15 years After the Accession The Visegrad Countries in the European Union

15 years After the Accession The Visegrad Countries in the European Union

Brussels Office | Foreign and Security Policy

, 08:30 | Stanhope Hotel Brussels | Rue du Commerce 9, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium

On 1 May 2004, countries of the Visegrad Group, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary, became members of the European Union. The “big bang” enlargement, however, meant not only a closer political and economic cooperation between the East-Central and the Western parts of Europe, but was also a symbolic sign of the reunification of our continent.

To commemorate 15 years of EU membership, the Antall József Knowledge Centre and the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies are organising a conference. 

The first panel of the conference will focus on the post-accession period and investigate the added value of membership. The invited experts will present how accession to the European Union has shaped the Central European countries, how they have benefited from the four freedoms, and how European citizenship is perceived.

After this retrospection, the second panel will be dedicated to the future of the European Union. The speakers will analyse the role of the Visegrad countries vis-à-vis the main external and internal challenges that Europe has to face, such as the migration crisis, the war in Ukraine, Brexit, and the future of transatlantic relations.

 

Programme:

8.30am Registration and Light Breakfast

9.00am Welcoming Remarks

  • Balázs HAMAR, Deputy Director, Head of Brussels’ Office, Antall József Knowledge Centre      
  • Tomi HUHTANEN, Executive Director, Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies

9.10am – 9.30am Keynote Speech

  • Eduard KUKAN, Former Member of the European Parliament, Former Foreign Minister of Slovakia

9.30am – 10.50am I. Panel Discussion: EU membership and the V4 countries. Where are we now?

  • Miriam LEXMANN, Elected Member of the European Parliament
  • Eduard KUKAN, Former Member of the European Parliament, Former Foreign Minister of Slovakia
  • Olivér VÁRHELYI, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the European Union
  • Moderator: Federico Ottavio REHO, Strategic Coordinator, Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies

10.50am – 11.20am  Coffee Break

11.20am – 11.40am  Impulse Statement

  • Boglárka BALLESTER-BÓLYA, Deputy Minister for EU Affairs, Hungary

11.40am – 1.00pm II. Panel Discussion: The future of the V4 in the EU: Priorities and Challenges

  • Igor MERHEIM-EYRE, Project Officer, International Republican Institute
  • Vít NOVOTNÝ, Senior Research Officer, Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies
  • Konrad NIKLEWICZ, Chief Specialist, Centre for Social Communication, The City of Warsaw
  • Moderator: Péter DOBROWIECKI, Head of EU-V4 Department, Antall József Knowledge Centre

1.00pm Closing Remarks and Lunch

 

This event receives financial support from the European Parliament. Sole liability rests with the organisers, the European Parliament is not responsible for the activity.

The Antall József Knowledge Centre and the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies reserve the right to change the programme.

 

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