H.E. Miroslav Lajčák, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia

Gov. Jon Huntsman, Chairman, Atlantic Council

Minister Ana Palacio, Member, Consejo de Estado of Spain; Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain

Ambassador Paula Dobriansky, Senior Fellow, Future of Diplomacy Project, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

Ms. Julie Smith, Senior Fellow and Director, Strategy and Statecraft Program, Center for a New American Security

Ambassador Richard Burt, Managing Director, McLarty Associates; Former US Ambassador to Germany

Mr. Simond de Galbert, Visiting Fellow, Europe Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Dr. Charles Gati, Senior Research Professor of European and Eurasian Studies, John Hopkins School of International Advanced Studies

Mr. Damon Wilson, Executive Vice President, Programs and Strategy, Atlantic Council

The British vote to be the first country to withdraw from the European Union comes at a time when the continent is already weathering a triple threat: from Russia’s aggressive posture in the East, from Mideast wars and upheavals producing waves of migrants and extremism from the South, and from centrifugal, nationalist domestic forces tearing at Europe’s fabric.

Against the backdrop great uncertainty and transition, this major public conference will seek to put forward a positive agenda for Europe’s future post-Brexit vote, and to underscore the US interest in and role in standing with Europe and its nations in trying times. The conference is part of a broader Council campaign to galvanize transatlantic leadership and develop strategies to promote a strong, stable, and competitive Europe allied to a purposeful and globally engaged United States.

This conference is organized in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic and will mark the beginning of the Slovakia’s Presidency of the European Union.