Tallinn – ESI annual staff meeting in Estonia

29 May 2026
ESI in Tallinn. Photo: ESI
ESI in Tallinn. Photo: ESI

ESI held its annual staff meeting from the 27th to the 29th of May in Tallinn, Estonia. The meeting is a chance for ESI’s staff from across Europe to meet face-to-face and both reflect on ESI’s work over the past year as well as discuss the challenges and opportunities facing ESI in the coming year.

During this year’s meeting, topics included advancing European integration, creating a humane European migration management system, securing European democracy from a resurgent authoritarian far-right, and defending Europe from external military threats, among others. The ESI team engaged in meaningful discussion and debate about how ESI can lead real change on each of these topics.

While in Tallinn, the ESI team also had the chance to learn about the Estonian success story. Through meetings with local policymakers, civil society, and members of the local diplomatic corps, the ESI staff was able to better appreciate how European integration has provided a foundation for Estonia’s remarkable economic and social progress in the years since the end of Soviet occupation. Recurrent themes were the importance of providing robust support to Ukraine and the role of education, including in the fight against Russian disinformation.