On 28 November 2024 the Young ECPR Network on Europeanisation (YEN) organised the second webinar of its Online Seminar Series on Europeanisation. On this occasion Ana E. Juncos (University of Bristol), Marianna Lovato (Jagiellonian University) and Karolina Pomorska (Leiden University) delivered a talk entitled: “Coordinative Europeanization and Russia's war of aggression: how crises shape Europeanization dynamics in EU foreign policy”. 

The talk examined the European Union’s response to the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war to explore how crises shape Europeanisation dynamics in EU foreign and security policy. The speakers contended that the EU’s reaction has run contrary to expectations of foreign policy inaction and incoherence as well as warnings of de-Europeanisation and renationalisation of foreign policy. Drawing on the concept of coordinative Europeanisation, they argued that the response to the war has allowed for a more horizontal, cooperative decision-making process involving both member states and EU institutions, as well as a reversal of traditionally Western European-centric dynamics of horizontal Europeanisation.

Acting as discussant, Gergana Noutcheva (Maastricht University) helped us to hear more about the concept of coordinative Europeanisation in EU foreign and security policy and its relation with dynamics of crisis on the process of European integration. Her valuable contribution was also a stimulus for the broader discussion with the seminar’s audience. The video recording of the talk can be found here.

This webinar was an excellent way to proceed with our Seminar Series as our speakers are distinguished scholars who have produced significant work on Europeanisation, with specific reference to the domain of foreign and security policy. This event, on a very timely and important subject, was also an adequate way to pursue some of our Standing Group's objectives, such as facilitating debate and networking among our members and other political scientists on the topic of Europeanisation.

Thank you again to all that participated in this second webinar of our Standing Group and do stay attentive to our media outlets as we plan to organise other online seminars in the near future!

From the Young ECPR Network on Europeanisation.

Agenda:

• Welcome / General information about YEN
• Update on YEN general activities
• YEN Online Seminar series
• General Conference 2025
• Advertisement of ECPR opportunities

Welcome / General information about YEN

• The Steering Committee has two new team members since January 2024.
• Our SG membership has been gradually increasing (currently 132 members).

Update on YEN general activities

• At the 2023 ECPR General conference in Prague the SG endorsed one section (“Europeanisation Goes Global in the Context of Covid-19: Opportunities and challenges for the EU”). The group’s annual business meeting was also held on that occasion.
• Since the beginning of this year, the Steering Committee has sought to enhance the SG's visibility and outreach in order to foster greater participation and involvement of our members. Several initiatives were devised for that purpose: 1) an internal reflection process was initiated regarding the possible advantages of a simplification of the group’s name to support its visibility and communication strategy; 2) greater use of YEN’s website (its content on the group’s description, aims and activities was updated and more information is being shared through its sections ‘News’ and ‘Events’); 3) organisation of events that can raise the interest on the group (see below). 
• Members were asked to contribute to the SG’s general promotion, namely by advertising the group’s events through their own networks and platforms. As the number of our SG’s activities increases, we could consider creating an account on social media (Facebook or LinkedIn).
• During the open discussion it was mentioned the possibility of organising events in collaboration with other Standing Groups and/or Research Networks on topics of common interest. It was also discussed what sort of activities could be promoted to better target the specific interest of younger scholars. As a facilitator of initiatives in the SG’s domain of action, the Steering Committee is always open to suggestions from our members regarding possible events deemed relevant to promote. 

YEN Online Seminar Series

• An Online Seminar series was launched aimed at facilitating debate and networking among our members and other scholars working on Europeanisation, while raising the SG’s visibility. The first seminar took place on 11 July 2024 with a talk by Professor Tanja Börzel (Free University of Berlin) entitled: “Transformative power Europe versus subversive Europeanisation: Democratic backsliding in Eastern Europe”.
• A second seminar is being planned for the late November on a topic related to the Ukraine war and Europeanisation (more details will be shared soon). 
• Members were invited to contribute to this seminar series, namely by suggesting relevant topics of interest. During the open discussion, some interest was expressed in organising a seminar on methodology and Europeanisation in general, which could be appealing to a large number of members, notably younger researchers. It was also suggested to further disseminate the results of these seminars by sharing their video recordings online.

General Conference 2025

• The next ECPR General Conference is taking place in Thessaloniki, August 26-29 2025. The Steering Committee hopes to propose a section, an initiative that helps the acceptance of members’ proposals, favours networking and raises the SG’s visibility. As the call for sections will open in October, members were asked to share there ideas for Europeanisation-related panels. The Steering Committee remains open for suggestions on that aspect. These panels can represent good opportunities to promote the organisation of joint publications, such as journal special issues or edited volumes.

Advertisement of ECPR opportunities

The meeting was also an opportunity to advertise general opportunities that ECPR offers and that could be of special interest to our members.

• ECPR has a call open for its Joint Sessions of Workshops, to take place at Charles University, Prague, in 20-23 May 2025. SGs can endorse one workshop, which are known for allowing intense discussion, even though they are very competitive. The deadline for proposal is 11 September.
• ECPR is awarding Research Development Grants for SGs to support a significant research project or other scientific activities. Funding can be used for meetings, small workshops, publications, etc. SGs can only submit one proposal per calendar year, with the next deadline being 23 September 2024.
• ECPR can provide support for SGs Prizes, with many SGs awarding Best Paper Prizes from the ECPR General Conference. Our group could promote one such prize, eventually targeting early career scholars.
• ECPR has several publishing outlets that welcome submissions from SG members: Open Access journals PRX and EPSR, and The Loop. Our members are encouraged to take advantage of these outlets (eventually mentioning their YEN membership, when publishing on topics related to Europeanisation).