GLOBSEC Weekly Roundup – Our Week With Political Heavyweights
Something to keep in mind, ‘no one will be able to make it through this crisis on their own’ was the message of the Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Ivan Korčok, who we had the pleasure to talk to in an exclusive online debate. This week GLOBSEC indeed provided a host of intellectual comfort food for those who enjoy high profile discussions. Apart from Minister Korčok, another brilliant international figure, Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund paid us a virtual visit and shared a myriad of powerful ideas, making the point about how important it is now more than ever to come together to create synergies to build more developed, greener, digital, and sustainable world post-pandemic.
Another month has passed, and our experts were hard at work preparing the June edition of our Intelligence Briefing. In this issue they again analyse how the coronavirus pandemic will continue to shape life in the V4 region.
This week saw European Union leaders and their UK counterparts continue the Brexit talks with no evident progress. The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stands firm on his decision to get the UK out of the EU on 1 January 2021 'whatever happens’. Are Brexit talks heading for a dead-end or is there hope for an agreement to be reached? Zuzana Podracká, GLOBSEC Research Fellow, presents the possible Brexit talk scenarios in her video commentary. Yesterday, a teleconference meeting between the EU representatives and Eastern Partnership heads of state and governments set priorities for a physical summit that is due to take place in March 2021. Alisa Muzergues, European Neighbourhood Programme Research Fellow at GLOBSEC comments on the outcomes and what to expect in political dialogue and strategic partnership between the EU and the six partner countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine going forward.
The global financial crisis and the ensuing hardening of the daily struggle just to get by, set in motion by the COVID-19 pandemic, have left populations around the world susceptible to new threats that undermine our democratic values. Disinformation, fake news, distortion of political reality have led to new narratives often stoking ancient hatreds and resulting in a shift to more autocratic systems of governance. In an online event next week, GLOBSEC’s Democracy & Resilience Programme and its guests will discuss how fragile and delicately balanced the democratic system in the ten CEE countries still is. Under the umbrella of our new #PrimeTime series the State Secretaries of the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia will debate how COVID-19 has impacted the European integration and transatlantic relations in an online event The European and Transatlantic Agenda.
GLOBSEC Intelligence Briefing | June Edition OUT NOW !
GLOBSEC experts have identified the three 3 major areas we should focus our attention on going forward: Economic consequences of the pandemic; Increased global trade tensions; Schengen Reopening as a potential instigator of a second wave of infections. These subjects are examined from the perspective of political and economic developments, security implications, EU and V4 priorities.
➡️ Read Here
UPCOMING WEBINARS
Democratic Vulnerabilities: How to Rebuild the Trust?
23 June 2020 | 3pm - 4pm CEST
Live-streamed on Facebook
What are the current attitudes toward democracy in the CEE region? Are inclinations towards illiberalism felt within the societies? What should we do to tackle the insecurities and growing distrust in the system and what role is misinformation playing in sowing the doubt?
➡️ Register
The Post-COVID-19 Challenges to the European Union
25 June 2020 | 3 - 4pm CEST / 9 - 10am EDT
Zoom
In an online event, jointly organised by GLOBSEC and CEPA, the State Secretaries Aleš Chmelař (CZ), Martin Klus (SK) and Minister for European Affairs Konrad Szymański (PL) will discuss how COVID-19 has impacted the EU Member States' priorities with regard to European integration and Transatlantic relations.
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT THIS WEEK
GLOBSEC Brussels Office
In mid-January 2020 GLOBSEC opened its first office abroad. In order to be closer to European decision and policy makers, our first-choice location was naturally Brussels. Since its inception, the Brussels Office has been instrumental in organising events and contributing to GLOBSEC’s research agenda.
Europe in a New Decade is the GLOBSEC Brussels Office’s first major undertaking. It has focused on engaging diverse experts, policymakers and business leaders to tackle the most pressing issues and challenges Europe is facing, including the green and digital agendas, and the relationships with the United States and China. In this time of global upheaval, change and unpredictability, Europe in a New decade proved to be an invaluable platform for the exchange of ideas and the generation of recommendations for future policy making.
GLOBSEC’s unique Central and Eastern European position has also been brought to the forefront in these online debates. After four successful and well-received webinars, the series will be extended to continue providing a platform for critical thinking and cooperation on emerging global challenges.
The COVID-19 pandemic put the world into an unprecedented situation, as around half of the world was placed under lockdown and life was on a halt to help stop the spread of the virus. This exogenous symmetric shock triggered immense asymmetric consequences, as we came to understand once deconfinement efforts were put in place. With the recently developed GLOBSEC Intelligence Briefing, we try to shed light on how Central European countries respond to the pandemic, by providing an informative and accessible summary of the most relevant topics. The Intelligence Briefing aims to provide political leaders, decision-makers, business representatives, experts and civil society with a timely and relevant analysis of events unfolding in the Visegrad countries. The original monthly briefing / April, May and June issues/ will transition following the June issue into a dedicated quarterly report related to the post-COVID recovery of the V4.
You can get in touch with our Brussels Office team on [email protected].
OUR MUST-WATCH WEBINARS
The Role of the IMF in the Post-COVID-19 Fiscal Stabilization and Recovery. A fireside chat with Ms Kristalina Georgieva
We should use fiscal stimuli to create green jobs, move digitalization forward in an equitable way and ensure that we build shock resilient economies,’ was one of the messages voiced by Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF who we spoke to in a fireside chat organised by GLOBSEC, Bruegel and Institut Montaigne. The main takeaways can be read here.
➡️ Watch Here
The Post-COVID-19 Challenges to the European Union. An exclusive debate with Minister Ivan Korčok
Minister Korčok engaged in a conversation with Alexander Stubb about the post-COVID-19 challenges to the European Union as seen from the perspective of Slovakia. The EU recovery package, MFF negotiations, the EU’s role in safeguarding multilateralism and in playing a bigger role on the world stage were also debated. Minister's main messages can be found here.
➡️ Watch Here
COOPERATIVE SECURITY INITIATIVE NOW NEEDED MORE THAN EVER
By asking questions and presenting opinions of experts from different areas, Cooperative Security Initiative launched by GLOBSEC and FES ROCPE strives to engage global citizens in shaping our common future.
Alexandra Martin, Head of GLOBSEC Brussels Office, argues that countries shouldn’t build up their military capacity regardless of the reaction of others.
TIMELY & CRISPY DEBATE SHOW ON INSTAGRAM
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GLOBSEC's Roger Hilton, Zuzana Podracka and their guests talk about Life, the Universe and Everything, from politics to entertainment.
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Download the document below with this week’s full update