The EU Conversations 2024
To discuss the current situation in the European Union (EU) amidst the new geopolitical landscape, the high-level international conference "EU Conversations 2024: EU as a Secure Home in Today's Geopolitical Landscape" is scheduled for April 8. This conference is organized by the Latvian Institute of International Affairs (LIIA) in collaboration with the European Commission's representation in Latvia and the Parliament of the Republic of Latvia.
Livestream
All times shown in Eastern European Time (UTC +2)
Main Livestream
Parallel session
Concluding Keynote conversation
Speakers
Daiga Mieriņa
Speaker, Parliament of the Republic of Latvia.
Zane Petre
European Commission Representation in Latvia
Dr. Kārlis Bukovskis
Director, Latvian Institute of International Affairs
Valdis Dombrovskis
Executive Vice President of the European Commission
Dr. Roberts Zīle
Vice President, European Parliament
Martin Schulz
Former President of the European Parliament
Dr. Lykke Friis
Director of Think Tank EUROPA
Jakob Hallgren
Director of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs
Jim Cloos
TEPSA Secretary-General, former Deputy Director-General, General Secretariat of the Council
Dr. Funda Tekin
Director, Institut für Europäische Politik
Dr. Marcin Zaborowski
Policy Director at GLOBSEC
Dr. Mārtiņš Kazāks
Governor, Bank of Latvia
Dr. Risto E. J. Penttilä
Secretary General of European Business Leaders’ Convention, former member of the Finnish Parliament
Dr. Edijs Bošs
Associate Professor, Rīga Stradiņš University.
Dr. Gatis Krūmiņš
Associate Professor, Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences
Yves Madre
economist, Farm Europe, former Senior Advisor to European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development
Fergal Monaghan
Programme Director for ACRES Breifne
Dr. Marko Lovec
Associate Professor at the University of Ljubljana
Prof. Dr. Margarita Šešelgyte
Director, Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University
Aija Kalnaja
Deputy Executive Director for Standing Corps Management at FRONTEX
Kaspars Āboliņš
Deputy Secretary of State of the Latvian Ministry of the Interior
Dr. Cristina Dogot
Professor at University of Oradea
Dr. Carmen González Enríquez
Senior Analyst at Elcano Royal Institute
Tony Lawrence
Head of Defence Policy & Strategy Programme, International Centre for Defence and Security
Timo Pessonen
Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space, European Commission
Dr. Ricardo Borges de Castro
Associate Director and Head of the Europe in the World Programme, European Policy Centre
Dr. Aleksandra Kozioł
Analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs
Dr. Ditte Brasso Sørensen
Senior Analyst, Think Tank EUROPA
Rodrigo da Costa
Executive Director, European Union Agency for the Space Programme
Tomas Hrozensky
Research Fellow at European Space Policy Institute (ESPI)
Inês d’Ávila
Space Safety and Transportation Officer at Portuguese Space Agency
Dr. Björn Fägersten
Senior Researcher, Swedish Institute of International Affairs
Risto Uuk
EU Research Lead, Future of Life Institute
Dr. Signe Bāliņa
President of the Latvian Information and Communications Technology Association
Dr. Raluca Csernatoni
Research Fellow at Carnegie Europe
Federico Menna
Chief Executive Officer EIT Digital
Dr. Marco Siddi
Senior Research Fellow, Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Edmunds Cepurītis
Member of Latvian Parliament, Chair of EU Affairs Committee
Dr. Aleksander Arabadźić
Policy Advisor at Sygnis S.A. at the Warsaw School of Economics
Mike Christiansen
Chief Financial Officer of the Copenhagen Atomics
Oliver Morwinsky
Head of the Baltic States Offices, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Kristina Grigaite
Political Administrator, Council of the European Union
Dr. Reinhard Krumm
Director FES Baltic States, Friedrich Ebert Foundation
Ksenija Simović
Senior Policy Adviser, Copa Cogeca
Annika Hedberg
Senior Adviser, European Policy Centre
Past Speakers
Dr. Alexander Stubb
Former Prime Minister of Finland (2014-2015), former Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (2017-2020), and Director of the Florence School of Transnational Governance.
Dr. José Manuel Durão Barroso
Former Prime Minister of Portugal (2002-2004) and Former President of the European Commission (2004-2014). Chairman of the Gavi Board since 2021.
Matti Maasikas
Senior Estonian diplomat, and former ambassador of the EU to Ukraine (2019-2023), advisor on strategic issues to EEAS secretary general (since 2023).
Peter Balas
Ambassador, a senior policy advisor, and a member of Covington’s Public Policy team.
Rasa Juknevičienė
Member of the European Parliament, former Minister of Defense of Lithuania (2008-2012).
Dr. Rem Korteweg
Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute
Mihails Kozlovs
Member at the European Court of Auditors, Dean of Chamber IV
Dr. Steven Blockmans
Senior Research Fellow, and previously Director of Research, at CEPS.
About EU Conversations
The EU Conversations is a “conversation” platform for high-level discussions on EU critical issues for each of us, since 2016. It takes place every year and its main aim is to foster a conversation between young people, decision-makers and experts from across the EU. Latvian Institute of International Affairs is grateful for a solid and long-standing partnership with the European Commission's Representation in Latvia and the Parliament of the Republic of Latvia in organizing fruitful discussions with professional experts from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania specializing in many key EU areas.
About Organisers
Latvian Institute of International Affairs (LIIA) is the oldest think tank in Latvia, and it aims to carry out scientific work and analytical research, as well as to provide expert opinions on Latvia’s challenges, development scenarios, and strategies within the international and regional security, political, and economic system. LIIA conducts research, issues publications, and organizes lectures, seminars, and conferences related to international policy issues, collaborating with Latvian and foreign partners on its projects.
Dr. Kārlis Bukovskis
Director of the Latvian Institute of International Affairs and an Assistant Professor at Riga Stradins University.
Aleksandra Palkova
Head of the European Union Program at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs and an Associate Researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
Albīne Hlopņicka
Junior Reseracher at Latvian Institute of International Affairs
Partners
