Inter­na­tional Conference:
“Geopo­litical Zeiten­wende? Ukraine and the Future of the EU”

12 November 2025
9:30 – 17:30 
Academy of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Tiergarten­straße 35, 10785 Berlin

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The Centre for Liberal Modernity together with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation cordially invite you to attend our inter­na­tional conference ‘Geopo­litical Zeiten­wende? Ukraine and the Future of the EU’ on Wednesday, 12 November 2025 at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Academy.

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine marks a geopo­litical turning point. At a time of growing global uncer­tainty, EU enlargement has become indis­pensable for strength­ening Europe’s position as a geopo­litical actor and securing regional stability. At the same time, enlargement requires internal EU reforms to ensure its ability to act. The question of how to shape a strate­gi­cally oriented EU enlargement policy will be the focal point of our conference.

The conference will open with keynote speeches by Anja Wallau, Special Repre­sen­tative for EU Strategic Policy Issues, EU Coordi­nation and EU External Affairs and Enlargement, German Federal Foreign Office, and Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Member of the Verkhovna Rada and Chair of the Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU. 

 In particular, the following questions will be addressed:

• Ukraine’s accession to the EU: Where do we stand and what are the next steps?
• What are the current challenges of EU enlargement policy?
• What is the state of imple­men­tation of EU reforms in the candidate countries Ukraine and Moldova?
• Given the upheaval in inter­na­tional politics, how much priority does Germany and the EU attach to Ukraine’s accession?

The one-day conference will bring together decision-makers from politics and diplomacy, experts from academia and think tanks, and repre­sen­ta­tives of civil society and the media from the European Union, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.Together, we aim at devel­oping concrete ideas for a strate­gi­cally oriented EU enlargement policy.

We cordially invite you to our reception which will take place after the conference.

Programme

09:00 – 09:30 | REGISTRATION, coffee & croissants

09:30 – 10:00 | OPENING

• Lars Hänsel, Head of the Department Europe and North America, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS)
• Marieluise Beck, Founder and Senior Fellow, Center for Liberal Modernity (LibMod)

10:00 – 10:30 | KEYNOTES

• Anja Wallau, Special Repre­sen­tative for EU Strategic Policy Issues, EU Coordi­nation and EU External Affairs and Enlargement, German Federal Foreign Office
• Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze MP (European Solidarity), Chair of the Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

10:30 – 12:00 | PANEL 1

Ukraine’s EU Accession: Progress, Challenges, and the Road Ahead

• Anja Wallau, Special Repre­sen­tative for EU Strategic Policy Issues, EU Coordi­nation and EU External Affairs and Enlargement, German Federal Foreign Office
• Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze MP (European Solidarity), Chair of the Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
• Anton Hofreiter MP (Alliance 90/​The Greens), Chairman of the Committee on European Union Affairs, German Bundestag
• Rebecca Harms, former Member of the European Parliament (Alliance 90/​The Greens), Senior Advisor, Eastern Partnership Programme, LibMod

Moder­ation: Khatia Kikalishvili, Programme Director Eastern Partnership, Center for Liberal Modernity (LibMod)

12:00 – 13:15 | LUNCH BREAK

13:15 – 14:30 | PANEL 2

Imple­men­tation of the EU Reforms in Ukraine and Moldova: Where Do We Stand?

• Adrian Pollmann, Head of Division for Ukraine, Moldova and Black Sea Cooper­ation, German Federal Foreign Office
• Liubov Akulenko, Executive Director, Ukrainian Centre for European Policy (UCEP), Ukraine
• Natalia Gavrilița, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Co-founder and Director, Partner­ships for New Economy, Moldova
• Gert Antsu, Director for Ukraine, Moldova and the South Caucasus, and Special Repre­sen­tative for the Eastern Partnership, Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Moder­ation: Thomas Birringer, Resident Repre­sen­tative Ukraine, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

14:30 – 14:45 | COFFEE BREAK

14:45 – 16:00 | PANEL 3

Civil Society in Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine: Driving Force under Pressure

• Sergi Kapanadze, Co-founder, Georgia’s Reforms Associates (GRASS), Georgia
• Iryna Krasnoshtan, Programme Director, Inter­na­tional Center for Ukrainian Victory, Ukraine
• Johannes Volkmann MP (CDU), Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, German Bundestag
• Denis Cenusa, Associated Expert, Expert-Grup, Moldova

Moder­ation: Simon Schlegel, Ukraine Programme Director, LibMod

16:00 – 16:15 | COFFEE BREAK

16:15 – 17:30 | FINAL PANEL

What Strategic Priority Does Ukraine’s Accession Hold for Germany and the EU in Light of Current Geopo­litical Developments? 

• Jürgen Hardt MP (CDU), Spokesperson for Foreign Policy, CDU/​CSU Parlia­mentary Fraction, German Bundestag
• Giedrius Puodžiūnas, Lithuanian Ambas­sador to Germany
• Céline Marangé, Senior Fellow on Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, Institute for Strategic Research (IRSEM), France
• Barbara Gessler, Repre­sen­tative of the European Commission in Germany,

Moder­ation and closing remarks: Ralf Fücks, Founder and Managing Director, LibMod

17:30 – 19:30 | RECEPTION

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The conference will be simul­ta­ne­ously trans­lated into German and English.

Please note: Partic­i­pation is only possible on site and after receiving confir­mation of regis­tration. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Khatia Kiaklishvili, Program Manager for Eastern Partnership, at konferenz@libmod.de.

We look forward to your partic­i­pation and to the joint discussion!

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