EU’s double assignment: stronger geopolitical Europe, stronger national democracies
With the 2024 State of the Union conference, Clingendael will take stock of elections in various key European countries, of the European Parliament; and the presidential elections in the United States. What will the results of these elections mean for the course of the EU, NATO, the Transatlantic relations and multilateralism? And what will the impact of these elections be on the political stability of Western democracies?
Against this pressing background, Clingendael is organising its flag-ship State of the Union Conference under the title: EU’s double assignment: stronger geopolitical Europe, stronger national democracies.
Join us for a full day of conversations on how Europe should set course to promote its security, prosperity, and stability in a new (geo-)political context.
The plenary sessions below will be livestreamed.
09:30-09:50 | Welcome remarks (livestream)
- Monika Sie Dhian Ho, General Director at the Clingendael Institute
Resilience in the city of Peace and Justice
- Jan van Zanen, Mayor of The Hague
09:50-10:40 | Opening panel: The Future of Ukraine (livestream)
- H.E. Oleksandr Karasevych, Ambassador of Ukraine to the Netherlands
- Julia Soldatiuk-Westerveld, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute
- Bob Deen, Head of Security Unit at the Clingendael Institute
Moderator: Monika Sie Dhian Ho, General Director at the Clingendael Institute
10:45-11:00 | Coffee break
11:00-12:00 | Breakout sessions: The state of Europe (closed)
Expert Panel I: What’s the matter with the Franco-German axis?
- Landry Charrier, Senior Fellow at CASSIS, Bonn University & Editorial Director of the Franco-German magazine dokdoc
- Thomas Gutschker, Political correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
- Moderator: Hanco Jürgens, Germany Institute, University of Amsterdam
Expert Panel II: How to deal with the anti-establishment radical right challenge -cordon sanitaire or inevitable cooperation?
- Sarah de Lange, Professor at University of Amsterdam
- Mark Elchardus, Professor Emeritus at Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Péter Krekó, Executive Director of Policial Capital, Budapest
- Moderator: René Cuperus, Senior Fellow at the Clingendael Institute
Expert Panel III: What way forward for EU Enlargement & EU Reform? Muddling through or sailing the high seas
- Žiga Faktor, Deputy Director & Head of Brussels office of EUROPEUM
- Steven Everts, Director of the EU Institute for Security Studies
- Saïd Fazili, Director European Integration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
- Louise van Schaik, Head of the EU & Global Affairs Unit at the Clingendael Institute
- Moderator: Cecilia Thorfinn, Deputy Head of the European Commission Representation in the Netherlands
Expert Panel IV: Welcome back! The return of the UK?
- Opening statement by H.E. Joanna Roper, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Netherlands
- Lyne Biewinga, Executive Director at the Netherlands British Chamber of Commerce
- Catherine de Vries, Professor of Political Science at Bocconi University, Milan
- Moderator: Camille van Hees, Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute
Expert Panel V: Regulator or innovator? How to foster a competitive Europe in the age of geopolitics
- Yvette van Eechoud, Deputy Director-General Foreign Economic Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
- Sebastian Reyn, Head of Geopolitics and Global Advocacy at ASML
- Victor de Decker, Research Fellow at the Egmont Institute
- Pieter de Pous, E3G Programme Lead at the International Hub Berlin
- Moderator: Maaike Okano-Heijmans, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute
12:00-13:00 | Transatlantic panel: The impact and fall-out of the US Elections (livestream)
- Teri Schultz, NATO/EU freelance correspondent for NPR
- Luis Simón, Senior Analyst and Director of the Elcano Royal Institute Brussels Office
- Camille Grand, Policy Fellow at the European Council of Foreign Relations
- Rem Korteweg, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute
- Moderator: Anna van Zoest, Director of the Netherlands Atlantic Association
13:00-14:00 | Lunch break
14:00-15:00 | Breakout sessions: (Geo)political challenges in a transactional and nationalistic world (closed)
Expert Panel I: Defending Europe with less America? European security post-US elections
- Sabine Mengelberg, Assistant Professor International Security Studies at the Netherlands Defence Academy
- Vice-Admiral Ben Bekkering (ret.), Former Permanent Military Representative to NATO and the EU, Royal Dutch Navy
- Daniel Fiott, Head of the Defence and Statecraft Programme of the Brussels School of Governance at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Raoul Bessems, Political Advisor to the Managing Director for Peace, Security and Defence at the European External Action Service
- Moderator: Dick Zandee, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute
Expert Panel II: Financing the EU’s ambitions – a reality check
- Stef Blok, Member of the European Court of Auditors (online)
- Eulalia Rubio, Senior Research Fellow at Institut Jacques Delors
- Alexander Bakker, Brussels correspondent for the Telegraaf
- Moderator: Adriaan Schout, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute
Expert Panel III: Europe’s Migration Challenge
- Paul Scheffer, Chairman of the European Integration Commission at the Advisory Council on International Affairs
- Monika Sie Dhian Ho, General Director at the Clingendael Institute
- Moderator: Martin Sommer, historian, journalist, and former political commentator for de Volkskrant
15:00-15:30 | Coffee break
15:30-16:30 | Plenary session: The road to resilient national democracies within a resilient Europe (livestream)
- Seema Shah, Head of International IDEA’s Democracy Assessment Unit
- David Djaïz, Essayist and author of ‘Slow Democracy’
- Catherine de Vries, Professor of Political Science at Bocconi University, Milan
- Paul Scheffer, Chairman of the European Integration Commission at the Advisory Council on International Affairs
- Moderator: Martin Sommer, historian, journalist, and former political commentator for de Volkskrant
16:30-17:15 | Closing Keynote (livestream)
Welcome to Barbieland: European sentiment in the year of wars and elections
- Pawel Zerka, Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Between hope and fear: Finding common ground in a polarised world
- David Goodhart, Author and Head of Demography, Immigration and Integration, Policy Exchange.
