WUB Hub conference
EU Integration Prospects for Ukraine and Belarus: Assessing the Future
28th June 2024, 11:00 - 19:00 BST
RUSI - Royal United Services Institute, 61 Whitehall SW1A 2ET
About the Conference
Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine brought severe security, political and societal challenges to eastern Europe, demanding a constructive response from the European Union, the United Kingdom, and others.
The invasion has hastened Ukraine’s EU accession prospects, while the Belarusian democracy movement has made a clear choice in favour of an EU future. The Warwick Ukraine-Belarus Hub’s high-profile international conference on 28 June 2024 in London will bring together decision-makers, officials and scholarly experts to advance the crucial debate on both countries’ futures.
The conference will be a special opportunity for participants to exchange novel ideas, challenge existing thinking, and advance the key strategic discussions. It will showcase novel research and facilitate network-building. We are glad to invite you to this unique event.
For more information about the research we do at the Warwick Ukraine-Belarus (WUB) Hub, please visit here.
Conference Agenda
[agenda subject to change; the below lists confirmed speakers as of 20 June 2024]
11.00 - 12:00 Emerging opportunities to unite Ukrainian and free-Belarusian efforts to work towards a joint European future: in conversation with John Smith Fellows
Moderator: Artem Shaipov, John Smith Trust Fellows' Council
Palina Brodik (online)
12.00-12.45 Networking Lunch
12.45 - 13.15 Keynote Speeches
Virginijus Sinkevicius, Commissioner of the European Union (online from Brussels)
Katarina Mathernova, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine (online from Kyiv)
Franak Viachorka, Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
Elena Korosteleva, Professor of Politics and Global Sustainable Development, University of Warwick
13.15 - 14.45 Panel 1- Ukraine’s Pathway to the EU: Challenges & Opportunities
Moderator: Paul Hansbury, Research Fellow, University of Warwick
Kataryna Wolczuk, Professor of Politics, University of Birmingham
Vlad Mykhnenko, Associate Professor, St Peter's College, University of Oxford
Iva Merheim-Eyre, Project Manager, Habitat for Humanity International
Maryna Yaroshevych, European Integration Programme Director, Ukrainian Prism
Andrius Kubilius, Member of the European Parliament
14.45-15.00 Coffee Break
15.00-16.30 Panel 2 - Belarus’s Prospects for EU Integration: Challenges & Opportunities
Moderator: Victoria Leukavets, Stockholm Centre for East European Studies
Alena Kudzko, Vice President for Policy and Programming, GLOBSEC
Hanna Liubakova, Non-residential Fellow at the Atlantic Council
Victor Shadurski, Professor and formerly Dean of IR Faculty, BSU (in exile)
Dzianis Kuchynski, Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
Alesia Rudnik, Director, Center for New Ideas
16.30-16.45 - Comfort Break
16.45-17.45 VIP Roundtable - Ways forward for Ukraine and Belarus: Building on the Past Lessons
Moderator: Elena Korosteleva, University of Warwick and Tatsiana Chulitskaya, Senior Researcher IIRPS and WUB-hub Research Fellow
Hanna Shelest, Security Studies Programme Director, Ukrainian Prism
Franak Viachorka, Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
Miriam Lexmann, Member of the European Parliament
Dirk Schuebel, Special Envoy for the Eastern Partnership, European External Action Service
17.45-18.00 Closing remarks: Elena Korosteleva, Paul Hansbury and Tatsiana Chulitskaya
18.00-19.00 Networking Reception