The EU on the Global Stage – Changing Relations with the U.S., China, and Russia?

On June 28, 16:00 – 17:30 CEST, we are organizing a debate on the topic of The EU on the Global Stage – Changing Relations with the U.S., China, and Russia? in cooperation with the Aspen Institute Germany.

Registration here

The dynamics of cooperation between Germany and the Visegrad Group countries is in many respects an impressive example of a regional relationship and cooperation. On the other hand, the diverse interests and different levels of dependence on each other play out greatly in the foreign policy framework. And while globalization has reduced the role of the geographical factor in international relations, the regional partnership of V4 countries with Germany continues to be very important and of great benefit to Europe as a whole. However, in foreign policy, national histories and objectives oftentimes lead to varying assessments and positions regarding the EU’s role on the geopolitical stage and its relations with other actors such as the U.S., Russia, and China. Different threat perceptions, economic interests, and increasingly diverging values have led to varying attitudes towards these actors, which in turn affects the EU as a whole. This discussion will therefore address these respective attitudes, their impact on EU foreign policy, and how differences can be overcome to the mutual benefit of all countries.

Key questions of discussion will be: What are the main differences between the V4 countries and Germany when it comes to relations with these actors? How do the European partners differ in their approaches to the new transatlantic agenda for global change? How does the deteriorating relationship between the EU and Russia impact the different actors? What role do relations with China play? To what extent have the latest summit meetings (G7, NATO, EU-U.S. Summit) served as a relaunch of transatlantic relations and altered the different stances on the U.S., Russia and China? 

Speakers:

➡ Caroline King, Global Head of Business Development, Government Affairs, SAP SE,

➡ Sergey Lagodinsky, Member of the European Parliament, Alliance 90/The Greens,

➡ Tomáš Petříček, Senior Non-Resident Fellow, Institute of International Relations, Prague, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic,

➡ Márton Ugrósdy, Director of the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade in Budapest (HU – think tank)

Moderator:

➡ Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, Program Director and Host, KCRW Berlin

The debate will be held in English.

The debate will be held as a Zoom Webinar – to receive a link, please register here.