The Ireland for EU Enlargement Programme is a three-year initiative led by Ireland’s Institute of Public Administration (IPA), funded by Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and supported by the ReSPA.

It is designed to support mid-level public servants from the Western Balkans, Moldova and Ukraine over a three-year period. The programme for year 1 will invite participants from Albania, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine and will include a focus on the following four streams and seeks to progress each EU candidate through capacity building, leadership development, and regional mobility:

1. Justice, Integrity, Rule of Law and Governance,
2. Building Institutions for Economic Prosperity,
3. Digital Transformation of Public Administration;
4. Leadership & Change Practices for lasting impact (horizontal stream).

By blending technical expertise and adaptive leadership skills, the programme creates a dynamic learning environment that will scale from an initial pilot cohort to a broad and durable regional network of reform-minded leaders.

The cornerstone event in Podgorica will set the foundation for this journey. It will bring together programme participants, policymakers, and thought leaders for interactive workshops, leadership development sessions, and networking opportunities, while introducing key themes including critical thinking, challenge framing, and broadening perspectives. Most importantly, the launch will serve as the moment when participants agree on a shared challenge tied to EU accession priorities and are grouped into technical workstreams that will shape their collaborative work throughout the programme, as outlined above. This launch will bring together all participants for leadership development sessions, interactive workshops, and networking opportunities, while introducing key learning themes including critical thinking, challenge framing, and broadening perspectives. Serving as the foundation for year one of the programme, the launch will unite participants around a shared challenge linked to EU accession goals and establish technical workstreams that will continue as active working groups throughout the initiative.