This event is organised in cooperation with EUROPEUM, with the support of the Visegrád Fund.
Visegrád Four (V4) leaders have often described/designated? Security issues as those on which substantial progress could make the EU seem more concrete for its citizens. Faced with a variety of challenges, ranging from the spillover effects of instability in the Middle East, which have in part triggered the migration crisis and sparked tensions between Central European capitals and the EU, to the troubling resurgence of Russia and its hybrid warfare, Central Europe now finds itself at a ‘crossroads of crisis’ that demands far greater reassurance for its sceptical populations.
In this context, Central Europe has a unique contribution to make in balancing out the commitments it made to NATO at both the Wales and Warsaw Summits, and it’s newly assumed position of driving support for further cooperation within the EU on issues of defence. The current French-German-Italian push for a ‘European Defence Union’ may run against some entrenched Visegrád Four interests, especially the ‘NATO first’ approach, and in this context it is interesting to hear all four regional heads of state discuss their role in the reinforcement of the EU’s role on security issues. The geopolitical context is therefore propitious for Central Europe to speak with a more decisive voice. Yet the question remains: how will NATO and the EU will be used to underpin their new role in the EU and highlight their foreign and security policy priorities?
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Registration and coffee from 09.00 to 09.30 – Meeting from 09.30 to 13.00
Participation in this event is exceptionally free of charge.
