Event-debate “European Citizens’ Agora – The European Union Enlargement Process, a Catalyst for Progress”
The EUROPE DIRECT Bucharest Centre, hosted by the European Institute of Romania, in partnership with the Faculty of International Business and Economics, the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, organized on Thursday, October 24, 2024, the event-debate entitled “European Citizens’ Agora – The European Union enlargement process, a catalyst for progress”.
The event, accommodated by the prestigious Romanian university, was an integral part of the 15th edition of the International Conference The Future of Europe.
The topics subject to debate were the following: the process of joining the European Union – from desired to achieved objective (Eliza VAȘ, coordinator of the Studies Department, European Institute of Romania), the rule of law – a key component of a just society, political stability and economic growth (Radu-Vladimir RĂUȚĂ, coordinator, dMonitor, Ph.D. candidate, National School of Political and Administrative Studies), cooperation for promoting European cultural ties in the context of enlargement policy (Mihaela PĂDUREANU, expert, Studies Department, European Institute of Romania), respectively, accession vs. disinformation - how European integration becomes the target of fake news (Bianca TOMA, program director, Romanian Centre for European Policies).
The event was moderated by Professor Octavian-Dragomir JORA, Ph.D., Faculty of International Business and Economics, the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, founder and editor-in-chief of The Market for Ideas magazine.
With regard to the aspects discussed, we mention:
Eliza VAŞ
— What is the European Union?: A political and economic union made up of 27 member states; has both confederation and federation attributes; is a subject of international law; is based on the respect of common European values (Art. 2 of the TEU – human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, human rights)
— Enlargement of the European Union: in the period 1973-2013, there were 7 waves of enlargement; in 2024, there are 9 candidate states and one potential candidate state
— Why do countries want to be part of the EU?
- To join an area that for more than 70 years lives in peace and makes decisions based on negotiations/respect for the values and principles that guide it
- To develop economically, thereby ensuring better living standards for citizens
- To be part of the largest single market in the world
- To develop the dimension of interstate cooperation
- To have access to the benefits arising from the EU member state status (standards, mechanisms, funds, etc.)
— Steps for accession: submitting an application, opening accession negotiations, preparing for accession.
Radu-Vladimir RĂUȚĂ
— The requirements imposed by a state’s accession to the EU sometimes seem too difficult to meet
— We cannot talk about enlargement without taking into account the Europeanization process of the candidate states, so that they comply with the EU standards
— The rule of law is an essential criteria for candidate countries (case study: Western Balkans)
— In 2019, when she established the new College of Commissioners, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, placed the rule of law at the forefront of the political agenda and presented the Rule of Law Report as one of the main political guidelines for the 2019-2024 mandate; the purpose of the report mentioned above is to identify and help member states find solutions to their problems concerning the rule of law
— Is political stability more important than progress?; we cannot quantify the completion of the steps related to the EU accession; there is no framework document that we can use in this endeavour, apart from the annual evaluation report made by the EC (presentation of the status of meeting the accession criteria, the negotiation chapters – 35 chapters, structured in 6 areas), formulated in a very technical way.
Mihaela PĂDUREANU
— Culture – that which shapes the norms of behaviour that members of society recognize and follow
— What is the EU doing in the cultural area?; art. 6 and art. 167, para. 1 and 2 of the TFEU
— The most important document in this regard is the European Framework for Action on Cultural Heritage (2018)
— Creative Europe 2021-2027 funding program – supports cross-border cooperation and collaborative activities for all cultural and creative sectors
— Other EU funding programmes: Horizon Europe, the Single Market Programme, the Recovery and Resilience Facility or the Cohesion Fund
— European Capitals of Culture, an initiative launched in 1985
— European Heritage Awards – Culture and Creativity: Music Moves Europe Awards, EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture and EU Prize for Literature
— European Heritage Days – a joint initiative with the Council of Europe, which gives citizens access to sites normally closed to the public
— EU partners in the cultural area: UNESCO, Council of Europe, OECD
— In 2012, the EU received the Nobel Peace Prize
Bianca TOMA
— European integration becomes the target of fake news due to “influencers” who, willy-nilly, through the narratives propagated in the online space, misinform
— Examples of anti-European narratives: “Romanians-slaves of the Europe/slaves of Brussels’ bureaucrats”; “Romania is losing its national sovereignty”; “The EU is collapsing/the EU is dysfunctional”
— Common topics: “the EU imposes digital currency on us / conspiracy to eliminate cash”; “Brussels imposes gender ideology on us”; “The EU and its climate dictatorship/ eco-dictatorship”
— In 2024, a significant increase in the presence of the term/hashtag “RO-Exit” in the online environment is observed
— The increased impact of anti-EU themes promoted by the Russian propaganda is noted; one of the most toxic narratives: “EU is collapsing” or “EU is a dysfunctional construct, unable to effectively manage internal and external challenges, about to disintegrate/fall apart”
The participants, mainly students, together with representatives of the university/academic and research environment, interested in the objectives and implications of the fake news phenomenon associated with the EU enlargement process, were open to dialogue, constantly interacting with the facilitators both directly, during the sessions of Q&A, as well as through the Slido platform.
The event-debate “European Citizens’ Agora – The European Union enlargement process, a catalyst for progress” highlighted the importance of raising awareness of the impact of fake news and disinformation on the EU enlargement process and offered effective solutions to identify and combat these current threats, implicitly contributing to the creation of an informed public. As a result, the positive note in which the debate ended and, at the same time, the statement of Professor JORA – “We cannot know, scientifically, how our future will look like. But we’ll definitely live whichever future to come. So go make it, not just take it!” – gives hope for the consolidation of the common European project.
