Thus, the core challenge today is to go beyond geopolitics-loaded discourses and focus on practical opportunities and challenges to pan-European integration processes.
The conference will work on the assumption that a way to greater pan-European integration goes through cross-border cooperation and synergies that result gradually from such mutually beneficial cooperation. To that end, the Minsk Dialogue expert group will prepare a report with an overview of current academic and policy discussions about pan-European integration processes and ideas on how to move these discussions onto a more pragmatic level. The report will be presented at the conference and guide discussions during the conference sessions.
The event will run in parallel with the high-level official conference on pan-European integration processes co-organised by the Government of Belarus and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
Conference Objectives
- To examine ways to advance pan-European integration processes by facilitating cross-border cooperation in various areas of mutual interest (economic growth and business opportunities, security challenges, and energy infrastructure).
- To discuss conceptual frameworks for advancing pan-European integration.
- To promote informed discussions about pan-European integration processes and challenges in the media.
Format
Four sessions in the form of panel discussions, all open to the media. Experts, academics and diplomats are invited as participants.
Organisers and Sponsors
The conference is organised by the Minsk Dialogue Track-II Initiative (Belarus) in cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (Germany) and the Austro-French Centre for Rapprochement in Europe (Austria-France), and supported by the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), and the French and Austrian Embassies in Belarus.
Agenda
|
9.30-10.15 |
Opening ceremony, welcoming remarks Evgeny Shestakov Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Belarus Tatyana Valovaya Member of the Board – Minister in Charge of Integration and Macroeconomics, Eurasian Economic Commission Margot Klestil-Löffler Alternate Secretary General, Central European Initiative, Austria Andrea Wiktorin Head of Delegation, Ambassador, Delegation of the European Union to Belarus Peter Jankowitsch Board Member, Austro-French Centre for Rapprochement in Europe, Austria-France; former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Austria Wolfgang Sender Country Director Belarus, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Germany Yauheni Preiherman Head, Minsk Dialogue Track-II Initiative, Belarus |
|
10.15-11.15 |
Session 1. Presentation of the expert report, discussion about its key concepts and recommendations. Christian Bluth Project Manager, Bertelsmann Foundation, Germany Roza Turarbekova Assistant Professor, Belarusian State University, Belarus Elena Korosteleva Professor of International Politics, University of Kent; Director, Global Europe Centre; LSE Dahrendorf Professorial Fellow, UK Moderator Yauheni Preiherman Head, Minsk Dialogue Track-II Initiative, Belarus |
|
11.15-11.45 |
Coffee break. |
|
11.45-13.00 |
Session 2. Panel discussion Economic Growth and Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure. Peter Havlik Senior Economist and former Deputy Director, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, Austria Alena Semak Assistant Professor, Belarusian State University, Belarus Hrant Kostanyan Researcher, Centre for European Policy Studies, Belgium; Senior Key Expert, College of Europe Natolin, Poland Irina Tochitskaya Academic Director, IPM Research Centre, Belarus Moderator Florent Marciacq Charge de mission, Austro-French Centre for Rapprochement in Europe, Austria-France; research associate, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg |
|
13.00-14.00 |
Lunch. |
|
14.00-15.30 |
Session 3. Panel discussion Mutual Security: a Pan-European Security System as a Solution to Cross-Border Challenges? Haidemaria Gürer Head, Department of Eastern Europe, South Caucasus, Central Asia, The European Neighbourhood Policy and Eastern Partnership, Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, Austria Lessya Karatayeva Chief Researcher, Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Martin Vukovich Deputy Director, “Dialogue-Europe-Russia”; Former Ambassador to Russia, Austria Andrei Skryba Researcher, Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies, Higher School of Economics, Russia Dzianis Melyantsou Senior Analyst, Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies, Belarus Moderator Wolfgang Sender Country Director Belarus, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Germany |
|
15.30-16.00 |
Coffee break. |
|
16.00-17.30 |
Session 4. Panel discussion Ways to Intensify Cross-Border Economic Exchange and Improve Mutual Competitiveness. Michael Angerer Regional Manager, Austrian Chamber of Commerce, Austria Natalia Kondratieva Scientific Secretary, Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia Tony van der Togt Senior Research Fellow, Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations, Netherlands Julien Vercueil Director, Department of International Trade, National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations, France Moderator Daniel Krutzinna Managing Partner, Civitta; Supervisory Board Member, Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus, Belarus-Germany |
|
17.30-18.00 |
Closing remarks. |
