The New Europe Center organises the online discussion “Getting Ready for the ‘Ukrainian Plumber’ in the EU? Key Narratives of Resistance to EU Enlargement – and How to Counter Them”
The event will take place on July 14 and will be streamed live on the New Europe Center’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Start time: 11:00–12:00 CEST (12:00–13:00 Kyiv time).
Working language: English.
As Ukraine moves closer to EU membership, narratives warning of the negative consequences of enlargement are likely to become increasingly visible – echoing rhetoric Europe has seen before, most famously around the “Polish plumber” scare in France in 2005. At the time, a heated debate unfolded over the proposed EU Services Directive. It gave rise to the widely repeated claim that “Polish plumbers” would take jobs from French workers. These fears ultimately proved to be greatly exaggerated, allowing Poland to respond swiftly and with irony: the image of the “Polish plumber” became the centerpiece of a tourism campaign, effectively transforming a xenophobic stereotype into an effective tool for promoting Poland abroad.
That episode, and Poland’s creative response to it, offer a useful precedent for thinking about how similar narratives around Ukraine might be anticipated and addressed today.
The discussion will map out the main narratives already emerging in opposition to Ukraine’s EU membership, examine how these narratives could shape public opinion across member states, and explore the strongest evidence-based responses available to Ukraine and its partners.
Speakers:
- Leo Litra, Senior Fellow at the New Europe Center, Senior Policy Fellow at ECFR
- Susan Stewart, Senior Fellow, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)
- Benjamin Couteau, Research Fellow, Jacques Delors Institute
- Marianna Fakhurdinova, Coordinator, EU-Ukraine Partnership Program, Transatlantic Dialogue Center
Moderator: Sergiy Solodkyy, Director of the New Europe Center.
The event is organized by the New Europe Center with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. The views and positions expressed during the event are those of the experts and do not necessarily reflect the position of the International Renaissance Foundation.
