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CORDIS · RE-ENGAGE

Re-Engaging with Neighbours in a State of War and Geopolitical Tensions

Code
RE-ENGAGE
Programme
HORIZON
Call
HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-08
Status
SIGNED
Period
2024-01-01 – 2026-12-31
Total cost (whole consortium)2 982 125 €
EU contribution (whole consortium)2 982 125 €
EU contribution to Bulgarian participants233 062 €

Official data · CORDIS · synced 2026-10-17 10:16 · official record

Participants

OrganisationsRoleCountryGrant
NORSK UTENRIKSPOLITISK INSTITUTTcoordinatorNO925 250 €
EUROPEAN COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS (ECFR) E.V.participantDE583 375 €
SCUOLA SUPERIORE DI STUDI UNIVERSITARI E DI PERFEZIONAMENTO S ANNAparticipantIT259 312 €
TSENTAR ZA AKADEMICHNI IZSLEDVANIA SOFIA FONDATSIAparticipantBG233 062 €
USTAV MEZINARODNICH VZTAHU V.V.I.participantCZ183 938 €
INSTITUT ZA SAVREMENU ISTORIJUparticipantRS145 688 €
UKRAINSKA ASOCIACIYA EVROPEYSKIH STUDIYparticipantUA137 188 €
LUNDS UNIVERSITETparticipantSE137 188 €
EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY OF TIRANAparticipantAL103 688 €
UNIVERZITET U SARAJEVUparticipantBA101 188 €
EASTERN EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACYparticipantGE87 574 €
UNIVERSITATEA DE STAT DIN MOLDOVAparticipantMD63 188 €
Eastern European Centre for Multiparty DemocracyparticipantMD21 489 €

Description

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU has responded by re-engaging with its neighbours. This builds on the assumption that bringing them into the European family of liberal democracies will increase the resilience of the whole European community against external negative interference. Combining insights from a variety of academic fields, RE-ENGAGE will deliver innovative research and concrete advice on how the EU should adapt its foreign policy tools to the current context. Russia’s war against Ukraine has radically altered European security, not only causing extreme civilian suffering in Ukraine, but posing a direct threat to neighbouring countries fearful of the war spreading. Confronted by the direst security crisis in decades, EU policymakers are forced to fundamentally rethink their security policies. Europe has demonstrated unexpected unity and resolve, adopting a series of sanctions against Russia, and increasing national defence spending to better handle potential military threats. This has also led to a revival of EU enlargement process. While this will not improve EU resilience to military threats in the narrow sense, it may counter hybrid warfare, which is the more likely threat faced by the EU and most of its neighbours. The neighbourhood policy and the accession process require urgent adjustment to build strong, resilient neighbourhood states capable of countering external threats, particularly those posed by hybrid warfare. A systematic investigation of how this can be achieved in the current context without compromising the EU’s values and security is therefore needed. Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, there have been increasing calls from the EU for a more context-sensitive approach to its neighbours. RE-ENGAGE will assist the EU in determining how best to achieve this goal through an in-depth study of six cases – three in the Western Balkans and three in the Eastern Neighbourhood.

Official data · CORDIS · synced 2026-10-17 10:16 · official record · Licence: © European Union, CC BY 4.0 (Commission reuse policy).