RBI CEE Night – A growing window of opportunity

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the EU’s eastern enlargement, RBI hosted the "RBI CEE Night" on 5 November. The event featured honorary speakers and attendees who reflected on the key milestones of the past two decades and discussed the future of European enlargement.

The night included keynote speeches delivered by the former Federal Chancellor of Austria Wolfgang Schüssel and Valerie Brunner, member of our Management Board responsible for CIB Customer Coverage. This session was followed by a panel discussion that covered the most pressing questions.

Among the other speakers, Aivaras Abromovicius, Chairman of Ukrainian Corporate Governance Academy, participated, and the discussion was moderated by Ivona Kristic Zametica, Chief Economist of Raiffeisen Bank dd BIH.

Both Wolfgang Schüssel and Valerie Brunner emphasized that new geopolitical changes and shifts create a window of opportunity to advance enlargement efforts. When asked about the potential of expanding the EU, Wolfgang Schüssel stated that the ‘‘CEE is the powerhouse of Europe.’’

Aivaras Abromovicius concluded with a call for EU Member States to continue to promote Ukraine on its EU integration path and to support the country in its ongoing efforts to fight against the military aggression.