UESA Congress 2026 took place in Lviv

Press Release: October 20, 2026

2026 ANNUAL CONGRESS OF THE UKRAINIAN ASSOCIATION OF EUROPEAN STUDIES: “GEOPOLITICAL CHALLENGES OF UKRAINE’S ACCESSION TO THE EUROPEAN UNION”

(Lviv, October 16–17, 2026, Lviv, hybrid format)

On October 16–17, 2026, the 18th Congress of the Ukrainian Association of European Studies (UAES) was held at the Faculty of International Relations of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. The theme of this year’s congress was “Geopolitical Challenges of Ukraine’s Accession to the European Union.” The event was held in a hybrid format: participants attended both in person and online via Microsoft Teams.

The congress brought together over 150 participants from Ukrainian universities, as well as experts from Norway, Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland, Romania, and Belgium. On the first day, 28 participants delivered presentations across six thematic sessions; the working languages were Ukrainian and English.

The conference was opened by Markiyan Malsky, Dean of the Faculty of International Relations at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv; Roman Petrov, Honorary President of the UESA; and Oksana Holovko-Havrysheva, President of the UESA.

The negotiation process, accession scenarios, law, and the role of civil society were the focus of discussions on the first day.

Roundtable: “On the Path to Ukraine’s EU Membership: The Current State of Negotiations and Public Expectations in Ukraine” (moderator—Oksana Holovko-Havrysheva). Roman Petrov and Khrystyna Bidonko (UESA, NaUKMA) presented the main findings of the RE-ENGAGE project regarding Ukraine. Morten Boas (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs) spoke about trust, distrust, and public expectations on the path to Brussels. Rostyslav Romaniuk (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv) analyzed theoretical approaches to European integration processes through the lens of EU enlargement, using Ukraine as an example. During the plenary session “Alternative Scenarios for Ukraine’s Accession to the European Union,” attention was focused on scenarios and challenges for EU accession. Supreme Court Justice Vitaliy Urkevych shared his perspective on Ukraine’s accession to the EU “from the bench” and outlined the challenges facing the judicial branch in the process of European integration. Professor Stefan Weber (Institute of Europe, Saarland University) examined differentiated integration and the idea of a “multi-speed Europe.” Professor Adam Lazowski (University of Westminster, College of Europe in Natolin) analyzed options for breaking the deadlock in the enlargement process: associate membership, phased or gradual accession, and their suitability for Ukraine’s accession.

During the session “The Europeanization of Legal Studies: Needs, Trends, and Prospects,” participants discussed the experience of teaching EU law in Ukraine in the context of reforming legal education in Ukraine as one of the criteria under Cluster 1, “Fundamental Principles.” Speakers Mykhailo Mykievych and Viktoria Dubas (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv), Ella Derkach (Vasyl Stus Donetsk National University), and Roman Petrov (UESA, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy) focused on the challenges of in-depth teaching of EU law for both law and non-law majors. Among other things, participants discussed the results of the Erasmus+ EU4UA project on teaching European and Euro-Atlantic integration in Ukrainian law schools, as presented in a report by Viktoria Dubas, associate professor in the Department of Constitutional Law at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv.

The session “EU Enlargement and Ukraine’s Experience” covered the financial, security, and sectoral dimensions of integration, which were explored in presentations by Valerii Vorotin (UDNDI “Resurs”), Natalia Antoniuk and Oksana Kraievska (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv), Igor Todorov (Uzhhorod University), and Bohdan Hrushetskyi (National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine).

The resilience of universities through academic cooperation and social engagement was the focus of a specialized session, during which Svitlana Batsyukova (UESA) presented the initial findings of a study on cooperative academic resilience in higher education institutions in the EU and Ukraine as part of the EU-CARE project. Marina Litvin (UESA) outlined the project’s goals and objectives. Professor Maria Nesterova (Association of Researchers on EU Values in Education, national coordinator of the UNICOM project) discussed the transfer of values and the importance of values for ensuring university sustainability.

The session “EU Enlargement and Civic Engagement” (moderated by Oksana Krayevska) was dedicated to the role of civil society in European integration reforms; various aspects of this influence were explored in presentations by Oleksandra Fedun (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv), Andrii Boyar (Lesya Ukrainka Eastern National University), Tetyana Belska (O. M. Beketov National University of Urban Economy in Kharkiv), Yuriy Naplyokov (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv), Larisa Voitenko (National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine), and Yulia Korniychuk (New Europe College, Bucharest).

The second day of the UESA Congress was devoted to the exchange of experiences and best practices in organizing research in the field of European studies, with the participation of Professor Roman Petrov (UESA, NaUKMA) and Morten Boas (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs).

On October 17, 2026, Morten Boas (NUPI) discussed the use of interdisciplinary approaches in research within the fields of political science and European studies. UESA Honorary President Roman Petrov led a master class titled “The Academic Profile of a Researcher” for young scholars. This was followed by a general meeting of the association’s members: President Oksana Holovko-Havrysheva presented the UESA annual report, the meeting admitted new members, and the president was re-elected. The congress concluded with a walking tour of Lviv.

The congress was supported by the Horizon RE-ENGAGE project, the European Union Information Center, and the Western Ukrainian Research Center for European Studies. The organizers thank the Faculty of International Relations at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv for their hospitality.

The UESA invites researchers and faculty members working in the field of European Studies to collaborate.