Citizens for EU Enlargement (CitizEn) – Building Societal Readiness for an Enlarged European Union
The project Citizens for EU Enlargement (CitizEn) addresses the need for
- an informed public debate
- more citizen involvement in the enlargement process to ensure societal readiness for future EU accessions
- better exchange between think tanks in candidate countries of the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe as well as the EU member states.
By uniting the activities of individual think tanks and NGOs in the form of a campaign, the project will channel efforts to strengthen the European project both within and outside of the current EU. Workshops will bring together NGOs and think tanks from 11 EU member states with the highest levels of enlargement scepticism – France, Czechia, Austria, Germany, Estonia, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Belgium, Slovakia and Portugal (Eurobarometer, September 2025) – and from EU candidate countries, enabling them to share challenges and best practices on how to communicate with citizens on EU enlargement. The findings will be developed into a joint strategy and toolkit to improve communication, information-sharing and citizen engagement around EU enlargement to prepare societies for an enlarged EU.
Objectives
- Improved public understanding of EU enlargement in both candidate and member states
- Enhanced citizen participation and reduced misconceptions about enlargement
- A more informed voting behaviour in the upcoming elections determining the governments of the EU member countries as well as the next European elections
- Contribution to a stronger, more connected European project in line with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s priorities
- Continued cooperation in the established cross-border network of thinks tanks and NGOs in at least three candidate countries as well as at least eleven EU countries
Funding:
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Duration:
January – December 2026
Project coordinators:
Sophia Beiter (s.beiter@idm.at)
Rebecca Thorne (r.thorne@idm.at)
