Seminar
Details
Following the elections to the European Parliament and the appointment of the new High Representative for Foreign Affairs (the successor of Catherine Ashton), time will come to redefine EU’s foreign policy objectives, priorities and instruments. The economic depression that has lasted for a few years now has limited the EU’s capability to influence its international environment through the traditional instruments, such as the attraction power of the European model, soft power and economic might. The crisis in Ukraine and the aftermath of the Arab Spring have proven that the EU’s policy pursued in relation to its closest neighbours has failed to bring about the desired results. Russia’s policy towards Ukraine, in turn, has forced the return of such issues as “hard” security and the role of military structures and potentials into political discourse, at least in some of the EU’s Member States. In December 2013 the European Council called upon the High Representative for Foreign Affairs to draw up a report on the changes that have taken place in the global environment, and on the resulting implications for the EU’s foreign policy. The report is to be presented in 2015.
The Seminar that you are invited to attend is a part of a wider reflection on the EU’s strategy in the changing world. The reflection that Polish Confederation Lewiatan, ECFR and the Adenauer Foundation intend to deepen in the coming months. The said strategy will also be the key topic of this year’s European Forum for New Ideas to be held in Sopot (October 1-3), and ECFR’s publications that analyse various aspects of EU’s global structure. The meeting, in which a wide array of renowned European experts will take place, will be based on the Chatham House principle, and representatives of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs have also announced their participation.
Program
10.30 – 11.00 Registration
11.00 – 11.15 Opening remarks
Henryka Bochniarz (Lewiatan), Konstanty Gebert (ECFR), Christian Schmitz (KAS)
11.15 - 11.30 Keynote speeches
Poland’s role in the EU foreign policy – Henryka Mościcka-Dendys (Deputy Foreign Minister, PL)
Germany’s role in the EU foreign policy - Rolf Nickel (Ambassador of Germany)
11.30 – 12.30 EU in the global world: challenges for the new High Representative
Introduction: Nick Witney/ Josef Janning (ECFR)
Commentary: Ulrich Speck (Carnegie)
12.30 – 13.15 Lunch
13.15 – 15.00 Can the European Neighbourhood Policy be rescued?
Chair: Josef Janning (ECFR)
Introductory remarks: Kai Olaf Lang (SWP), Francisco de Borja Lasheras (ECFR), Steven Blockmans (CEPS)
15.00 - 15.30 Coffee Break
15.30 – 17.15 Return of Geopolitics: What Future for European Security and Defense Policy
Chair: Nick Witney (ECFR)
Introductory remarks: Vivien Pertusot (IFRI), Rem Korteweg (CER) , Tomasz Łękarski (Deputy Director, Department for Security Policy, MFA)
