Introductory remarks:
Jeff Lovitt, Executive Director, PASOS (Policy Association for an Open Society)
Welcome speeches:
H.E. Catherine von Heidenstam, Ambassador of Kingdom of Sweden to the Czech Republic
H.E. Petr Vagner, Director, International Visegrad Fund
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"Both US and EU have reached their limits” - Czech Senator Alexandr Vondra poses a challenge to the notion of democracy as Europe’s core value and the idea of the EU External Action Service promoting democracy around the world.
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Plenary I: Democracy as "Europe’s core value" – Dealing with the Past and Future
Moderator: Grigorij Mesežnikov, President, Institute for Public Affairs (IVO), Slovak Republic
Alexandr Vondra, Senator, Czech Republic, 2006-, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, Czech Republic, January 2007 – May 2009, spokesperson, Charter 77, and co-founder of Civic Forum in 1989
Miklos Haraszti, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, co-founder of Hungarian Democratic Opposition Movement, 1976, editor of Beszélo samizdat periodical after 1980, participant in "roundtable" negotiations on free elections, 1989
Jacek Kucharczyk, President, Institute of Public Affairs (ISP), Poland
Martin M. Šimečka, Editor-in-Chief, Respekt newspaper, Czech Republic, 2006-2008, Editor-in-Chief, SME newspaper, Slovak Republic, 1997-2006, samizdat author before 1989
Anna Zherdeva, Moscow Helsinki Group, Russia
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Panel I: Democracy Support Policies of the New Member States
• What are the experiences of new EU members as new players in democracy assistance to third countries?
• What are the recommendations of new EU member states for reform of EU democracy assistance policies?
• How do today’s citizens of new EU member states regard the democracy assistance policies of their respective governments?
Moderator:Věra Řiháčková, Research Fellow, EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, Czech Republic
Oľga Gyárfášová, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Public Affairs (IVO), Slovak Republic
Marek Ziółkowski, Director, Department of Development Co-operation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Poland
Igor Blažević, Board of Directors, DEMAS Association for Democracy Assistance and Human Rights, Czech Republic
Gergo Medve-Balint, Research Fellow, Center for Policy Studies at the Central European University, Hungary
Milan Nič, Development Director and co-founder, Democratisation and Development Abroad (DDA), Pontis Foundation, Slovak Republic
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Panel II: Is there a Consensus around EU Policies and Instrumentsto Support Democracy and Human Rights?
- How effective are EU instruments, and how are they co-ordinated?
- What will be the core elements of an EU policy framework for democracy building in EU external relations?
- How much progress has been made on the policy level over recent months?
Moderator: Richard Youngs, Director of Research, FRIDE, Spain
Elinor Hammarskjöld, Deputy Director-General, International Law, Human Rights and Treaty Law Department,Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sweden
Claudia Gintersdorfer, Secretariat-General for Human Rights, Council of the EU
Gabriela Dlouhá, Director, Human Rights and Democracy Unit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic
Jeff Lovitt, Executive Director, PASOS (Policy Association for an Open Society)
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Plenary II: Sharing Democratic Values Further Afield
- Can an EU policy framework for democracy building in EU external relations help shape a long-term EU strategy for democracy assistance, and how can a common approach be reached among EU member-states?
- What are the experiences and recommendations of the various member-states in implementing democracy assistance in EU policies?
- What should be the (future) policies and instruments in support of democracy and human rights in EU relations with third countries?
- How can EU external relations policy actors, especially the new EU Special Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, and the EU external action service work together to protect democracy activists and human rights defenders around the world, and to carve a strong, values-based, democracy assistance ethos in EU external relations?
Moderator: Jacek Kucharczyk, President, Institute of Public Affairs (ISP), Poland
Maria Leissner, Ambassador for Democracy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sweden
Kristina Prunerová, Programme Manager, European Partnership for Democracy
Olga Hajflerová, Human Rights and Transition Policy Department, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic
Marek Svoboda, Director of Human Rights Section, People in Need, Czech Republic
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About the project:
The PASOS project, Return to Europe, has been made possible with the support of the Europe for Citizens programme of the European Union and of the International Visegrad Fund. The project partners are the following PASOS members: the Center For Policy Studies – Central European University, Hungary, the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO), Slovakia, and the Institute of Public Affairs (ISP), Poland.
