Twenty years of EU membership: lessons learned, challenges and opportunities

Abstract

The conference was dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the accession of the eight Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (together with Cyprus and Malta) to the European Union. According to one of the organisers of the conference, Ingrid Unikaitė-Jakuntavičienė, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy of the VMU, the conference brought together leaders in their countries and young political scientists to discuss the experiences, achievements, developments in the CEE region and in their respective countries, as well as the challenges and opportunities of EU membership today. "For Europe, the 2004 EU enlargement offered a unique opportunity to unite a previously fragmented continent and to continue to build a whole Europe based on the same values: democracy, the rule of law, respect for fundamental freedoms and rights. For the new EU Member States, joining the EU required a decade of reforms to implement the so-called acquis, to convince citizens who feared the idea of opening up the market, and to overcome Member States' resistance to enlargement," says the Associate Professor, who adds that enlargement has brought significant benefits to CEE countries, in terms of economic development, political consolidation and regional integration. The conference also discussed the current challenges and the future of the countries in the region. "Economic disparities persist, with rural areas lagging behind urban centres, leading to growing social inequalities. In some countries, concerns have been raised about the weakening of democracy, raising questions about commitment to the rule of law and democratic values. The rise of populist movements and nationalist sentiment in some countries highlights the delicate balance between national identity and European integration. Security challenges have also emerged, particularly in the light of Russia's aggressive actions in the region and the war in Ukraine", concludes Dr Unikaitė-Jakuntavičienė. These and other issues were discussed, debated and analysed by political science researchers, political scientists, professors and scholars from higher education institutions in Silesia, Prague, Ljubljana, Bratislava, Zagreb and other cities in the CEE region. A number of presentations focused on international politics and security issues, the war in Ukraine, as well as the experience of EU membership, integration, people's assessments of EU membership and the prospects for EU enlargement. Some of the presentations dealt with the weakening of democracies, populism, political parties and leadership, elections, local government, migration and national minorities.