The Antall József Knowledge Centre organised an online panel discussion entitled “What is next for the United Kingdom—CEE relationship?” on 18 May 2021 with the participation of His Excellency, Paul Fox, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Hungary, Przemysław Biskup, Analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs and Péter Dobrowiecki, Head of Research at the Antall József Knowledge Centre. The discussion was moderated by Alessandro D’Onofrio, Senior Researcher at the Antall József Knowledge Centre.

At the end of a very challenging year, the EU and the UK finally found a deal on Brexit. The new Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which regulates their relationship, left many questions unresolved and open to successive agreements. In the meantime, the coronavirus pandemic, which hit the United Kingdom particularly harder than most, made the decision-making process conditioned on health emergency issues. Despite the fact that the scenario looks particularly challenging, the United Kingdom is very eager to build up new relationships with old and new partners. In this perspective, London finds many common interests with the countries in the Eastern part of the European continent, where it can develop partnerships with a group of like-minded states ready to cooperate on many aspects. What will be the UK’s approach towards CEE countries? What kind of interests connect this part of Europe with the United Kingdom? And, almost six months on, what are the key opportunities that Central Eastern EU Member States might find in a partnership with the United Kingdom? The speakers discussed these and other exciting topics related to the UK and the European Union with special focus on Central Eastern EU Member States during the panel discussion.

The event was realised with the support of the Prime Minister’s Office of Hungary and the Bethlen Gábor Foundation.

If you are interested in the topic and you would like to know more about the United Kingdom’s future relations, watch the video available here: