Eurozine at the Prague European Summit, 6-8 June 2016

This year’s Prague European Summit takes place from 6 to 8 June at the Lobkowicz Palace in Prague Castle. The Summit, held for the first time in 2015, provides a platform for high-level strategic debate on the future of the European Union. With a focus on economic, social and foreign-policy, it is an initiative of three prominent Czech think-tanks: the Institute of International Relations, European Values and EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy.

Prague Castle. Photo: Brad Hammonds. Source: Flickr

Topics up for discussion this year include the future of the Schengen Area; the implications of the UK referendum on EU membership – for both eurosceptic and mainstream pro-Europe political parties alike; the forthcoming US presidential elections and their likely impact on transatlantic relations; and how to secure Europe’s future prosperity, whether from the perspective of the internal market’s competitiveness or from that of the relation between economic growth and social cohesion.

Highlights include a workshop on Tuesday 7 June convened by Eurozine editor-in-chief Wojciech Przybylski, together with Dalibor Rohác, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. The workshop considers whether Europe needs a common political identity in order to enter into joint political decision-making, as opposed to ad hoc cooperation between sovereign nation-states – and what needs to change in order for common European decision-making to avert the kind of populist backlashes seen in the wake of ongoing eurozone and refugee crises.

In an Oxford debate the same day, regular Eurozine contributor Anton Shekhovtsov will argue in favour of the motion “EU member states should transfer their sovereignty to the European army”. Arguing against the motion is Martin Michelot, head of research at EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy; the debate is moderated by Henry Foy, Central Europe correspondent at the Financial Times.

Official website of the Prague European Summit, with full programme