Bonus episode: The EU enlargement game

Bonus episode: The EU enlargement game In a special episode recorded live from Lisbon, Jessica Hendrick puts six EU candidate countries through an enlargement simulation to find out what happens when crisis, cash, disinformation and political pressure collide with the race to join the EU What happens if your economy is suddenly in crisis, Brussels offers help with strings attached—and Turkey, China or Russia can move faster? What if your country delivers every reform the EU asks for, only for a member state to block the next step anyway? And after years of waiting, would voters still choose to join? In this special bonus episode, The Neighbourhood goes live from Lisbon for an EU enlargement game. Jessica Hendrick brings together RE-ENGAGE experts representing six EU candidate countries and throws a series of fictional—but very plausible—political and economic shocks at them inspired by real headlines: Russia’s intensified attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, Ireland’s EU presidency push on enlargement, Iceland’s referendum, Germany’s regional elections and the upcoming 2026 Enlargement Package. Drawing on three years of surveys, interviews and crisis simulations, each expert has to answer for their country. Playing for each country: - Albania: Morten Bøås, research professor at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), representing RE-ENGAGE’s Albanian partners at the European University of Tirana - Bosnia and Herzegovina: Damir Kapidžić, director of the Institute for Social Science Research at the University of Sarajevo - Georgia: Ketevan Bolkvadze, senior lecturer in the department of political science at Lund University, originally from Georgia - Moldova: Mathilde T. E. Giske, research fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), representing RE-ENGAGE’s Moldovan partners at Moldova State University - Serbia: Luka Filipović, research associate at the Institute for Contemporary History in Serbia - Ukraine: Roman Petrov, president of the Ukrainian European Studies Association The result is part enlargement simulation, part policy conversation and part game night. The experts bargain over a fictional €100 million EU cheque, decide whether the EU can compete with faster offers from other powers, test how easily disinformation could exploit frustration with enlargement, and imagine what would happen if EU membership was finally put to a public vote. Along the way, Serbia proposes keeping its relationship with Brussels “casual”, Bosnia finds a creative use for €100 million, and Ukraine calls for Hungarian “Varangians” when backsliding strikes. When a crisis hits, does speed matter more than values? Can “Europe never wanted you anyway” become a winning political message? And if a country finally joins the EU, what stops democracy from sliding backwards once the prize of membership is secured? Further reading: RE-ENGAGE research overview RE-ENGAGE research on Albania RE-ENGAGE research on Bosnia and Herzegovina RE-ENGAGE research on Georgia RE-ENGAGE research on Moldova RE-ENGAGE research on Serbia RE-ENGAGE research on Ukraine This podcast was recorded live in Lisbon on September 3rd, 2026.