Château Béla Central European Strategic Forum 2021 Takeaways

Over a three-day period, GLOBSEC’s annual Château Béla Central European Strategic Forum occurred along the Hungarian – Slovakian border. A collection of senior policymakers and thought leaders from Europe and the United States sphere descended for discussions on the most pressing issues facing Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

This year’s edition was dominated by the rupture of the current European security architecture stemming from Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Europe. Against the backdrop of this new reality, participants analyzed and debated a host of ultra-relevant themes.

From the defense of democracy and the liberal order, sustainable support mechanisms of refugees, to the litany of foreign, economic, and security policy challenges impacting CEE, there was no shortfall of topics for introspection. The fact that Europe and Europeans, are living through a watershed moment in world history was not lost on participants and is reflected in the discussion held and policy outcomes found below in PDF file.