“Elections in Ukraine: Challenges for the Region”. On March 28, a public discussion on this topic took place in Milan (Italy). The event was organized by a leading think tank ISPI – the Italian Institute for International Political Studies and the New Europe Center.

NEC was represented by the deputy director Kateryna Zarembo. She elaborated on pre-election expectations and possible scenarios of events development after the first and the second round, as well as answered a dozen of questions on the presidential candidates’ ideologies, Donbass reintegration strategy, the role of religion in Ukraine, and the possibility of the third Maidan revolution.

Within the framework of the discussion, analysts from NEC and ISPI Kateryna Zarembo and Eleonora Tafuro presented their analytical paper “Ukraine Elections: Why Should the EU (and Italy) Care?”

ISPI is one of the most influential think tanks in the world which analyzes international relations. According to the University of Pennsylvania Rating, ISPI is the most powerful think tank in Italy.

Despite a public demand, representatives of the Milan community noted that events devoted to Ukraine are rare in Italy. More than one hundred participants took part in the discussion organized by ISPI and NEC.

The discussion in Milan is the first public event within the wider initiative of New Europe Center aimed at establishing closer cooperation with leading think tanks in Western Europe. Similar events in Germany and France are already planned.

You can watch the discussion video in Italian here.

The event was held within the framework of the project “Europeanization beyond process”, which is supported by the Foundation Open Society Institute (Fosi). The contents of the event are the sole responsibility of the organizers and do not necessary reflect the views of FOSI.