Kolegium Europy Wschodniej we współpracy z Przedstawicielstwem Fundacji im. Friedricha Eberta w Warszawie i Konsulatem Generalnym Niemiec we Wrocławiu 26 marca zaprasza na dyskusję okrągłego stołu „Rethinking Central European Defence”. Wydarzenie odbędzie się w języku angielskim. Założenia i program poniżej:
Russia’s unprovoked full-scale attack on the Ukrainian state in February 2022 made it clear that many European countries were not prepared to defend peace in Europe. As early as on 27 February 2022 German Chancelor Olaf Scholz delivered his Zeitenwende speech in which he described the unprecedented rupture in post-war history, and which triggered a vigorous discussion on European security. Three years on, Russians are still ravaging Ukraine, and now with a radical change in Washington’s approach towards European defence we face once again a turning point in history.
The initial input for the discussion will be the 2024 policy paper Shaping Zeitenwende, co-authored by Ireneusz Bil, Max Brändle, Reinhard Krumm and Iwona Reichardt, as well as a recent piece by Valerii Pekar in New Eastern Europe A Zeitenwende comes from Washington.
Discussions will be followed by a lunch. Please confirm your participation via email at office@kew.org.pl or fill in the form. The organisers will be happy to assist with transfers to and from Wojnowice.
AGENDA
11:00 Welcome
Laurynas Vaiciunas, Jan Nowak-Jeziorański College of Eastern Europe
Max Brändle, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Warsaw Office
Martin Kremer, German Consul General in Wrocław
11:15-13:30 Reshaping Zeitenwende – from 2022 to 2025 and beyond
Introductory comments
Jakub Bornio, Wroclaw University and Institute of Central Europe in Lublin, author of Poland, an emerging geopolitical pole in Central and Eastern Europe? (KEW)
Report presentation:
Max Brändle, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Warsaw Office
Iwona Reichardt, New Eastern Europe
Moderation: Anna Nowakowska-Kasprzyk, journalist with TVP Wroclaw.13:30 Coffee break
13:45-15:00 German Zeitenwende from Polish and Ukrainian Perspectives
Panel discussion:
Valery Pekar, chairman of the board of Decolonization NGO, an adjunct professor at the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School (online)
Robert Smoleń, former Polish politician and expert on European affairs and Poland’s foreign policy
Moderation: Bartłomiej Ostrowski, International Partnership Foundation
Closing remarks:
Laurynas Vaičiūnas
15: 00 Lunch
