IDM Conference

CitizEn: Building societal readiness for an enlarged European Union

As the European Union looks towards its next enlargement, the conversation needs to be about more than reforms and accession chapters. How do people across Europe see enlargement? What questions and concerns do they have and what kind of EU do they want in the future?  

The IDM project CitizEn: Citizens for EU Enlargement brought together think tanks from EU member states with the highest levels of enlargement scepticism and from candidate countries, enabling them to share challenges and best practices on how to communicate with citizens on EU enlargement.  During the IDM Conference 2026, we will share what we have learned from citizen engagement across Europe, present the CitizEn toolkit and discuss with citizens and policy makers how to welcome new member states as soon as possible.