On February 9, a round table discussion titled “Bridging the Divide: Exploring Georgia’s Alignment with EU Security and Foreign Policy” was organized by the Jean Monnet Chair and the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP). The event took place at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU).
The discussion involved participation from diplomatic corps representatives and professors from the Free University of Berlin:
- Asunción Sánchez Ruiz, Chargée d’affaire, Delegation of the European Union to Georgia;
- H.E. Vesselin Valkanov, The Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to Georgia;
- Prof. Dr. Tanja A. Börzel, Professor of Political Science, Freie Universität Berlin; The director of the Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script”
- Prof. Dr. Thomas Risse, The Director of the Center for Transnational Relations, Foreign and Security Policy at the Otto-Suhr-Institute of Political Science at the Freie Universität Berlin;
Prof. Dr. Kornely Kakachia, Jean Monnet Chair at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, moderated the round table discussion.
The round table discussion aimed to spark insightful conversations about strengthening Georgia’s alignment with the EU’s security and foreign policy framework, as well as exploring pathways for deeper integration into the European community.
Distinguished German and Georgian scholars and policy practitioners deliberated on several topics, such as the significance of aligning with CFSP for Georgia’s EU accession, the influence of the liberal script on EU-Georgia relations, and both external and domestic illiberal challenges to Georgia’s European integration.
The round table discussion was organized in the framework of the Jean Monnet project, which aims to promote the study of the Europeanization of Georgia’s foreign policy by raising awareness among young people about the EU and Georgia’s European perspective, by promoting participatory-based research, and by encouraging active discussion on this topic in Georgian society. The event was organized under the framework of the project “Strengthening Georgia’s Alignment with the EU Foreign and Security Policy,” supported by the Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF).
The round table discussion was funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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