“Communicating EU Enlargement: Building Trust and Engagement with the Next Generation” event organised by ECE Brussels, EPI Skopje, IPRE Chishinau, screenshot
Young people are already helping deliver Moldova’s EU accession reforms. Speaking at an EU Enlargement Forum 2026 satellite event organised by the European Centre of Excellence (ECE Brussels), Cristina Cerevate, State Secretary at the Bureau for European Integration within the Government of Moldova, offered an example from her own institution. More than a third of the Bureau’s team was born after 2000, she said, and the team’s median age is under 30.
“We often say that young people are beneficiaries or future beneficiaries of enlargement, but I think they are also drivers.”
Cerevate described what that looks like both inside and outside government. Young people are joining teams working on accession, bringing new ideas to public communication and taking part in discussions about which reforms and opportunities matter most to them.
Watch State Secretary Cristina Cerevate’s full intervention:
Why EU accession matters to Moldova
Cerevate began by placing Moldova’s accession in the wider European debate about enlargement. She explained that Moldova shares the view of enlargement as an investment in peace, stability and security. For Moldova, she said, accession is also a strategic objective tied to strengthening democracy and protecting human rights, the rule of law and individual freedoms.
She welcomed the European Commission’s assessment of Moldova’s progress and its proposed indicative roadmap for closing negotiating chapters in 2027. At the time of the dialogue, Cerevate said Moldova had opened four negotiating clusters, with two still to open, while work continued across the reform agenda. She saw a clearer timetable as a way to make the process more predictable as Moldova works to deliver on its commitments.
The Bureau for European Integration coordinates the accession process, including work on those commitments and public communication. Cerevate described a process that is technical, procedural and driven by legislation, while the questions young people ask are often concrete. They want to know what opportunities they will have to study, work and travel, and how European integration will affect the choices they can make about their future.
Explaining what EU accession reforms change in everyday life
For Cerevate, the communication challenge is to explain what a complex reform changes for people while protecting trust in the process. She said EU accession is a recurring target of disinformation, manipulation and foreign interference in Moldova. Even when institutions can point to a reform and show how it affects people’s lives, they still have to get that explanation across in an environment where attention is fragmented.
She argued that young people can help institutions develop more accessible ways of explaining reforms and opportunities. Their ideas can help public bodies choose language, formats and channels that fit the people they want to reach. A university student and a high school pupil may have different questions about accession. Young people in rural and urban communities may also have different needs and ways of getting information. Cerevate called for communication that takes those differences into account.
How young people are contributing to accession reforms
The Bureau’s own team was Cerevate’s example of how young people can contribute directly to reform. She also described interest from young applicants across public institutions who want to join accession teams and take part in the work. For her, that interest is one sign that young people see a role for themselves in delivering reforms.
That experience also matters for communication. Young people working on accession can bring their own understanding of what their peers want to know, which opportunities are difficult to find and where institutional language gets in the way. Cerevate said she looked forward to collecting ideas from the dialogue about how public institutions can communicate more effectively with different groups of young people.
Taking the discussion to where young people are
“We make it a rule to engage and go to where young people spend time.”
Cerevate pointed to cooperation with Moldova’s National Youth Council, communication campaigns aimed at high school students and discussions held at universities. She also described the Bureau’s open-door approach to meeting youth organisations, students, pupils and activists who want to learn about accession or debate its priorities.
These examples show what outreach can look like in practice. Institutions can visit places where young people already study and organise, and give them a way to approach the officials working on accession. For young people who want to contribute, those conversations can be an opportunity to ask what a reform will change, raise concerns about how it is being implemented and discuss where they can get involved.
About the dialogue
Cerevate spoke on 12 November 2026 at “Communicating EU Enlargement: Building Trust and Engagement with the Next Generation”. ECE Brussels, a Brussels-based think tank in Belgium, organised the online dialogue in cooperation with EPI Skopje and IPRE Chișinău. The event brought together institutional, civil society and youth perspectives from the Western Balkans, the Eastern Partnership and EU Member States. Official European Commission satellite event page
In the concluding panel, Bojan Kordalov, Director of Policy and Communications at ECE Brussels, called on public institutions in candidate countries to explain what has changed, who can benefit and how, and what remains unfinished. He also urged them to report back to young people on how their concerns were being addressed. Read the full event recap
ECE Brussels was represented by Dr Aleksandar Ivanovski, President of the Executive Board, who opened the event with welcoming remarks, and Bojan Kordalov, Director of Policy and Communications, who delivered remarks during the think tank perspectives panel drawing on more than 25 years of his experience in strategic communication, EU visibility and work with youth organisations. His contribution explored how communication can connect EU enlargement with citizens, especially with young people’s questions, expectations and opportunities to participate.
About the EU Enlargement Forum 2026
The European Commission will hold its second EU Enlargement Forum, “Wider Europe – Stronger Europe”, in Brussels, Belgium, on 16 November 2026. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos will host political leaders and representatives of civil society, youth and business from EU Member States and enlargement partners.
The Forum will examine how a merit-based enlargement process can strengthen peace, stability and prosperity in Europe. Participants will review progress under the 2026 Enlargement Package and discuss how candidate countries can advance accession reforms and how the EU can prepare to welcome new members. The Forum will also be livestreamed. Official EU Enlargement Forum 2026 programme and livestream
Cristina Cerevate’s intervention took place on 12 November at the online satellite event organised by ECE Brussels in cooperation with EPI Skopje and IPRE Chișinău. The dialogue brought a focus on strategic communication and youth participation to the Forum’s satellite programme. European Commission satellite event listing
About ECE Brussels
The European Centre of Excellence (ECE Brussels) is an independent think tank founded in Brussels, Belgium, in 2023. Its work focuses on good governance and democratic development across Europe. Through this dialogue, ECE Brussels brought together public institutions, civil society and youth networks from EU Member States, the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership to discuss how strategic communication can build trust in EU enlargement. About ECE Brussels
