Guests
Susi Dennison, Director of European Power Programm and Senior Policy Fellow, ECFR
Maryna Domushkina, Visiting Fellow Ukraine, ECFR
Rafael Loss, Policy Fellow, ECFR

Chaired by
Vessela Tcherneva, Deputy Director, ECFR

This webinar delved into the nuanced public perceptions of the war in Ukraine in Ukraine itself, Switzerland, the UK as well as 12 EU member states (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden). Drawing on these results, we explored potential courses of action for European policymakers to support Ukraine in the short- and long term, as well as points of agreement and potential contentions between the Ukrainian and other European publics. Finally, our panelists deliberated on what public views mean for effective policy making and key decisions to be taken at the NATO summit: Should Europe consider sending troops to Ukraine? Can Ukraine realistically join NATO in the near future? How does NATO accession interplay with potential EU membership for Ukraine? How can we align Ukrainian and European public opinion on these critical decisions?

The debate was kicked off with a brief public opinion data presentation by Susi Dennison, ECFR’s Director of the European Power Programme. Rafael Loss, Policy Fellow at ECFR’s Defence Initiative, and Maryna Domushkina, Ukrainian Visiting Fellow at ECFR, commented from a Ukrainian and defence-focused perspective respectively.