In her welcoming address, Pro-Rector Dorthe Hartmann emphasised the importance of academic exchange across national borders. This international exchange had been promoted by the EU’s enlargement to the East in 2004 when ten Eastern European countries (plus Malta and Cyprus) joined the Union. Together with the roundtable participants – Lithuanian Ambassador H.E. Ramūnas Misulis, political scientist Prof. Dr Margit Bussmann (University of Greifswald) and historian Prof. Dr Stefan Troebst (Leipzig University) – Prof. Dr Clemens Räthel (University of Greifswald) discussed the different dimensions of security policy, history and economy of the EU enlargement in 2004, which remains the greatest expansion in the history of the European Union to date. Among the featured topics were differing perceptions of this historic turning point in Eastern and Western Europe. The discussion furthermore focused on questions about the EU’s achievements and the challenges it faces nowadays – for example with regard to the admission of new member states. The current security situation caused by the war in Ukraine was another significant point of reference.
Going forward, the lecture series will present an even wider range of topics such as labour migration, stereotyping, mutual perception and changing spatial perception in films and literature. Participation is open to all. You can find the entire programme here.