Brussels, 22 November 2021
Dear
federalist friend,
One year ago, the Union of
European Federalists (UEF) embarked on our “Democracy is
Europe: Remember to Revive” journey across the
Baltics and Central and Eastern Europe. Two main ideas were behind this: on one
hand, to raise awareness about the central role of European values in the revolutions
of 1989-1991; on the other hand, to encourage a reflection on the future of
Europe, European democracy and the Rule of Law. After our online stops in
Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, and our physical ones in Gdańsk (PL) and
Prague (CZ), UEF’s #DemocracyIsEurope
project is coming to an end with our final conference in Brussels on 2-3
December 2021.
Brussels is the chosen scenario in which the project “democracy activators”,
participants, stakeholders and researchers will present and discuss the outcomes
of the project, commemorate membership in the EU of the aforementioned Member
states, and advocate for further European integration based on the
strengthening and protection of democracy and the Rule of Law.
AGENDA
Thursday, 2 December, 2021
14.00 – 15.30
CET The central role of European values in the revolutions of
1989-1991 and their state of play today in Eastern and Central Europe:
Presentation of the project outcomes
- Sandro GOZI, MEP & President, UEF
- Stefano BRAGHIROLI, University of Tartu, Estonia
- Eszter NAGY, Secretary-General, UEF Hungary
- Laura TATARELYTE, European Movement Lithuania
- Christian MOOS, Secretary-General, Europa Union Deutschland e.V.
- Jacek KOLTAN, Director’s representative, European Solidarity Centre, Poland (tbc)
Moderates: Giulia STEFANO, Project Officer,
UEF
16:00 –
17:30 Defending and strengthening democracy in the EU: Article 7 of
TFEU and Conditionality
- Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Chair of the LIBE Committee in the European Parliament
- Ania SKRZYPEK, Director for Research and Training, Foundations for European Progressive Studies (FEPS)
- Nicolaas BEL, Deputy Head of Unit, Justice policy and rule of law Unit, Directorate General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
- Anna DONATH, MEP, Renew Europe Group (tbc)
- Edouard GAUDOT, External Relations Director, Europanova
Moderates: Alejandra ALMARCHA,
Director of the Secretariat, UEF
17.30 CET – 19:00 CET Competition: #DemocracyIsEurope
ideas for the future of Europe
Friday, 3 December, 2021
9:30 – 11.00
CET European democracy in the Conference on the Future of Europe
- Francisco ALDECOA, Professor of International Relations at the Complutense University of Madrid, President of the European Movement in Spain and Director of the Civil Society Representation of the Conference on the Future of Europe
- Leonie MARTIN, JEF President 2019-2021
- Citizen representative – Democracy working group
- Ingrid GODKIN, Policy & Administrative Coordination, Cabinet of Vice President Šuica for Democracy and Demography, European Commission
Moderates: Alejandra ALMARCHA,
Director of the Secretariat, UEF
11.30 – 13:00 CET How to combat disinformation & fake
news: media freedom in Central Europe
- Paul BUTCHER, Policy analyst on citizen participation, disinformation, democracy, EU reform, Western Balkans, EU enlargement, European Policy Centre (EPC)
- Žiga FAKTOR, Head of Brussels Office, EUROPEUM
- Natasza STYCZYŃSKA, Assistant professor, Institute of European Studies, Jagiellonian University Kraków (tbc)
- Wojciech PRZYBYLSKI, Editor-in-Chief, Visegrad Insight (tbc)
Moderates: Christian SKRIVERVIK,
Head of Press and Communications, European Movement International (tbc)
14.00 – 15.30 CET Training “Talking about the EU at
the local level – How to organise events in the framework of the
Conference on the Future of Europe”
- Alejandra ALMARCHA, Director of the Secretariat, UEF
- Mariona ESPÍN, Communications Officer, UEF
- Michal RYBACKI, Policy Officer, JEF Europe
- Ilaria CARIA, Communication Team, Movimento Federalista Europeo (MFE)
15.45 – 16.30
CET #DemocracyIsEurope Awards Ceremony
The event is going to be a blended activity with an online and
offline (in Brussels, Belgium) settings, and we are looking for online participants! Register here and stay tuned for more
details.
In the context of the Democracy is Europe project,
UEF invites you to join the essay contest “1989-1991 the fall of
communist regimes: what was the idea of Europe behind the Central-Eastern
European and Baltic countries’ democratic transition?”. Read on the
prize and the conditions to participate here.
Best regards,
UEF Secretariat
