The European Liberal Forum was present at the 40th ALDE Party Congress in Athens. We organised two sessions. Climate change and transatlantic relations were the topics discussed with distinguished speakers, including EU Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc, MEPs Martin Hojsik and Katalin Cseh from the Renew Europe group.

 

Stop the Waste! Liberal Perspectives on Climate Change

EU Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc, Latvian Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development Juris Pūce and MEP Martin Hojsik from Progressive Slovakia exchanged on a panel moderated by Frederik Federley MEP.

Takeaways from our sessions at the ALDE Congress:

• Long-term scientific plans, sustainable investments and inclusive approaches. Three key steps to make sure Europe develops a strategic plan to address climate change.
• Climate change is also an opportunity to be creative, to be entrepreneurial and to be agenda-setters, said MEP Martin Hojsik
• We need to plan and invest today to be able to deliver in the future. I believe that liberals, with their open spirit, can lead the transition to a #green future
• We have to stand up for science to develop long-term strategies. Industries, politicians, NGOs and citizens: we all need to act together for climate!”

 

Washington, we have a problem. Moving towards a future-proof transatlantic partnership

A morning session on transatlantic with MEP Katalin Cseh, Mark Titterington, Director General at Transatlantic Policy Network and Thibault Muzergues, Europe Program Director at the International Republican Institute. Moderated by Havard Sandvik, Senior policy advisor, for the Norwegian liberal party Venstre.

• The administration and the Presidency are two different entities. The administration will keep working on long-term policies
• Europe is no longer a continent of geopolitical interest for the US. Their main area of focus is now the Indo-Pacific Ocean
• The next decade will be fundamental in determining whether Europe can act as a reliable and stable foreign actor
• Strategic threats to our internal security come from China and Russia, namely about the implementation of 5G networks