On 4 December 2025, as part of the project «EU Global Responsible Leadership: Climate Change, Environmental Protection and Humanitarian Aid» (EU_LEAD), supported by the Erasmus+ Jean Monnet programme, a public lecture was delivered by Professor Ljubo Runić, Dean of Šibenik University of Applied Sciences (Croatia) and Doctor of Laws, together with Master of Laws Mario Dominik Burić. The lecture addressed the timely and important topic: «Application of the European Union’s Legal Heritage in the Croatian Legal System and Judicial Practice.»
During the lecture, the speakers highlighted the significance of Croatia’s experience in the broader context of European integration. They emphasized that Croatia was the first country to join the EU following the major enlargements of 2004 and 2007, while remaining its youngest member. The speakers also noted that Croatia’s accession path took place under complex political and security conditions, making its experience particularly instructive for transitional states seeking to harmonize their legislation with EU standards – including Ukraine.
The lecturers offered a detailed explanation of the EU legal heritage (acquis) – a body of norms, principles, case law, and international obligations that candidate countries must fully implement before joining the European Union. They outlined the structure of the accession negotiations, including the assessment of national legislation, harmonization of legal norms, and practical implementation of the acquis in the domestic legal system, as well as the broad spectrum of thematic negotiation clusters.
Students received in-depth insights into the mechanisms of EU law implementation, ranging from unification in areas of exclusive EU competence to harmonization through directives, rewriting of norms, minimum harmonization, coordination mechanisms, and the principle of direct effect. Particular attention was given to the primacy of EU law, confirmed by landmark rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
A major focus of the lecture was the new EU enlargement methodology, which emphasizes predictability, credibility, stronger political governance, and process efficiency. The speakers highlighted that this approach enables more dynamic enlargement, provided that candidate countries consistently and fully meet all criteria, requirements, and reform benchmarks. This renewed methodology places enlargement policy at the strategic center of the EU, fostering stronger support from member states for candidate countries.
It is also noteworthy that the Šibenik University of Applied Sciences is a partner of Lviv Polytechnic under the Erasmus+ academic exchange programme and annually hosts dozens of students from leading Ukrainian universities. Accordingly, part of the lecture was devoted to opportunities available to Ukrainian youth.
The event gathered 60 students and faculty members, who participated in a lively and engaging discussion following the lecture. The EU_LEAD project team expresses sincere gratitude to all participants for their contributions and dialogue, and especially to Professor Ljubo Runić and Master of Laws Mario Dominik Burić for delivering a highly insightful and valuable lecture in the context of Ukraine’s European integration. Special thanks are also extended to Ruslana Kistechok, our student and Erasmus+ participant, for her support in organizing the event.
