Strengthening Academic Ties in the South Caucasus: Eureast Platform’s Mission to Armenia and Georgia

In March, Ghent University’s Eureast Platform successfully organized an academic mission to Armenia and Georgia. Led by Vice-Rector Prof. Mieke Van Herreweghe, a delegation of professors, researchers, and staff members visited Yerevan and Tbilisi with the goal of strengthening existing partnerships and exploring new avenues for academic cooperation.

Over the course of five intensive and inspiring days, the delegation visited twelve partner institutions and organizations. These included the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture of the Republic of Armenia, the EU Delegations to Armenia and Georgia, the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Yerevan State University, the American University of Armenia, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Ilia State University, and several others.

In Armenia, Ghent University experts participated in three academic events and recorded two podcasts. On 18 March, the Eureast Platform, in collaboration with the Applied Policy Research Institute (APRI) Armenia and with support from the Belgian Embassy in Yerevan, co-organized a high-level panel discussion on Armenia–EU relations. Moderated by Prof. Fabienne Bossuyt, the panel brought together key stakeholders and experts to reflect on Armenia’s evolving geopolitical positioning and its relations with the European Union. Armenian alumni of Ghent University were invited as guests of honour to this event.

The panel featured contributions from H.E. Vassilis Maragos, Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia; H.E. Eric De Muynck, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to Armenia; Anahide Pilibossian, Vice President of APRI Armenia; Dr. Laura Luciani, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Ghent Institute for International and European Studies; Ambassador Samvel Mkrtchian, Head of the European Department at the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Tomasz Ostropolski, Deputy Head of the Political, Press and Information Section of the EU Delegation to Armenia; and Prof. Peter Van Elsuwege from Ghent University.

In addition to the panel, Ghent University scholars were involved in two other academic events. A seminar on “The Europeanization of Judiciaries: The Impact of EU Law on Judicial Reasoning Beyond the EU’s Borders” was organized by the Jean Monnet Chair at Eurasia International University, in cooperation with the Constitutional Court of Armenia. This was followed by a workshop on “The Implementation of the EU-Armenia CEPA: Europeanizing Legislative and Judicial Practices,” organized at Eurasia International University with Prof. Fabienne Bossuyt, dr. Laura Luciani and Prof. Peter Van Elsuwege.

Dr. Laura Luciani and Prof. Fabienne Bossuyt also took part in a recording of the Focus Series podcast hosted by the American University of Armenia, further contributing to the academic dialogue during the mission.

In Georgia, the delegation co-organized a seminar at Tbilisi State University on “Recent Developments in EU Enlargement Policy and Pre-Accession Conditionality: Implications for Georgia.” Hosted by Prof. Nino Lapiashvili, the seminar featured presentations by Prof. Peter Van Elsuwege, Prof. Fabienne Bossuyt, and Dr. Laura Luciani, and was attended by students of European Studies.

The visit concluded with an alumni event in Tbilisi, organized in collaboration with Ghent University’s International Alumni Unit. Around twenty-five alumni and several local network partners attended the gathering. Among the special guests was Dr. John Braeckeveldt, Honorary Consul of Belgium in Georgia and President of the European Business Association, who delivered a speech alongside Prof. Fabienne Bossuyt.