On 7 October 2025, as part of the EU_LEAD project (EU Global Responsible Leadership: Climate Change, Environmental Protection and Humanitarian Aid) supported by the Erasmus+ programme's Jean Monnet Action, the International Institute of Education, Culture and Diaspora Relations (IIECCD), a public lecture and discussion was held by Zenon Koval, Ambassador of the French-speaking governments of Belgium (1996-2019, Prague, Hanoi, Tunis, Warsaw, Paris (UNESCO/OECD), Special Advisor to the Embassy of Ukraine in Brussels (1992-1994), Member of the Executive Committee of the World Congress of Ukrainians, Political Advisor to the European Congress of Ukrainians.
The event began with a minute of silence to honour the memory of the fallen defenders of Ukraine and victims of Russian aggression. Oleg Tsebenko, member of the EU_LEAD team, Deputy Director of the IGNS, and Andriy Yatsiv, Deputy Director of the MIOK, introduced the speaker to the academic community of Lviv Polytechnic and thanked him for the opportunity to discuss topics that are important to Ukrainian youth.
During the lecture ‘The European Union: Foundations and Challenges,’ Zenon Koval focused the attention of young people on the processes, causes and consequences of the functioning of the EU, important figures in European integration – the ‘founding fathers of the EU’, historical stages in the development of the EU, problems in the formation of a defence alliance of European states, and details of the ‘Marshall Plan’ for the reconstruction of post-war Europe. Importantly, the speaker drew parallels with the present, namely with the EU's potential plans for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. The lecturer also shared his own vision of the current internal and external challenges to the functioning of the EU, such as: the deficit of democracy and Brussels bureaucracy; lack of unity and solidarity; economic imbalance; migration and integration; Euroscepticism and populism; climate and energy crisis; global competition (USA, China); Russia's war against Ukraine; defence issues; migration crises; EU enlargement. However, Zenon Kowal identified the most significant challenge as the ability of EU countries to maintain unity in a changing world, economic leadership and democracy.
Zenon Koval's statement that the EU has developed and changed exclusively in times of crisis was extremely apt. ‘Today, the EU is in crisis, and everything related to Ukraine is at the epicentre of this crisis,’ the speaker noted. Ukraine has a chance for a European future, but only if it successfully implements reforms and commits to European values. The speaker called on young people to take active steps to bring Ukraine closer to the EU, because everyone's contribution to Ukraine's European future is important. At the end of the event, students asked about the mood in European countries regarding Ukraine's accession to the EU, the realism of changes in the EU's management system under the influence of current threats and crises, the possibility of Ukraine's membership in the EU as early as 2030, and so on.
More than a hundred people attended Zenon Koval's lecture, including international relations students, teachers, and participants in the EU_LEAD project.
The event was held as part of the EU_LEAD project (EU Global Responsible Leadership: Climate Change, Environmental Protection and Humanitarian Aid), which is supported by the EU Erasmus+ programme's Jean Monnet action.
The project team would like to thank Zenon Koval for his interesting and informative lecture, MIOK for their help in organising the event, and the international students for their active participation.
More detailed information about EU_LEAD can be found on the project website within the Lviv Polytechnic Portal.
