European Policy Dialogue
5 NOVEMBER 2026 | ONLINE
Dialogues@EIR: EU Enlargement in Practice
Romania and Candidate Countries in a Changing EU Context
Registration deadline: 4 November 2026
About the Event
EU accession is a long-term economic and institutional transformation, experienced differently by each country. As a relatively recent EU member located in the region, Romania faced some of the structural challenges that candidate countries encounter today and can contribute a perspective grounded in its own experience before and after accession.
The event brings together economic research think tanks from Romania and EU candidate countries to examine accession as a strategic and economic process. The discussion will address security, participation in the Single Market, institutional adaptation and the evolution of the EU's perspective on enlargement.
Building on research by the European Institute of Romania and CPAG, the dialogue will examine the macroeconomic conditions and priorities of candidate countries and identify possibilities for future joint analysis and policy dialogue.
Speakers
Oana-Mihaela Mocanu
Director General, European Institute of Romania
Dr Kerry Longhurst
Senior Fellow, Visegrad Insight
Anastasia Pociumban
Research Fellow and Project Manager, Eastern Partnership Think Tank Network, German Council on Foreign Relations
Laurian Lungu
Co-Founder, Consilium Policy Advisors Group
Ella Kállai
Co-Founder, Consilium Policy Advisors Group
Nina Perunović
Center for Finance, Montenegro
Blagica Petreski
Finance Think, North Macedonia
Iulian Groza
Institute for European Policies and Reforms – IPRE, Republic of Moldova
Mihaela Pădureanu
Moderator · Coordinator of Studies Unit, European Affairs Department, European Institute of Romania
Topics
- The current EU enlargement context
- EU accession today: security and the Single Market
- Economic convergence under pressure and macroeconomic conditions in candidate countries
- Perspectives from economic research think tanks in candidate countries