On 7 and 8 October 2014, MAXCAP in partnership with Ilia State University and the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies will organize two public events that shall provide a platform for the review of the EU’s integration tools and strategies and their political and socio-economic impact on the Eastern Partnership countries, as well as to encourage the discussion of fresh ideas and approaches to the subject.

The Public Expert Round Table “The European Neighborhood in Perspective” will take place at Ilia State University on 7 October 2014, 11:00 a.m. – 06:30 p.m.

A key goal of the expert seminar is to facilitate a discussion between local experts from Georgia and Ukraine and MAXCAP researchers about the role of the EU in the region and internal and external factors shaping its capacity to shape political and economic domestic change. We wish to critically assess the EU’s policy towards the Eastern partnership countries and to discuss policy recommendations on how to improve its effectiveness.

The Policy Briefing “Competing or complementary? The EU, Russia and Turkey in the neighbourhood” will take place at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies on 8 October 2014, 11:00 a.m. – 01:00 p.m.

The policy briefing shall give MAXCAP partners, EU representatives and experts from Ukraine and the South Caucasus region an opportunity to critically assess the EU’s strategy towards the Eastern neighbourhood and compare it to the policies pursued by other regional powers such as Russia and Turkey. What are the EU’s failures and successes in the region? Do Russia or Turkey offer competing and/or more successful integration projects? How are the various integration projects perceived by the political and economic elites in the neighbourhood countries?

Participants: Decision-makers and leading members from the central administration, parliament and political parties; academia, civil society organizations, think tanks and media; as well as representatives from the EU Delegation and other European institutions and diplomatic representations in Georgia.

The conference language is English.

Our local partners

Ilia State University was established in 2006 as a merger of six different institutions, each having a long history and a diverse institutional profile. It is currently a flagship research and comprehensive higher education institution in Georgia.

Among all higher education institutions and research institutes in Georgia, Ilia State University has secured a top position in the following:

• The highest research citation index in Georgia
• The best position in South Caucasus according to the Webometrics
• The highest competition rate for the PhD programs in Georgia
• Annual budget allocated for research by the university

Ilia State University strives to become a world-class research university in the next 4 years which will nurture its students by inculcating meaningful education and creating an environment conducive to outstanding learning experience, cultivating critical, analytical, ethical, creative skills in students, and contributing to the establishment of a knowledge-based society capable of developing sustainable solutions for the challenges of the 21st century.

GFSIS, established in 2001, is the leading think tank in Georgia. It improves policymaking through research, analysis, training, and public education, in national security, economic development, state-building, and European and Euro-Atlantic integration. Most GFSIS senior fellows are former high-ranking government officials and possess a unique mixture of policy and academic experience, and are well positioned to provide advice or facilitate implementation of institution capacity-building projects.

GFSIS provides focused, needs-based practical training to both opinion makers and opinion crafters including public servants, political party staffers, ethnic minority communities and civil society representatives from Georgia and the South Caucasus region. In addition, GFSIS works with foreign governments, intergovernmental organizations, and foreign nongovernmental organizations on projects in Georgia and the region.

GFSIS provides practice-oriented research aimed at effective policy implementation in beneficiary institutions throughout Georgia and the South Caucasus region. The Foundation’s activities, including conferences, publications, public discussions and training, are predominantly research-based and constitute part of a comprehensive integral effort under the wider good governance umbrella.

Further information:

Please contact Mr. Bidzina Lebanidze, email: lebanidze@transnationalstudies.eu