Watch the keynotes and panels on Youtube.

'A Compass for a Strong Europe'

The 2023 edition of Clingendael's annual State of the Union conference will reflect on the current geopolitical moment as we zoom in on some of the main challenges confronting Europeans. Bringing together some of the leading voices in the European foreign and security policy establishment we aim to help Europe identify new beacons and waypoints to promote its security, prosperity, and stability. 

The date we have chosen for our event is no coincidence. On 9 November we commemorate 34 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. That transformative moment heralded the prospect of a new Europe. Today, we are equally at an inflection point. New dividing lines are being drawn amid Russian aggression, Chinese geopolitical assertiveness, concerns about migration, the climate crisis and changing relations with the US, Europe needs to become stronger, more resilient and more coherent.

Programme

Click on the links of the plenary sessions to watch on Youtube. The expert panels were closed sessions under Chatham House Rule.

09:00 Livestream | Welcome and opening 

• Monika Sie Dhian Ho, General Director at the Clingendael Institute

09:15 Livestream | Opening panel "Europe in the post-post-Cold War era"

• H.E. Kajsa Ollongren, Minister of Defence of the Netherlands 
• H.E. Pål Jonson, Minister for Defence of Sweden
• Moderator: Rem Korteweg, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute

11:00 Expert Panels I & II (in person only)

I: "A Stronger House - Can the EU enlarge and reform at the same time?"

• Lise Gregoire-van Haaren, EU director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands  
• René Cuperus, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute 
• Richard Youngs, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Europe 
• Roderick Parkes, Deputy Director of the Research Institute on the German Council on Foreign Relations 
• Moderator: Louise van Schaik, Head of EU & Global Affairs Unit at the Clingendael Institute

II: "Looking East - what role for Europe in the Indo-Pacific"

• Vice-Admiral Ben Bekkering (ret.), Former Permanent Military Representative to NATO and the EU, Royal Dutch Navy 
• Delphine Pronk, Chair of the Political and Security Committee of the European Union 
• Lynn Kuok, Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies-Asia  
• Moderator: Xiaoxue Martin, Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute

12:15 Livestream | Plenary discussion: "What is the best route to de-risking EU-China relations?"

• Agatha Kratz, Director at the Rhodium Group 
• Gunnar Wiegand, Former EU Managing Director for Asia-Pacific at the EEAS (2016-2023), Visiting Professor for International Relations at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, Visiting Distinguished Fellow at the Indo-Pacific Program of the German Marshall Fund, Brussels  
• Ingrid d’Hooghe, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute  
• Michiel Sweers, Director-General of Economic Foreign Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands  
• Moderator: Stuart Lau, EU-China correspondent for POLITICO Europe 

14:00 Expert Panels III & IV (in person only)

III: "Can Europe develop strategic sovereignty in defence?" 

• Jan Pie, Secretary General Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe
• Vice-Admiral Jan Willem Hartman, Commander Materiel and IT Command at the Ministry of Defence of the Netherlands
• Malwina Nowakowska-Ketterle, Deputy Head of Unit, Defence Industry and Market Policy at the European Commission  

• Moderator: Dick Zandee, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute

IV: "How strong is the Eurozone really?"

• Cinzia Alcidi, Director of Research, Head of the Economic Policy and Jobs & Skills Unit at Centre for European Policy Studies  
• Sander Tordoir, Senior Economist at the Centre for European Reform 
• Shahin Vallée, Senior Research Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations 
• Moderator: Camille van Hees, Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute

15:15 Livestream | Plenary discussion "Looking West - One year before the US elections: peril or promise for the transatlantic relationship?"

• Dina Smeltz (online), Senior Fellow at the Public Opinion and Foreign Policy, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs 
• Jeremy Shapiro, Research Director at the European Council on Foreign Relations   
• Sir Julian King, Flint Global, former EU Commissioner for Security Union   
• Kori Schake (online), Senior Fellow and Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute
• Stefanie Bolzen (online), Washington DC Correspondent for Die Welt    
• Moderator: Rem Korteweg, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute 

16:30 Expert Panels V & VI (in person only)

V: "Unbreaking Ukraine - How to organise the reconstruction?" 

• Gabriel Blanc, Team Leader Reconstruction for Ukraine at the European Commission (online)
• Jean-Pierre Froehly, Head of the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024 Task Force at the German Federal Foreign Office 
• Luke Cooper, Associate Professorial Research Fellow, Director of PeaceRep’s Ukraine team, London School of Economics and Political Science

• Nataliia Shapoval, Vice President for Policy Research at Kyiv School of Economics 
• Moderator: Julia Soldatiuk-Westerveld, Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute

VI: "Looking South - Charting a new course on migration with Northern Africa" 

• Kathleen Bush-Joseph, Policy Analyst, US Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute (online)
• Monika Sie Dhian Ho, General Director at the Clingendael Institute
• Stefan Kok, Senior Lecturer Immigration Law at the Leiden University of Applied Sciences     
• Moderator: Saskia Hollander, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute

17:45 Livestream | Closing Keynote

• Robert Serry, former UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, and former Ambassador of the Netherlands to Ukraine
• Moderator: Monika Sie Dhian Ho, General Director at the Clingendael Institute