03 Dec Refocus the European Union – Event Summary

On December 2, CEID hosted a panel discussion in partnership with Carnegie Europe and the Open Society European Policy Institute (OSIPE) on the two institution’s study, titled ‘Refocus the European Union: Planet, lifetime, technology‘, and the key challenges and takeaways it entails on the European integration in the 21st century. The discussion was started off by Dániel Bartha, director of CEID, followed by Ministerial commissionner for Brexit Szabolcs Takács’ keynote speach on Brexit and the future of the Union, then Zsuzsanna Szelényi, Robert Bosch Fellow, introduced the study to the audience. A panel discussion followed with Hungarian MEP for Momentum, Anna Donáth, Slovak elected MEP, Miriam Lexmann, chairman of GLOBSEC, Rastislav Kacer, program director of the Polish Left party, Dariusz Standerski, with the moderation of Edit Inotai, senior fellow of CEID.

The panel discussed the greatest challenges the EU faces in the 21st century, according to the study: aging societies, digitalization, cyber risks, climate change and a healthcare system that is becoming more and more impossible to finance. The panelists mentioned the divides within the Union that still play a huge role in the different member states’ approaches to certain issues, and underlined the significance of a common European identity to be developed outside of the ivory towers and within the creative forces that can be found in the societies.

CEID created a Hungarian summary of the original study, which can also be found on our website.