The aim of the project is to increase people’s understanding of the expansion of the EU, minimise the misconceptions related to it and support a more informed public debate over the future of Europe.
Civil society organizations and think-tanks from 11 EU member states that hold the most negative attitudes towards the expansion of the EU will participate in workshops: France, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Estonia, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Belgium, Slovakia, and Portugal. Additional organizations from three EU candidate countries will also be involved. In the project, Estonia will be represented by the Institute of Baltic Studies.
Together, participants will discuss how to communicate about EU enlargement with citizens in a clearly, credibly and inclusively. Participants will share their experiences, challenges and working solutions in order to improve information exchange, increase citizen engagement, and help people make more informed choices in elections.
As a result of the project, a joint strategy and a practical toolkit will be developed to better explain the meaning and impact of EU enlargement in different countries. The project will also lay the groundwork for sustained cross-border cooperation within a network of think-tanks and NGOs, bringing together partners from at least eleven EU Member States and three candidate countries.
