Meetings and Discussions

   

Public Lecture by Vladimir Shopov

On October 25th, 2013, Mr. Vladimir Shopov (founder of Sophia Analytica Ltd and  director of ESPI – European Strategy and Policy Institute, Sofia, Bulgaria) delivered a public lecture, “EU Enlargement – Difficulties and New Strategies” at GFSIS. In his presentation, Mr. Shopov combined his working knowledge of accession countries and was able to make comparisons with EU member states. He painted a picture of how the European Union is likely to enlarge over the next coming years with developing nations outside the union. Mr. Shopov particularly highlighted ten different reasons why enlargement is going to become more difficult in the coming decade. The  special attention was given to the importance of the upcoming Vilnius summit. The lecture was followed by a lively discussion. The audience included representatives of the diplomatic corps, experts, GFSIS alumni and interns.