EURINT 2026 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

The EU’s future: Cohesion in an age of inequalities

14-16 May 2026│ Iasi, Romania

The European Union’s next decade will be shaped by how effectively it reconciles ambition with fairness. Green and digital transitions, demographic shifts, security pressures, and prospective enlargement all set the premises for deep transformations, yet they risk expanding social and territorial inequalities if benefits and burdens are unevenly shared. A credible future for the EU requires an adapted and updated politics of cohesion: policies that empower people and places to thrive, reduce opportunity gaps, and sustain democratic trust. This conference invites a frank, multidisciplinary conversation on how the Union can modernize its growth model and governance to reduce inequalities, align investment with well-being, and ensure that no region or community is left behind. Held under the banner of evidence-based, place-sensitive policymaking, EURINT 2026 will assemble academics, policymakers, practitioners, and civil society to co-design pragmatic pathways toward a more cohesive Europe. We will examine how to retune Cohesion Policy, strengthen cross- border cooperation and resilience in peripheral areas, and refine metrics beyond GDP to capture territorial and social progress. Core themes include: • Upgrading the EU’s cohesion toolbox for the green & digital transitions • Tackling spatial and social inequalities: from left-behind places to inclusive growth • Financing cohesion: EU budgets, fiscal capacity, and public–private investment • Governance for convergence: multi-level coordination, participation, and accountability Beyond these tracks, we welcome contributions on enlargement and differentiated integration, urban–rural linkages, just transition mechanisms, migration and labour markets, data governance for policy evaluation, and innovative methods for measuring well-being. EURINT 2026 is an open invitation to envision, and operationalize, an EU future that is both dynamic and fair.