More than 70 experts and opinion leaders from the most crucial European think tanks met in Warsaw and Toruń during THINK TANK Forum. The event was organised as part of the authoritative programme of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council.
The Forum was preceded by a formal dinner, opened by the Minister for European Union Adam Trapka. On the first day of the conference, the substantive part of the Forum was inaugurated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Undersecretary of State in vertical terms for European Union affairs, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, who highlighted the importance of expert cooperation and the request to jointly make solutions responding to the challenges of the next decades. The event was besides attended by Deputy Ministers Jurand Drop, Michał Baranowski and Dariusz Standerski.
Experts from across Europe
Representatives of think tanks from most EU countries and European economical Area countries, including the Egmont Institute, Globsec and Elcano Royal Institute, attended the meeting. There were besides Polish think tanks, whose presence emphasized the increasing cooperation of experts in the country. As Dr. Jarosław Pietras points out, “The Forum was a unique chance for an in-depth debate on the future of Europe involving experts from all corners of the continent. It was highly crucial to hear the voice of experts from smaller centres who assessed the possibilities of EU improvement and presented very crucial proposals and assessments from the position of little reputable think tanks."
Local dimension
Toruń completed the Warsaw part of the Forum, stressing the importance of the regional dimension of the debate on the future of the EU. The event in Toruń was attended by Grzegorz Karpiński State Secretary at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, president Toruń Paweł Gulewski, Marshal of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Piotr Calbecki and Deputy Marshal of Zbigniew Ostrowski Voivodeship.
The participants besides had the chance to sail through the Vistula River and visit the Old Town of Toruń, a place included in the UNESCO planet Heritage Site, which highlighted the cultural and symbolic dimension of European cooperation.
Expert debate
During the two-day session, experts discussed the link between ambitious SDGs and industrial competitiveness, the strategical autonomy of the Union in the context of transatlantic relations and the strengthening of defence capabilities in a complementary approach to NATO. An crucial part of the discussion was the issue of the resilience of societies to misinformation, and the participants stressed the request to make early informing and digital education systems.
Photo by Cezary PiwowarskiFrom the position of Central Europe
The climax was the presentation of the study Better Europe, prepared by a squad of Polish experts as a complementary paper for Draghi, Letty and Niinistö analyses. The study proposes, inter alia, the creation of an EU defence innovation fund, the improvement of EU-US technological cooperation and the construction of early informing systems against hybrid threats. According to Dr. Małgorzata Bonikowska, “The Better Europe study shows that Polish solutions are both ambitious and feasible, combining the imagination of sustainable improvement with circumstantial security-enhancing mechanisms.”
This study besides shows that Poland puts concrete proposals and initiatives on the European table.
The event was officially closed by Ignacy Niemczycki, State Secretary at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister. The closing ceremony was besides attended by ambassadors of Italy, Norway and Switzerland and Prince Liechtenstein.
Partners and organisers
The Forum was organized by the Foundation of the Centre for global Relations in cooperation with THINKTANK and the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers. authoritative event carrier: PLL LOT. The partners included: Orlen S.A., PKP S.A., PKP Intercity, PZU Foundation, PKO Foundation, Żabka Group, Adamed and Autopay. The participants in the event were: Kazimierz Pulaski Foundation, THINKTANK, European Centre of the University of Warsaw and Respublica. Media patronage: Rzeczpospolita, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna and TVP World.
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More information o Think Tank Forum:
Better Europe Report: https://csm.org.pl/report-better-europa/
Official event page: https://forum.think-tank.pl/
