2012 Wroclaw Global Forum

From May 31-June 2, the 2012 Wroclaw Global Forum (WGF) and Atlantic Council Freedom Awards brought together important decision-makers and business leaders from the United States and Europe to discuss Central Europe’s role as a critical partner in US efforts to promote political, security and economic ties across the Atlantic.

In 2012, the Forum examined the future of the West in the face of current challenges to our economies, our security, and even our democratic values.  As global power and wealth shift to the East and the South, Forum sessions explored whether the US and European models of democracy apply in other regions; whether the likely energy mix of the future will enhance our energy security; how new technologies will affect current economic and political disparities; and the power political implications of the on-going financial crisis.

The 2012 Atlantic Council Freedom Awards honored Władysław Bartoszewski, chairman of the International Auschwitz Council, The National Endowment for Democracy, represented by NED President Carl Gershman; Emma Bonino, vice president of the Italian Senate and trustee of the Arab Democracy Foundation; and Moncef Marzouki, president of Tunisia on behalf of the people of Tunisia (award presented in absentia).

The 2011 WGF featured the participation of US Senator John McCain; former US National Security Advisor General James Jones; Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova Vladimir Filat; and top ministers and CEOs from the region.

Agenda

Thursday, May 31


Welcoming Remarks | VIDEO

  • Rafal Dutkiewic, Mayor of Wroclaw
  • Frederick Kempe, President and CEO, Atlantic Council


Opening Keynote | VIDEO

  • Moderator: Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, Chairman, Council of the Polish Institute of International Affairs
  • Lech Walesa, Former Leader of Solidarity and Former President of Poland


Panel Discussion – The Path Forward for the Eastern Partnership | VIDEO

  • Moderator: Kalman Mizsei, Chairman, Roma Policy Board, Open Society Foundations
  • Valeriy Khoroshkovskiy, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine
  • Vitalie Marinuta, Minister of Defense of the Republic of Moldova

Panel Discussion – The Transatlantic Partnership: Global Superpower or Fading Giant? | VIDEO

  • Moderator: Frances G. Burwell, Vice President and Director, Atlantic Council
  • Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, Member, Conseil d’Etat
  • Andrzej Klesyk, Member of the Management Board, PKPP Lewiatan; CEO, PZU S.A.
  • Jiri Schneider, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
  • Hu Shuli, Editor-In-Chief, Caixin Media

Panel Discussion – Ukraine: Teetering on the Edge – VIDEO

  • Moderator: Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, Chairman, Council of the Polish Institute of International Affairs
  • Hanna Herman, Adviser, Office of President Viktor Yanukovych
  • Vitali Klitschko, Chairman of the UDAR Party, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
  • Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of the Republic of Poland 1995-2005

US Keynote | VIDEO | Nides’ Prepared Remarks (PDF)

  • Moderator: Frederick Kempe, President and CEO, Atlantic Council
  • Thomas R. Nides, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, US State Department

Break Out Sessions

1. New Protest Movements and the Crisis of Democratic Capitalism | VIDEO

  • Moderator: Jacek Kucharczyk, President of the Executive Board, Institute of Public Affairs
  • Elżbieta Matynia, Professor, New School for Social Research; Professor, University of Lower Silesia
  • Jordi Vaquer i Fanés, Director, Barcelona Center for International Affairs
  • Jacek Żakowski, Columnist, Polityk

2. European Energy Security: Will Shale Gas or Nuclear Lead the Way? | VIDEO

  • Moderator: Ian Brzezinski, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
  • Jarosław Pietras, Director General, DG for Environment, Council of the European Union
  • Wiesław Prugar, CEO, ORLEN Upstream
  • Alan Riley, Professor, the City Law School, City University London
  • Konrad Szymański, Member of the European Parliament
  • Adam Witek, Energetyka KGHM

3. Investing in Europe: Difficulties, Hopes and Promises – VIDEO

  • Moderator: Joanna Bensz, Branch Director at AmCham Wrocław
  • Piotr Freyberg, Former Managing Director of 3M Poland
  • Roman Rewald, Partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Former AmCham Chairman in Poland
  • Jake Slegers, Executive Director, American Chamber of Commerce in Slovakia; Chair, AmCham Europe
  • Paweł Wideł, Governmental Relations Director, General Motors Poland

Friday, June 1

Keynote | VIDEO | Commissioner Füle’s Remarks

  • Štefan Füle, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy
  • Marcin Zaborowski, Director, Polish Institute of International Affairs

Panel Discussion – The Future of Europe | VIDEO

  • Moderator: Marcin Zaborowski, Director, Polish Institute of International Affairs
  • Elmar Brok, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament, Co-Chair of the Transatlantic Legislators’
  • Štefan Füle, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy
  • Ana Palacio, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain
  • Quentin Peel, International Affairs Editor, Financial Times

Panel Discussion – CEE’s Rise in an Unstable World – VIDEO

  • Moderator: Janusz Reiter, President, Centre for International Relations, CEED Institute Partner
  • Norman Davies, Fellow, The British Academy
  • Danuta Hübner, Member of the European Parliament
  • Horst Köhler, Former President of the Federal Republic of Germany, 2004-2010
  • Jan Kulczyk, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Kulczyk Investments, Founder of the CEED Institute

Break Out Sessions II

1. Russia in a Post-Medvedev Era | VIDEO 

  • Moderator: Robert Nurick, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
  • Richard R. Burt, Managing Director, McLarty Associates
  • Evgeny Gavrilenkov, Chief Economist, Troika Dialog
  • Paweł Kowal, Member of the European Parliament
  • Dmitry V. Suslov, Deputy Director, Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies

2. Digitizing Democracy: Technology and Its Impact on Freedom – VIDEO

  • Moderator: Igor Janke, Salon24, Rzeczpospolita
  • Erika Mann, Director of EU Affairs, Facebook
  • Igor Ostrowski, Deputy Minister for Digitalisation and Administration of the Republic of Poland
  • Rafał Trzaskowski, Member of the European Parliament
  • Iryna Vidanava, Editor-in-Chief, 34 Multimedia Magazine

3. Powering the Future: The Geostrategic Implications of Energy Shifts | VIDEO

  • Moderator: Stephan Richter, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, The Globalist
  • Edward C. Chow, Senior Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies
  • Matthew Hulbert, Senior Research Fellow, Clingendael International Energy Program
  • Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, Member of the European Parliament

US Keynote – VIDEO | Tauscher’s Prepared Remarks

  • Moderator: Frederick Kempe, President and CEO, Atlantic Council
  • Ellen Tauscher, Special Envoy for Strategic Stability and Missile Defense, US State Department

Panel Discussion – Democracy and Prosperity: The Inevitable Link? | VIDEO

  • Moderator: Quentin Peel, International Affairs Editor, Financial Times
  • Hédi Ben Abbes, Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tunisia, Americas and Asia
  • Lee A. Feinstein, US Ambassador to Poland
  • Carl Gershman, President, National Endowment for Democracy
  • Radosław Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland

Break Out Sessions III

1. Competitiveness in a Shifting Global Economy | VIDEO

  • Moderator: Jan Cienski, Warsaw Bureau Chief, Financial Times
  • Peter Chase, Senior European Representative, US Chamber of Commerce
  • Jacek Levernes, Vice President and Executive Board Member, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Hewlett-Packard
  • Prince Michael von Liechtenstein, Chairman of the Board, Industrie- und Finanzkontor
  • Mateusz Morawiecki, President of the Management Board and CEO, Bank Zachodni WBK S.A.
  • Tzvetan Vassilev, Chairman, Supervisory Board, Corporate Commercial Bank

2. The Transatlantic Partners: Building the Arab Spring into Summer | VIDEO

  • Moderator: Michele Dunne, Director, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, Atlantic Council
  • Emma Bonino, Trustee, Arab Democracy Foundation
  • Patrycja Sasnal, Analyst in Middle Eastern Politics, Polish Institute of International Affairs
  • Samir Radwan, Former Minister of Finance of Egypt

3. Is Security Needed for Democracy? | VIDEO

  • Moderator: Damon Wilson, Executive Vice President, Atlantic Council
  • Zeljka Cvijanovic, Minister for Economic Relations and Regional Cooperation, Republic of Srpska Government
  • Kadri Liik, Senior Researcher, International Centre for Defense Studies
  • Alexander Rondeli, President, Georgian Foundation For Strategic and International Studies
  • Tomas Valasek, Director of Foreign Policy and Defence, Centre for European Reform

Saturday, June 2

Panel Discussion – The Wrocław Debate: Does Europe Need New Europeans? | VIDEO | Q&A SESSION VIDEO

  • Chair: Norman Davies, Fellow, The British Academy
  • Leszek Czarnecki, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Getin Holding S.A.
  • John Martin, Professor of Medicine at University College London and Yale University
  • Brendan Simms, Professor of European International Relations, Cambridge University
  • Jan Zielonka, Professor of European Politics, Oxford University

NEW ATLANTICIST ANALYSIS

PRESS RELEASES

MEDIA MENTIONS

English


Polish


Photo credits: Kamil Czaja

Ukraine