The project of a European Union has cut the turbulent past of the old continent sharply, undeniably permitting the European countries to cooperate in peace for more than half a century since the Second World War. At the same time, relations between the Union as a whole, and other actors outside have improved over the last thirty years, so much so that the continent’s economy has become a landmark for the world markets.
Nevertheless, new threats have emerged in recent times and new challenges are expected for decades to come. From terrorism, cybercrime, the challenges posed from migration and even the renewed tensions on the international chessboard. Europe, in the first two decades of the new century, finds itself having to reckon with what has been done so far in fields as defence, security and external relations.
While integration within the Union is a fact, incontestably a success in a historical perspective, some of the countries among Europe are still reluctant to give up ground in certain strategic areas feeling the process of integration as a threat to the core of the concept of the sovereign state.
What are the key challenges facing the European Union? Is there a way to get everyone in agreement on such sensitive issues as Security Policy? Can liberalism be the key?
How can liberalism be a solution to improve the external relations of the countries of the Union making Europe’s role more central in an ever-changing international context?
Welcome & Presentation of the Liberal White Book Europe 2030 project
Daniel Kaddik, Executive Director, European Liberal Forum
Introduction to this Expert Forum
Miłosz Hodun, PhD, Second Vice President, Board of Directors, European Liberal Forum
Welcome Words from the Patron
Katalin Cseh, Member of the European Parliament, Renew Europe Group
Welcome Words from Poland
Adam Szłapka MP, Nowoczesna Leader, President of the Parliamentary Group of the Future of the EU
Keynote Speech – Liberal World Order: Is it dead or alive
Ryszard Schnepf, PhD, Professor, Warsaw University and former Polish Ambassador to the USA
Discussion: The “Geopolitical Commission”
• Agnieszka K. Cianciara, Professor, Institute of Political Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Bernard Guetta, Member of the European Parliament, Renew Europe Group
• Péter Balázs, Director, Center for European Neighborhood Studies
Moderator: Maia Mazurkiewicz, Head of Intelligence, Alliance4Europe
Discussion: Future Foreign Relations: Europe between “Soft” and “Smart” Power
• Malgorzata Bonikowska, PhD, President, Centre for International Relations (Warsaw)
• Petras Auštrevičius, Member of the European Parliament, Renew Europe Group
• Bart Groothuis, Member of the European Parliament, Renew Europe Group
Moderator: Yana Humen, Member of the Liberal Defence Group, Nowoczesna
Discussion: Emerging Security Challenges. Can the EU meet them?
• Artis Pabriks, Latvian Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Defence
• Salima Belhaj, D66 Member of Parliament, The Netherlands
• Bartlomiej E. Nowak, PhD, Director of the Research Institute in the discipline of political science and administration, Vistula University
• Sebastian Vagt, Project Director of Morocco and Algeria Office, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom
Moderator: Yana Humen, Member of the Liberal Defence Group, Nowoczesna
Final talk & Conclusions
Tomasz Kamiński, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Lodz
Author of the Security Policy and Foreign Affairs chapter, Liberal White Book Europe 2030
