Description: While elections across Europe and beyond take place under heightened geopolitical pressure, the resilience of democratic institutions is increasingly tested by coordinated information operations that seek to undermine trust, polarize societies, and weaken transatlantic cohesion. Nowhere has this stress test been more visible than in Romania’s recent presidential election, where extensive social media manipulation and cyber influence operations deeply impacted electoral processes and highlighted the potent impact of foreign malign actors weaponizing information. With digital capabilities improving the capacity and effectiveness of coordinated mis- and disinformation campaigns, how can countries such as Romania and the United States work together to protect against geopolitical rivals seeking to undermine their democracies?

Speakers to be announced.

Description: As geopolitical tensions rise and political volatility tests the resilience of transatlantic cooperation, economic security has emerged as a key issue for both Europe and the United States. With China increasingly threatening to undermine competitiveness, global conflict highlighting the urgent need to prioritize reducing dependence on foreign actors, and a long history of cooperation across the Atlantic, Europe and the United States appear to be natural partners toward this end. However, shifts in US posture have created uncertainty over its reliability. Building on its historically strong economic relationship with the US and its role as an emerging engine for growth and innovation within Europe, how can Central Europe play a role in forging a transatlantic strategy to improve economic security despite an increasingly complicated geopolitical and political landscape?

Speakers

H.E. Michal Baranowski
Undersecretary of State,
Ministry of Economic Development and Technology of the Republic of Poland

Amb. Mark Brzezinski
President and Chief Executive Officer,
Brzezinski Global Strategies;
Former US Ambassador to the Republic of Poland

Marta Pawlak
Legal and Public Policy Director
American Chamber of Commerce in Poland

Moderated by

Tony Housh
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Warsaw Office,
Atlantic Council

Description: One year into his second term, US President Donald Trump has redefined the terms of engagement in the transatlantic relationship, whether taking a hands-on approach to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, pushing for greater defense spending within NATO, or changing the nature of the US-EU trade relationship. Reflecting on the evolution of the partnership over the past year and looking ahead at a critical 2026, what opportunities exist to bolster cooperation between the United States and Europe? And how can Washington and its European partners protect transatlanticism in the face of threats from within and without?

Speakers

Amb. Paula J. Dobriansky
Vice Chair, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security,
Atlantic Council;
Former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs;
Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs,
Harvard University

Amb. Daniel Fried
Weiser Family Distinguished Fellow,
Atlantic Council;
Former US Ambassador to the Republic of Poland

Paul McCarthy
Senior Research Fellow, European Affairs, Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom,
The Heritage Foundation

Amb. Adrian Zuckerman
Chairman of the Board, Alianta;
Former US Ambassador to Romania

Moderated by

Jan Jireš
Senior Fellow, Prague Center for Transatlantic Relations,
CEVRO Institute;
Former Deputy Minister of Defense of the Czech Republic

Description: At the beginning of 2026, US forces conducted an extraction mission that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The US has since demanded the expulsion of Chinese, Russian, and Iranian influence from Venezuela. Simultaneously, with Iran facing massive domestic protests, the US is threatening intervention with an eye toward regime change. Despite recent events, Moscow and Beijing’s practical support for their allies has been limited as Russia remains focused on the war in Ukraine and China appears to be prioritizing its broader trade relationships. Does Maduro’s removal and instability in Tehran signal a collapse of the strategic foothold that Russia and China spent decades building? Will it weaken their alliance and its capacity to take hostile actions against the West?

Speakers

Kaush Arha
President,
Free and Open Indo-Pacific Forum

James Carafano
Senior Counselor to the President and EW Richardson Fellow,
The Heritage Foundation

Ian Brzezinski
Senior Fellow,
Atlantic Council

Moderated by

Amb. Tomáš Pojar
Board Member, Prague Center for Transatlantic Relations,
CEVRO Institute;
Former National Security Advisor to the Government of the Czech Republic