Publication

Summary of DIFF GOV City Talk #2 in Bratislava 2019

31.05.2019

What is the role of Central Europe in EU foreign policy initiatives? Is the Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) in certain areas of the EU's foreign policy needed and achievable? How do external (the return of geopolitics) and internal (the European Parliament elections) factors influence the EU’s relations with its neighbours? What is the future of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP)? What is the role of the EU in the Western Balkans? Will we witness further  EU enlargement any time soon? 

Those were some of the questions raised during the second DIFF GOV City Talk implemented in partnership with the Hanns Seidel Foundation that took place in Bratislava, Slovakia on 16 May 2019. Interestingly, during the online poll conducted during the event, the participants were positive about the fact that nowadays we are witnessing a multi-speed Europe.

The event titled Europe and its Neighbours: What future for European Neighbourhood Policy?brought together the expert community and candidates for the European Parliament (EP), which made a discussion interdisciplinary and at the same time very lively. Speakers were the following: Ján Cingel from GLOBSEC Policy Institute, Miriam Lexmann, candidate for the EP elections and representing the International Republican Institute, Matej Navrátil from Comenius University, Michal Šimečka, candidate for the EP elections, Ivan Štefanec, Member of European Parliament, and Ondřej Zacha, from Stratpol. The discussion was moderated by Zuzana Kovačič Hanzelová, a journalist from Slovak daily - Dennik SME.

This city talk was organized to facilitate open access to the public and, especially, to young people, scholars, policy-makers, and other inspirational leaders who focus their work on the EU. This particular debate aimed at having a frank discussion with the public who were given the opportunity to ask questions and also to learn more about the European Parliament elections and EU foreign policy and ENP. 

The event was live-streamed (only available in Slovak). Below you can to watch a discussion on GLOBSEC Youtube: https://youtu.be/-CX-wpTAyuQ

The event was also live on the SME journal webpage https://video.sme.sk/c/22122084/diskusia-europa-a-jej-susedia.html 

This project is co-financed by Jean Monnet Activities of the EU Programme Erasmus+  

A summary of the event can be downloaded below.