65th Leiden-London meeting on the challenges of EU-unlargement
Academics, practitioners, and students came together Friday, 26 June 2026, for a lively discussion on the key legal and political challenges currently facing the European Union in the context of enlargement during the 65th Leiden–London Conference at Leiden University's Academy Building.
The conference, titled Flexible EU Membership amid Geopolitical Needs and Legal Constraints, was opened with welcoming remarks by Stefaan Van den Bogaert, followed by a keynote address by Roman Petrov on recent developments and the changing geopolitical environment with a focus on Ukraine.
Building on these reflections, the conference continued with two panel discussions. The first panel considered the external dimension of flexibility of EU membership and relations with neighboring countries. Antoaneta Dimitrova, Narin Idriz and Adam Łazowski discussed developments concerning the Western Balkans, Turkey and the United Kingdom, reflecting on the opportunities and challenges presented by differentiated forms of integration and cooperation.
The second panel focused on the internal dimension of flexibility and its implications for the coherence of the EU legal order. Antonios Antoniadis, Mielle Bulterman and Maria Patrin examined the legal and institutional consequences of increasingly flexible forms of participation within the European Union.
The discussions throughout the day benefited from active participation from the audience. The questions raised during the Q&A sessions prompted further reflection on the relationship between geopolitical considerations and legal constraints, as well as on the future direction of European integration. The exchanges between speakers and participants underscored both the complexity and the contemporary relevance of the issues under discussion.
The conference was closed by Common Market Law Review’s Managing Editor, Anna Krisztian.
