Speaker

• Klaus Welle, Secretary-General, European Parliament

Moderator

• Karen Donfried, President, The German Marshall Fund of the United States
   

As multiple crises confront the European Union today, Europe is experiencing a watershed moment. In the wake of the British vote to leave the Union, internal and external pressures are threatening the unity and even the survival of the European project, whilst the process of Brexit will be fraught with uncertainty and political risk. In parallel, tensions between member states have been rising, whether over refugees or the operation of the Eurozone, and as their leaders focus more on domestic, rather than Europe-wide, problems.

Given these complex dynamics, is there still hope for the European project as we know it? What opportunities exist to reform and update the EU’s architecture and policies? How can member states work together to better address the problems they often face in common? Is there potential for more Europe, not less, as a result of the crises? Can the EU overcome its vulnerabilities and become more resilient as a system? And will the transatlantic relationship be able to cope with current and future challenges?

Please join The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), in cooperation with the European Institute and the European Parliament Liaison Office with the U.S. Congress (EPLO), as Klaus Welle, Secretary General of the European Parliament, analyzes the current state of the European Union and identifies pathways for its development over the next quarter century. Dr. Karen Donfried, President of GMF, will moderate the discussion. Joëlle Attinger, President of the European Institute, will introduce the speakers.