16.10.2008
PASOS-EUROPEUM conference (Prague, 20 October) brings together leading policy analysts to debate EU external relations priorities for forthcoming Czech Presidency
http://www.pasos.org
News Source:
EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, Prague, Czech Republic , PASOS Secretariat, Prague, Czech Republic
From 'Fortress Europe' to 'Europe without Barriers',
Priorities of the Czech Presidency in External Relations: Transatlantic Perspectives, Prague, Czech Repubic, 20 October 2008 - A trans-Atlantic think-tanks' meeting held under the auspices of the Czech Foreign Ministry, in conjunction with the PASOS annual meeting (19 October 2008)
(13.15-13.45: Launch of Democracy’s New Champions, a PASOS study into the democracy assistance policies, spending, and geographical priorities of the Visegrad Four countries, with focus target countries: Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cuba, and Ukraine)
PASOS (Policy Association for an Open Society), together with EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, a member of PASOS in the Czech Republic, is organising at Cernin Palace (the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs) an international agenda-setting conference ahead of the launch of the Czech EU Presidency (January-June 2009).
The conference will be attended by senior government figures and leading policy analysts from the US, Brussels, France, Italy, the EU new member states, the western Balkans, Russia, Ukraine, and the Caucasus.
A range of new policy publications will be presented at the conference, on themes such as Visegrad Four countries' democracy assistance policies and priorities, and the European Neighbourhood Policy and Eastern Partnership.
The five panels during the conference will address key geographical challenges facing the EU and its neighbours in the coming years, namely:
EU Enlargement Policy:
- Western Balkans - Can EU membership transform a trouble-spot into a prosperous region?
- Serbia and Kosovo - Separate ways, common trajectory?
- Turkey - The longest-standing candidate, the highest hurdles?
EU Relations with Russia and the Eastern Neighbourhood:
- EU-Russia Relations - Is Russia a strategic partner - or a rival intent on dividing Europe?
- Black Sea/Caucasus - Models for EU engagement in building peace and democracy in the region
The conference is supported by the European Affairs Information Department of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, and by the Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative (LGI) of the Open Society Institute (OSI).