Wroclaw Global Forum: Europe and the US, Ready for a Global Partnership?

The 2013 Wroclaw Global Forum and Atlantic Council Freedom Awards were held in Wroclaw, Poland from June 13-14.

Now one of the premier foreign policy conferences in Central Europe, the Wroclaw Global Forum brings together over 350 top policy-makers and business leaders to explore the region’s impact as an actor in Europe, as well as its crucial role in the transatlantic partnership and on the global stage. The WGF is co-organized by the Atlantic Council, the Polish Institute of International Affairs, and the city of Wroclaw. In 2013, the Forum examined how the transatlantic community can promote democracy, international security, and economic prosperity both within and beyond its own borders, while also featuring a high-level discussion on the European Global Strategy and the global role of the United States.

The 2013 Atlantic Council Freedom Awards honored former Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the European Humanities University of Belarus, Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, and former US Ambassador to Hungary Mark Palmer.

Photos from the Forum, Awards ceremony, and around the city

2013 Forum video playlist

Agenda

DAY 1: June 13, 2013

Welcoming Remarks (Video)

  • Rafał Dutkiewicz, Mayor of Wrocław, @DutkiewiczRafal
  • Frederick Kempe, President and CEO, Atlantic Council, @fredkempe
  • Marcin Zaborowski, Director, Polish Institute of International Affairs, @mazaboroski

Opening Keynote (Video)

  • Letter from Polish President Bronisław Komorowski

The Transatlantic Marketplace and the Community of Values (Video: Remarks | Q&A)

Moderator: Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, President, Economic Council to the Polish Prime Minister
Panelists:

  • Shaukat Aziz, Former Prime Minister of Pakistan
  • Lee Feinstein, Former US Ambassador to Poland, @AmbFeinstein
  • David Plunkett, Ambassador of Canada to the European Union
  • Maciej Witucki, CEO, Orange Polska

The Transatlantic Energy Revolution (Video: Remarks | Q&A)

Moderator: Lee Feinstein, Former US Ambassador to Poland, @AmbFeinstein
Panelists:

  • Jan Kulczyk, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Kulczyk Investments; Founder, CEED Institute
  • Beata Stelmach, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, @mszstelmach
  • Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, President, Economic Council to the Polish Prime Minister
  • Jonathan Elkind, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy and International Affairs, US Department of Energy
  • John Schmitz, Partner, Bingham McCutchen LPP

Break Out Sessions

1. Banking Union and the Future of Economic Integration in the EU (Video)

Moderator: Megan Greene, Senior Fellow, Global Business and Economics Program, Atlantic Council, @economistmeg
Panelists:

  • Zsolt Darvas, Research Fellow, Bruegel, @Bruegel_org
  • Demosthenes Ioannou, Senior Economist, European Central Bank
  • Mateusz Morawiecki, President of the Management Board and CEO, Bank Zachodni WBK S.A.
  • Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, Member of the European Parliament, @jsaryuszwolski

2. Transatlantic and European Missile Defense Systems (Video)

Moderator: Marek Ostrowski, Foreign Desk Editor, Polityka Weekly
Panelists:

  • Ian Brzezinski, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council, @ianbrzezinski
  • Jeffrey Burchfield, Chief, Space and Missile Defense Division, EUCOM J5-MD, USAF
  • Krzysztof Krystowski, President & CEO, Polish Defence Holding
  • Henry A. Obering III, Senior Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton

3. A Transatlantic Agenda for the Middle East (Video)

Moderator: Patrycja Sasnal, Head of Middle East and North Africa Project, Polish Institute of International Affairs
Panelists:

  • Rony Bar-On, Lawyer, Former Minister of Finance of Israel
  • Anas El Gomati, Director, Sadeq Institute
  • Ozgur Unluhisarcıklı, Director of Ankara Office, German Marshall Fund of the US
  • Orhan Taner, Director, Energy & Economic Summit, Atlantic Council

DAY 2: June 14, 2014

The Future of NATO Enlargement (Video: Remarks | Q&A)

Moderator: Damon M. Wilson, Executive Vice President, Atlantic Council, @damonmacwilson
Panelists:

  • Alex Petriashvili, State Minister of Georgia on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration
  • Ana Trišić-Babić, Deputy Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Fatmir Xheladini, Ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia to Poland

Growing Democracy: The Future of US-European Cooperation (Transcript: Stephen Hadley’s Remarks; Video: Remarks | Q&A)

Moderator: Frederick Kempe, President and CEO, Atlantic Council, @fredkempe
Panelists:

  • Stephen J. Hadley, Founding Partner, RiceHadleyGates LLC
  • Jerzy Pomianowski, Executive Director, European Endowment for Democracy, @mszpomianowski
  • Tomicah Tillemann, Senior Advisor for Civil Society and Emerging Democracies, US Department of State, @TomicahTD

Break Out Sessions II

1. Poland and the Eurozone (Video: Remarks | Q&A)

Moderator: Roderick Parkes, EU Programme Coordinator, Polish Institute of International Affairs, @RoderickParkes
Panelists:

  • Jan Cieński, Warsaw Bureau Chief, Financial Times, @jancienski
  • Witold Orłowski, Chief Economic Advisor, PwC
  • Jakub Wiśniewski, Director, Department of Foreign Policy Strategy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland
  • Rachel Ziemba, Senior Analyst for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa and Global Macroeconomic Issues, Roubini Global Economics, @reziemba

2. Europe’s Future Energy Mix? (Video)

Moderator: Bartosz Wiśniewski, Research Fellow, Polish Institute of International Affairs, @BM_Wisniewski
Panelists:

  • Ilona Antoniszyn-Klik, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Poland
  • Nick Grealy, Independent Energy Expert and Consultant, @ShaleGasExpert
  • Christian Hubner, Coordinator Environmental, Climate and Energy Policy, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
  • Florence Mangin, Policy Planning Europe, French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
  • Adam S. Wilczewski, Chief of Staff, US Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration

3. Looking Towards Europe’s East (Video)

Moderator: Eugeniusz Smolar, Independent Analyst, @esmolar
Panelists:

  • Balazs Jarabik, Associate Fellow, FRIDE; CEPI, @BalazsJarabik
  • Adam Daniel Rotfeld, Co-Chairman of the Polish-Russian Working Group on Difficult Matters, Polish Institute of International Affairs
  • Celeste Wallander, Non-Resident Fellow, Foreign Policy and Civil Society Program, German Marshall Fund of the United States

European Global Strategy: A Transatlantic Perspective (Video: Remarks | Q&A)

Moderator: Jan Techau, Director, Carnegie Europe, @jan_techau
Panelists:

  • Emma Bonino, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Italian Republic, @emmabonino
  • Joschka Fischer, Managing Partner, Joschka Fischer and Company
  • Stephen J. Hadley, Founding Partner, RiceHadleyGates LLC
  • Radosław Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, @sikorskiradek

Break Out Sessions III

1. The Future of the European Defense Industry (Video: Part 1 | Part 2)

Moderator: Walter B. Slocombe, Secretary, Atlantic Council; Former US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
Panelists:

  • Pierre Buhler, Ambassador of the French Republic to Poland, @PierreBuhler
  • Peter Scaruppe, Director of Industry & Market, European Defence Agency
  • William Schmieder, President, Raytheon International Inc. Europe

2. How to Kickstart EU Foreign Policy? (Video)

Moderator: Ian Bond, Director, Foreign Policy, Centre for European Reform, @CER_IanBond
Panelists:

  • Frances G. Burwell, Vice President and Director, Atlantic Council, @franburwell
  • Giovanni Grevi, Acting Director, FRIDE
  • Maciej Popowski, Deputy Secretary General, European External Action Service
  • Jan Techau, Director, Carnegie Europe, @jan_techau

3. A US-EU Free Trade Agreement? (Video)

Moderator: Wawrzyniec Smoczyński, Managing Director, Polityka Insight, @WSmoczynski
Panelists:

  • Koen Berden, Commercieel Directeur, Senior Partner, ECORYS
  • Piotr Jeleński, President of the Management Board, Asseco South Eastern Europe S.A.
  • Tomasz Misiak, Former Chairman, National Economy Committee of the Polish Senate, @TomaszMisiak
  • Jarosław Pietras, Director General for Environment, Education, Transport and Energy, Council of the European Union
  • Eric Stewart, President, US-Poland Business Council

Media Mentions

Polish


English