Political Capital co-organized a public event with the Institute for Humanities (IWM), the Erste Foundation and the Center for European Neighborhood Studies (CENS), entitled “Eastern Europe Going South? “. The two main topics addressed by the roundtables were the role of Hungary and Central and Eastern Europe in the Balkans and the prospects for the Western Balkans to join the EU.
Péter Balázs, Director, Central European University, Center for European Neighborhood Studies (CENS); Ivan Krastev, permanent researcher, IWM; Péter Krekó, director, Institute of Political Capital; Fellow on the Future of Europe, IWM/ERSTE Foundation; Valérie Hopkins, Financial Times
The main theme of the first discussion was the interests of Central and Eastern Europe in the Western Balkans. The panel participants were Peter BalazsDirector of the CENS, Ivan Krastevpermanent member of the IWM, Peter Kreko, director of the Institute of Political Capital; Europe’s Futures Fellow, IWM/ERSTE Foundation and moderated by Valerie Hopkins, journalist at the Financial Times. Speakers discussed the model that Prime Minister Orbán serves for a growing number of Western Balkan countries, as he is seen as a member of the elite club, winking at foreigners who desperately await his entry. What these foreign states see is that a given country only needs to conform to EU rules, values and norms until it is accepted as a member of the club; then its leaders are free to do what they want. Speakers also highlighted that the overall deadline for EU accession is receding on the horizon, as the broad support for this proposal within the EU, both among elites and the population, has decreased considerably. The means, models and goals of the search for Hungarian influence in the region were also discussed.
Ivan Vejvoda, permanent researcher, Institute of Human Sciences (IWM); József Pandur, former Hungarian ambassador to Belgrade and Sarajevo; Corina Stratulat, Head of the European Policies and Institutions Program and Senior Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre; Péter Krekó, Political Capital; Europe’s Futures Researcher, IWM/ERSTE Foundation
The speakers of the second panel were Jozsef Pandurformer Hungarian ambassador to Belgrade and Sarajevo, Corina Stratulatsenior policy analyst at the European Policy Centre, and Ivan Vejvoda, permanent researcher at the Institute of Human Sciences. It was moderated by Peter Kreko. This discussion focused mainly on the possible accession process of the Western Balkan countries, what did not work, what could have been done differently and what prospects await us in case of completion or failure of the membership process.
The event took place in front of a packed hall, with more than a hundred guests, including distinguished visitors from the diplomatic representations of Albania, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, from Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia and Spain. The level of representation of these embassies was as follows:
2 ambassadors (Denmark, Germany)
3 deputy heads of mission (Belgium, Czech Republic, Norway)
1 First Secretary (Romania)
2 Minister Advisor (Lithuania, Serbia)
1 First Advisor (Canada)
1 political attaché (Italy)
2 Political advisor (Finland, Spain)
1 policy officer (the Netherlands)
5 unknown position representatives (Albania, France, Greece, Mexico, Montenegro).
In addition to diplomatic representatives, former MEP, ambassador and current vice-president of the Hungarian Atlantic Council, István Szent-Iványi, numerous university professors, journalists and students attended the event.
There was also a live broadcast, accessible here:
First panel: https://www.facebook.com/politiquecapital/videos/189974165418358/
Second panel: https://www.facebook.com/politiquecapital/videos/605198126998045/