How can values guide EU foreign policy in a changing world? What happens when democratic principles are contested or eroded? And how can research, education, and civil society contribute to a new policy agenda?

From 29 September to 2 October 2026, the Third Annual ValEUs Conference: “Values, Democracy, and EU Foreign Policy. Paths to a New Policy Agenda” will bring together academics, students, civil society representatives, policymakers and interested members of the public to explore these questions in Frankfurt (Oder) and Słubice.

ValEUs – Research & Education Network on Contestations to EU Foreign Policy is a Jean Monnet Network bringing together 20 universities across five continents. Led by European University Viadrina, the network combines interdisciplinary research, teaching and public dialogue to examine how the EU’s foundational values are contested and what this means for its foreign policy.

As the network’s closing conference, the event will bring together insights developed across the ValEUs network since 2024 and look ahead to future cooperation. Through academic panels and practice-oriented roundtable discussions, participants will explore democratic and normative erosion, shifts in the international order, EU foreign and accession policy, support for Ukrainian academia, the relationship between civil society, political actors and ‘European’ values, and the role of universities in fostering pluralistic and humanitarian values.

Keynote addresses will offer further perspectives on the conference themes, with Hans Kundnani reflecting on the fundamental question “What Values Are European?” and Marek Prawda examining the “Challenges of a Value-Oriented EU Foreign Policy”.

The conference will take place across the German-Polish twin city of Frankfurt (Oder) and Słubice, with events hosted at European University Viadrina and Adam Mickiewicz University’s Collegium Polonicum.

Join us in Frankfurt (Oder), Słubice or online as ValEUs draws together three years of international cooperation and looks ahead to the conversations and collaborations that come next.

The full conference programme and information about available livestreams are included below.

European values play a significant role in shaping the attachment of citizens and elites to the European Union (EU). They are central to the EU’s self-definition of where it stands and set the orientation of its foreign policy. Yet far from being universally accepted and promoted, the EU’s goals and their underlying values have increasingly been contested. What is the actual role of the EU’s values? Are they too broad or too narrowly defined? Are they, at times, unable to generate a unique civic identity for the European people? Do they provide the EU a unique voice on the global stage, or have they instead led the EU to marginalize itself? Is the EU able to properly fulfill its own mandates? Does the EU actually live up to the values it promotes? 

As many of these contestations have been raised from within the EU, too little attention has been given to how they are perceived in non-European contexts. The goal of the first Annual ValEUs Conference is an analysis of the ways individuals, groups, and elites in American, Asian, African, and Middle Eastern countries perceive these values and, in return, how these external contestations are understood by European elites. Are these values perceived as hints of Europe’s former colonialism? What role do they play in the resurgence of Russia’s Slavophile legacy and the country’s aggressive foreign policy? In light of what appears to be tomorrow’s world, can we expect European values to appeal beyond the EU’s formal structure or instead to increase the gap with non-European nations? Do these values have the potential to transcend cultural and civilizational differences, or are they instead a source of Europe’s marginalization? 

The investigation of these questions (among others) will be integral to the first Annual ValEUs Conference held at Nazarbayev University (Astana, Kazakhstan) between September 13-15, 2024. The conference draws from the rich interdisciplinary expertise of our global research and education network,  presenting over 30 contributions from ValEUs scholars. For more details, check our conference program below.