruction. The project includes public opinion polls in Ukraine, scenario development and the creation of an external influence index to assess actors such as Russia, China and Turkey.

The exchange between different interest groups plays a central role. The project consortium includes 18 partners, including 7 from Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and the Western Balkans (North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia). The target group of the project are European and national political actors as well as young European citizens who should be actively involved in policy development. These integrative approaches, which also include workshops for young professionals and political debates in a playful setting, demonstrate the will to collaborate and strengthen the EU in the context of global challenges.

The event and the results of the InvigoratEU Youth Lab are viewed in the context of the 75th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration of 1950, which decisively shaped European integration. This initiative highlights the continued relevance and necessary further development of European cooperation in the face of current geopolitical challenges.