For too long Europe’s political debates have been focused on the wrong issues. Most mainstream parties are unable to come up with new ideas to meet voters’ fears about jobs, identity, and security. In the lead up to the Sibiu Summit, where European leaders met on May 9 to discuss the future of Europe, it is time to refocus the debate on the issues that truly matter.
Carnegie Europe and the Open Society European Policy Institute (OSEPI) hosted an event to mark the launch of a new policy report, Refocus the European Union: Planet, Lifetime, Technology. This publication is a rallying cry for European leaders and citizens to focus on the environmental, demographic, and technological transformations that will rock Europe for years to come.
Report editors Tomáš Valášek, director of Carnegie Europe, and Heather Grabbe, director of OSEPI, led a policy discussion that was kicked off by European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager.
Refocus the European Union summarizes key findings from the European Reformists, a diverse group of thought leaders with a pro-European, pro-reform mindset convened by Carnegie Europe and OSEPI in 2017-2019.
Event video
Agenda
2:30 p.m.
Registration
3:00 to 3:05 p.m.
Welcome Remarks
Heather Grabbe, director of the Open Society European Policy Institute
Tomáš Valášek, director of Carnegie Europe
3:00 to 3:45 p.m.
Armchair Conversation
Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition
James Kanter, coproducer and editor, EU Scream
3:45 to 5:00 p.m.
Panel Discussion: Refocusing the EU
Heather Grabbe, director of the Open Society European Policy Institute
Dirk Holemans, director, Oikos—Think tank for socio-ecological change
Zsuzsanna Szelényi, ERSTE Stiftung fellow, Institute for Human Sciences, Vienna
Tomáš Valášek, director of Carnegie Europe
moderated by: James Kanter, coproducer and editor, EU Scream
5:00 to 5:20 p.m.
Coffee Break
5:20 to 6:30 p.m.
Preparing for Digital, Climate, and Social Change
Participants will discuss ways that Europe’s new leaders can address the big challenges of the twentieth-first century and how to translate those ideas into action.
Led by: members of the European Reformists group
This session includes a private visit of the exhibition Bernard van Orley – Brussels and the Renaissance.
6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Reception
Photos
