On Monday 4 March, the Clingendael Institute had the honour of hosting Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Luc Frieden, at an expert seminar titled 'Looking forward together: Shaping the European agenda for the next five years', in cooperation with the Embassy of Luxembourg in the Netherlands. 

It was a special occassion as two of the founding members of the EU came together to discuss European matters, reflecting a broader sentiment at the moment to engage in discussions about Europe, as a real sence of urgency is felt.

As an introduction, Clingendael Director Monika Sie Dhian Ho presented the main findings of the Clingendael survey on the concerns and hopes of the Dutch population with regard to Europe.

Prime Minister Frieden expressed his strong belief in Europe. He emphasised the need for a common approach to issues such as climate, security, energy and migration as well as the importance of Europe's competitiveness. He also stressed that lessons should be learned from the war in Ukraine and that peace on the European continent cannot be taken for granted. Together with Clingendael experts and policy makers, they discussed key contemporary topics such as EU enlargement and reform, monitoring, European competitiveness and economic security.

The event concluded with closing remarks by Lise Gregoire, Deputy Director General for European Affairs at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.