Brussels – ESI at workshop on information warfare

Information Integrity Workshop. Photo: ESI

ESI’s Kristof Bender was invited to participate in the seventh edition of the "Information Integrity Workshop” organised by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. The event took place on 25 June 2026 in the Berlaymont Building in Brussels.

Kristof spoke on a panel on “Information integrity and democracy: understanding the information environment in Europe’s neighbourhood.” He argued that after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European leaders have endorsed EU enlargement as a “geopolitical necessity.” For many accession countries, however, the reality is that this rhetorical shift has not brought them any closer to membership. The process still lacks credibility. He showed how anti-European forces, both domestic and foreign, can exploit this credibility gap in the accession process to strengthen their anti-EU narratives. Restoring enlargement as a credible, merit-based process would be the most effective remedy.

• ESI proposal: “End the turtle race How the EU can address the crisis of the accession process”
• ESI proposal: “Offer the four freedoms to the Balkans, Ukraine, and Moldova For a merit-based EU accession process with a credible goal”