EPIK – the European Policy Institute in Kyiv – a new foreign policy think tank was launched in the Ukrainian capital on March 31 with an inaugural ceremony and panel discussion that gathered decision-makers and various specialists to discuss Ukraine’s path to EU membership with the intersecting complexities of war, reforms, and current geopolitics.
With EU support, EPIK is the first European think tank of its kind to open in Kyiv, according to the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS).
Its mission is to provide policymakers with rigorous analysis, strategic insight, and forward-leaning policy ideas that aims to help integrate Ukraine into the EU and support Ukraine in implementing the necessary reforms. EPIK will serve as a platform for innovative policy ideas and high-quality analysis bringing together Ukrainian and European expertise to work on the most acute issues facing Ukraine and Europe today.
The think tank was launched by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius and Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office of Ukraine.
The inaugural event brought together decision-makers, experts, civil society representatives and others to discuss Ukraine’s path to EU membership at the intersection of war, reform, and geopolitics.
Ihor Zhovkva opened the event with a keynote speech on Ukraineʼs role in European security saying that EU accession is not only about Ukraine’s future, but a defining test of Europe’s ability to ensure its own security. “Ukraine is the only country in Europe with real-world experience of defending its territory while advancing reforms. Bringing European and Ukrainian minds together is the best way to generate the bold, innovative solutions this moment demands,” he said.
During the panel discussion EPIK Director Fredrik Wesslau said that Ukraine, with its modern warfare, resilience and civic engagement, is an example for us all. “EPIK should be a platform where European experts can listen and learn from their Ukrainian counterparts,” Wesslau said.
Andreas Umland, Policy Fellow at EPIK and Associate Professor of Political Science at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, underlined the choice of name citing Andrius Kubilius’s opening words that “we are living through epic times, through epic challenges when the future of Europe is going to be decided here in Ukraine.”
EPIK is established by the Swedish Institute of International Affairs through SCEEUS, Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies. It is co-funded by the European Union and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).