About the EaP Think Tank Forum
The EaP Think Tank Forum (Chișinău, September, 22 2017) is an initiative of the Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE), the Georgian Institute for Strategic Studies (GISS) and New Europe Center (former Institute of World Policy (IWP)), implemented in cooperation with the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF), funded by the EU and National Endowment for Democracy (NED) from the EaP CSF re-Granting Scheme 2017 and co-financed by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS). The overall aim of the Forum is to better connect Think Tanks across Europe for a maximum impact on their research, policy making and advocacy effort in promoting Europeanisation. The EaP Think Tank Forum will offer the opportunity to further discuss and review the proposed draft Policy Recommendations for the EaP Summit in Brussels with a group of over 60 leading experts representing the think tank community from the EU and Eastern Partnership countries aiming at bridging the local, regional and European perspectives in addressing the current challenges and future perspectives of the EU’s Eastern Partnership policy. Thus, the Forum address the following issues:

  1. Bridging Think Tanks in Europe – A way forward - What are the best practices and lessons learned offered by existing think-tank partnerships in Europe on the regional and/or European levels (i.e. EU Black Sea, Visegrad, Baltic and Western Balkan regions)? What are the main challenges and opportunities to be addressed by the think-tank community from the EU and Eastern Partnership countries? How could EaP Think Tank Forum add value to the EaP Civil Society Forum in building capacity of policy research and advocacy activities? How to strengthen Think-Tank – NGOs partnerships?
  2. The Future of Eastern Partnership: Challenges and Perspectives - The upcoming EaP Summit in Brussels will review the results since the Riga Summit 2015 and set up objectives for the future of the EaP. The ENP was reviewed in 2015. A new EU Global Security Strategy was issued in 2016, which also aims to strengthen resilience in the EaP region. What are the main achievements and backlogs of the EU’s EaP Policy? What are the key internal and external challenges that EaP countries are facing? How these challenges could be addressed? What the EU and EaP countries should do to strengthen resilience and secure a sustainable Europeanisation process? What are the perspectives for the non-Associated EaP partners?
  3. Eastern Partnership Deliverables by 2020 and Beyond - In December 2016 the European Commission and the EEAS has issued the Joint Staff Working document „Eastern Partnership: 20 Deliverables for 2020, which have been reviewed and approved in the meantime by the EaP Ministerial on June 19th, 2017. Are the suggested deliverables ambitious enough and are they sustainable, looking beyond 2020? Are they resonating with the expectations of the EU and EaP partner countries? Will they effectively address the current challenges of the EaP policy and strengthen resilience in the EaP countries?
  4. Reviewing the draft Policy Recommendations for the EaP Summit in Brussels - This will be the concluding panel of the Forum, which will build on the previous sessions and will provide for the opportunity to further discuss and validate the Draft Policy Recommendations for the next EaP Summit in Brussels. The results of the policy debates will be incorporated in the final Policy Recommendations, which will be further discussed in the framework of the EaP CSF and promoted with the EU institutions, EU member states and EaP countries in due time before the Summit in Brussels.
Agenda
Thursday, September 21, 2017
All day
Arrival of participants at the hotel/Registration
18.00 – 22.00
Individual Dinner (for participants accommodated at the Hotels: Regency and Zentrum)
Friday, September 22, 2017
08.45 – 09.00
Registration (coffee/tea served)
09.00 – 09.55
Opening Remarks
      Ms. Daniela Morari, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova
      HE Mr. Peter Michalko, Ambassador, Head of EU Delegation in Chișinău
      Ms. Natalia Yerashevich, Director, Secretariat of the EaP CSF
      Ms. Polina Ojog, Programme Coordinator, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Chișinău
      Mr. Ion Manole, Executive Director, Promo-Lex, Chișinău, Country Facilitator of the National Platform EaP CSF, Chișinău
Moderator: Iulian Groza, Executive Director, IPRE, Chișinău
NOTE: Short break to change the panellists
10.00 – 10.30
Panel I - Bridging Think Tanks in Europe – A way forward
      Dr. Maria Golubeva, EU Coordinator, Working Group 1, EaP CSF Steering Committee, Brussels
      Mr. Hennadiy Maksak, PRISM, Ukraine, EaP Think Bridge, Kiev
      Dr. Valbona Zeneli, Director of Programs in Black Sea and Eurasia, College of International and Security Studies, George C. Marshall Center – Garmisch
      Mr. Steven Blockmans, CEPS, Brussels
      Ms. Valentina Eigner, WeBuildEurope.eu Think Network
      Dr. Olena Prystayko, Ukrainian Think Tanks Liaison Office in Brussels
Moderator: Mr. Balazs Jarabik, Non-resident Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Brussels
10.30 - 11.30
Discussions
11.30 – 12.00
Coffee Break
12.00 – 12.45
Panel II – The Future of Eastern Partnership: Challenges and Perspectives
      Mr. Oleksandr Sushko, International Renaissance Foundation, Kiev
      Dr. Igor Munteanu, Executive Director, Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS)
      Dr. Kornely Kakachia, Executive Director, Georgian Institute of Politics,Tbilisi
      Mr. Zaur Shiriyev, Academy Associate, Chatham House
      Mr. Stepan Grigoryan, ACGRC, Yerevan
      Ms. Kerry Longhurst, Jean Monnet Professor, Collegium Civitas, Warsaw
      Mr. James Nixey, Head of Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House, London
Moderator: Mr. Dmytro Shulga, European programme initiative director at the International Renaissance Foundation, Kiev
12.45 – 13.30
Discussions
13.30 – 14.30
Lunch Break
14.30 – 15.00
Panel III – Eastern Partnership Deliverables by 2020 and Beyond
      Mr. Andrei Yahorau, Centre for European Transformation, Minsk
      Mr. Denis Cenușă, Program Director, Expert Group, Chișinău
      Mr. Richard Giragosian, Founding Director, Regional Studies Center, Yerevan
      Ms. Dovilė Šukytė, EESC, EaP CSF Steering Committee, Vilnius
      Amb. Paata Gaprindashvili, Director, GRASS, Tbilisi
      Dr. Stanislav Secrieru, Senior Associate Fellow, EUISS, Paris
      Mr. Paul Ivan, Senior Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre (EPC), Brussels
Moderator: Dr. Kataryna Wolczuk, Associate Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House, London
15.00 – 15.30
Discussions
15.30 – 16.15
Panel IV – Policy Recommendations for the EaP Summit in Brussels
Speaker: Mr. Leonid Litra, Senior Research Fellow, New Europe Center (former Institute for World Policy), Kiev
Respondents:
      Ms. Iskra Kirova, Senior Policy Analyst, Open Society European Policy Institute, Brussels
      Ms. Marta WYTRYKOWSKA, Policy officer, European External Action Service (EEAS), Brussels
      Mr. Adrian Lupușor, Expert-Group, Chișinău
      Mr. Ivane Chkhikvadze, EU Integration Program Coordinator, OSGF, Tbilisi
      Mr. Uladzislau Vialichka, Director General, International Consortium “EuroBelarus”, Minsk
      Mr. Boris Navasardian, President, Yerevan Press Club, Yerevan
      Mr. Ziya Guliyev, Center for Legal Initiatives, Baku
Moderator: Mr. Irakli Porchkhidze, Vice-President, Georgian Institute for Strategic Initiatives, Tbilisi
16.15 – 16.45
Discussions
16.45 – 17.30
Concluding remarks and next steps
18.00
Meeting in the lobby of the hotel and Departure to the Asconi Winery (by bus)
19:00 - 22:00
Networking Dinner (Venue: Asconi Winery, Hîncești)
Guest Speaker: HE Mr. Peter Michalko, Ambassador, Head of EU Delegation in Chișinău
      Moderator: Amb. Andrei Popov, President of the Institute for Strategic Studies (IPIS), Chișinău
      NOTE: The discussions during the dinner will be held under the Chatham House Rule
22:00
Departure to the Hotel
Saturday, September 23, 2017 (Departure)
All day
Departure of participants

Speakers

Participants

Name, Surname Position, Organization
Alaiba Dumitru
Programme Director, CPR - Moldova, Chișinău
Barbăroșie Arcadie
Executive Director, Institute for Public Policy, Chișinău
Blockmans Steven
Senior Research Fellow and Head of EU Foreign Policy Unit, Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Brussels
Boțan Igor
Executive Director, ADEPT, Chișinău
Buzu Alexei
Executive Director, Centre „Partnership for Development”, Chișinău
Bucătaru Victoria
Executive Director, Foreign Policy Association(APE), Chișinău
Cenușa Denis
Programme Director, Expert-Grup, Chișinău
Chkhikvadze Ivane
EU Integration Programme Manager, OSI Georgia, Tbilisi
Coșeru Ina
Executive Director, National Environment Centre, Chișinău
Cozacenco Iulian
Research Fellow, Soros Foundation-Moldova
Culeac Petru
Programme Director, Soros Foundation Moldova, Chișinău
Eigner Valentina
WeBuildEurope.EU, Vienna
Ermurachi Adrian
Project Manager, IPRE, Chișinău
Gaprindashvili Paata
Director, Georgia´s Reforms Associates (GRASS), Tbilisi
Giragosian Richard
Executive Director, Centre „Partnership for Development”, Yerevan
Golubeva Maria
Working Group 1 EU Coordinator EaP CSF Steering Committee, Brussels
Gozun Elena
Associate Expert, Europuls.ro, Brussels
Gribincea Vladislav
President, Legal Resource Center from Moldova, Chișinău
Grigoryan Stepan
Chairman of the Board, Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation (ACGRC), Yerevan
Groza Iulian
Executive Director, Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE), Chișinău
Guliyev Ziya
Country Facilitator, National Platform (Azerbaijan) EaP CSF, Chair of the Board, Centre for Legal Initiatives, Baku
Ivan Paul
Senior Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre (EPC), Brussels
Harutyunyan Haykuhi
President, "Protection of Rights without Borders” NGO, Yerevan
Kakachia Kornely
Executive Director, Georgian Institute of Politics, Tblisi
Kirova Iskra
Senior Policy Analyst, Open Society European Policy Institute, Brussels
Kulminski Vladislav
Executive Director, Institute for Strategic Studies(IPIS), Chișinău
Labrusse Angel
Research assistant, Ukrainian Think Tanks Liaison Office in Brussels
Leneș Leonela
Experts for Security and Global Affairs (ESGA), Bucharest
Litra Leonid
Senior Research Fellow, New Europe Centre (former Institute for World Policy), Kiev
Longhurst Kerry
Jean Monnet Professor Collegium Civitas, Warsaw
Lupușor Adrian
Executive Director, Expert-Grup, Chișinău
Manole Ion
Executive Director, Promo-Lex, National Coordinator, EaP CSF, Chișinău
Name, Surname Position, Organization
Mihailov Ana
Program Coordinator, Friedrich Ebert foundation, Chișinău
Michalko Peter
Designate Ambassador, Head of the EU Delegation in Moldova (tbc), Chișinău
Michel Toni
WeBuildEurope.EU
Mishchiuk Zoriana
Co-Head of the EU-Ukraine Civil Society Platform Key Expert/Team-leader of the Civic Synergy Project, Kiev
Morari Daniela
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova, Chișinău
Munteanu Igor
Executive Director, Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS), Chișinău
Mustafayeva Darya
Communications Manager, Secretariat of the EaP CSF, Brussels
Maksak Hennadiy
Co-chair of the EaP CSF Steering Committee, Country Facilitator, NP (Ukraine), Chairman of the Board, Foreign Policy Council PRISM, Kiev
Navasardian Boris
President, Yerevan Press Club, Country Facilitator (Armenia), NP EaP CSF, Yerevan
Nixey James
Head of Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House, London
Onica Timur
Programme Officer (East), European Endowment for Democracy, Brussels
Ojog Polina
Programme Coordinator, Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), Chișinău
Parmentier Florent
Head of Policy Lab, Sciences Po. Research-associate for HEC Paris and Director of eurasiaprospective.net, Paris
Popov Andrei
President, Institute for Strategic Studies(IPIS), Chișinău
Porchkhidze Irakli
Vice-President, Georgian Institute for Strategic Studies(GISS), Chișinău
Prohnițchi Elena
Program Coordinator, ADEPT, Chișinău
Prystayko Olena
Executive Director, Ukrainian Think Tanks Liaison Office in Brussels
Puiu Tatiana
Project Coordinator, Freedomhouse Moldova, Chișinău
Secrieru Stanislav
Senior Associate Fellow, EUISS, Paris
Sushko Oleksandr
International Renaissance Foundation, Kiev
Shiriyev Zaur
Academy Associate, Chatham House, London
Shulga Dmytro
European programme initiative Director at the International Renaissance Foundation, Kiev
Šukytė Dovilė
Co-Chair EaP CSF, Steering Committee, EU Coordinator WG 2, Policy Analyst, Eastern Europe Studies Centre (EESC), Vilnius
Toma Bianca
Executive Director, Romanian Center for European Policies (CRPE), Bucharest
Vialichka Uladzislau
Country Facilitator, NP (Belarus) EaP CSF, Director General, International Consortium “EuroBelarus”, Minsk
Wolczuk Kataryna
CREES/POLSIS/Chatham House University of Birmingham, London
Yahorau Andrei
Centre for European Transformation, Minsk
Jarabik Balazs
Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Brussels
Yerashevich Natalia
Director, Secretariat of the EaP CSF (tbc), Brussels
Zeneli Valbona
Director of Programs in Black Sea and Eurasia, College of International and Security Studies, George C. Marshall Center - Garmisch
Wytrykowska Marta
Policy officer, European External Action Service (EEAS), Brussels