Communicating Europe series to continue to May 2009

ESI will be convening four more Communicating Europe seminars in 2008 and 2009. Following the success of the opening series held in Vienna, Berlin, Paris, and Rome, the latest round will now cover two more countries with a strong interest in the Balkans; Czech Republic and Sweden with conferences in Prague in December 2008, and a concluding conference in Stockholm in May 2009. Events will also be held in the capitals of two Member States which also influential in the EU enlargement debate; Warsaw and The Hague, during Spring 2009.

The conferences bring together three senior policy-makers, MPs and media editors from each of the states of the Western Balkans for a day and half of off-the-record discussions on the state of debate on future enlargement in the EU Member states. ESI prepares the seminar and also compiles a detailed manual focusing on the key "connectors" in each EU Member State; the people in Government, Parliament, media, think-tanks, academia, business and interest groups who shape the debate on EU enlargement.

The series has been funded by the Reuniting Europe strand of the Strategic Programme Fund of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The events are invitation-only – nominations are made by British Embassies in Southeastern Europe. ESI is responsible for the agenda and the entire project management.

For more information please contact Chris Langdon.

British Foreign and Commonwealth Office