Workshop
Details
The 'CRACOW-WORKSHOP' with distinguished politicians and scientists from eight countries of Central Eastern Europe (CEE) - among them politicians from Poland, Ukraine and Germany; about 35 people in total - will take place on 24-25 April 2023 in Cracow.
The meeting in the south of Poland is part of a series of expert discussions in CEE, which the Foreign Office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Poland is organizing in 2022/23 together with other KAS Offices in the region (due to the high popularity of the first series one year ago now already taking place for the second time) and on the initiative of the KAS Office for Multilateral Dialogue in Vienna.
Content
In the wake of Russia's war in Ukraine, Poland has risen geostrategically to become a major player in international security policy. The economic importance of Central Eastern Europe has also increased in a world that in view of current and looming conflicts is looking for a realignment of international trade routes and new balances of power.
The international 'CRACOW-WORKSHOP' will review changes in CEE since 24 February 2022 and critically examine minilateral relations and different perspectives on the European project. On this basis, we will then debate with politicians from Poland, Ukraine and Germany the situation on the front lines and the support for our European neighbours, identify challenges for Europe and finally ask: What can Think Tanks do to strengthen Central Eastern Europe and to promote our common project "European Union" in view of Russia's war and its long-term consequences?
Program
Monday, 24 April 2023
08.30 am - 09.00 am Registration of participants
09.00 am - 09.15 am Opening
- David Gregosz, Head of the Foreign Office of KAS in Poland, Warsaw
- Claudia Crawford, Head of KAS Multilateral Dialogue, Vienna
09.15 am - 10.45 am Roundtable I
CEE as key strategic region for the EU in times of conflict
Security & economy in Europe's frontline states after Russia's attack on Ukraine
Impulses:
- Bogdan Klich, Member of the Polish Senate, Chairman of Foreign and European Union Affairs Committee
- Dominik P. Jankowski, Policy Advisor at the Office of the NATO Secretary General
- Soňa Muzikářová, Policy Advisor to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic
- Pavel Havlíček, Research Fellow at the Association for International Affairs (AMO), Prague
Moderation: Claudia Crawford, Head of KAS Multilateral Dialogue, Vienna
Discussion
10.45 am - 11.15 am Coffee break
11.15 am - 12.45 pm Roundtable II
Minilateralism in CEE at a turning point?
V4, 3SI, B9, Slavkov3, Weimar Triangle: Chances and risks of small diplomatic formats in a period of war, energy crisis, stagflation and climate change
Impulses:
- H.E. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, 4th President of the Republic of Croatia (2015-2020)
- Dr Piotr Arak, Director at the Polish Economic Institute (PIE), Warsaw
- Velina Tchakarova, Founder at FACE For A Conscious Experience, Vienna
Moderation: Dr Małgorzata Bonikowska, President of the Centre for International Relations (CSM), Warsaw
Discussion
01.00 pm - 02.00 pm Lunch
02.15 pm - 03.45 pm Roundtable III
The future of the EU as seen from CEE
Reform of the treaties? Majority voting? Hegemonic power of a European superstate? What Europe do we want and what are we (still) willing to give?’
Impulses:
- Paweł Musiałek, President of the Jagiellonian Club, Cracow
- Zoltán Kiszelly, Director at the Centre for Policy Analysis at Századvég Foundation, Budapest
- Sebastian Schäffer, Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, Vienna
Moderation: Michael Winzer, Head of the Foreign Office of KAS in Hungary, Budapest
Discussion
(Break)
05.15 pm - 05.40 pm ‘Afternoon Tea & Networking’
05.45 pm - 07.15 pm The ‘war room’-talk
What can we do to effectively defend European values and to shape the unity of the west?
A conversation with politicians from Poland, Ukraine and Germany:
- Prof Jacek Czaputowicz, Professor at the University of Warsaw, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland (2018-2020)
- Volodymyr Ariev, Member of Parliament, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
- Dr Markus Reichel, Member of Parliament, Deutscher Bundestag
Moderation: Magdalena Cedro, Senior Analyst on European Affairs at ‘Polityka Insight’, Warsaw
08.00 pm Dinner [ O P T I O N A L ]
Tuesday, 25 April 2023
09.30 am - 11.00 am Inside Ukraine and Poland – a special conversation
"We choose freedom"
Challenges for Ukraine and Poland during a period of reimagining the continent
A special talk with:
- Dr Liubov Akulenko, Executive Director and Co-founder, Ukrainian Centre for European Policy (UCEP), Kyiv
- Sławomir Sierakowski, Senior Research Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), Berlin, and Founder and leader of Krytyka Polityczna, Warsaw
Moderation: David Gregosz, Head of the Foreign Office of KAS in Poland, Warsaw
11.00 am - 11.30 am Coffee break
11.30 am - 12.30 pm The ‘Think-Tank’-debate
A bigger picture: ‘Peoples of Europe! Look at this region!’
Perspectives on dealing with CEE and Europe by Experts from the region and abroad
- Dr Peter Fischer-Bollin, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Head of Division Analysis and Consulting, Berlin
- Dr Łukasz Fyderek, Senior Policy Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Studies, Cracow
- Dr Kai-Olaf Lang, Senior Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Berlin
Moderation: Tomislav Delinić, Head of the Foreign Office of KAS in Czech Republic and Slovakia, Prague
Discussion
12.30 pm - 12.45 pm Closing session
01.15 pm Lunch [ O P T I O N A L ]
