The Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Europe’s Future Team at CEPS Ideas Lab 2023: Moving Europe from Darkness into Light

The Europe’s Future Team will again this year play an active role at the 2023 Center for European Policy Studies Ideas Lab in Brussels. Between Feb. 28 and March 1, we’ll present results from the latest eupinions poll on EU citizens’ attitudes toward the war in Ukraine, share a new study from the  Sovereign Europe Project on European interconnectivity and moderate a panel discussion on the EU budget challenges and limitations.

The CEPS traditional scene setting session: With a continent torn apart by war, what do Europeans expect from the EU?

Tuesday, February 28^th, from 10:30 to 12:15 CET

In the first session of the event Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, Senior Adviser, Bertelsmann Stiftung, joins the panel setting the scene for the 10^th CEPS Ideas Lab with the results of our new eupinions survey- “Anxious we Stand?”. The new study details current European public opinion on claims and values that are frequently evoked in discussions about the war in Ukraine, including perspectives on sanctions against Russia and who bears responsibility for the war and anxiety and nostalgia about the state of the world among Europeans.

Event Panelists:

• Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, Senior Adviser, Bertelsmann Stiftung
• Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, Director-General for Communication, European Commission
• Arnoldas Pranckevičius, Ambassador, Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the European Union
• Jan Zielonka, Professor of Politics and International Relations, University of Venice, Cá Foscari
• Daniel Gros, Distinguished Fellow, CEPS (moderator)

Watch the Livestream:

Breakfast Session – A neighbourhood woven together: Why the EU’s geo-economic future rests with its neighbours.

Wednesday, March 1 from 08:15 to 09:15 CET

Stefani Weiss, Senior Expert for EU Governance, Foreign and Security Policy on our  Sovereign Europe Project and Richard Grieveson, Deputy Director, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, will present  our newly released study, “Keeping friends closer: Why the EU should address new geoeconomic realities and get its neighbours back in the fold.”

Initially presented at the Munich Security Conference, the study measures the interconnectivity between the European Union and its neighbouring countries and compares these interconnections with those of the EU’s peers and rivals: the US, China, and Russia. Specifically, the study deals with interconnectivity in five areas: trade, finance, technology and know-how, infrastructure and labour mobility.

Download the study here:

Prime Talks: The EU Budget – What means to support EU priorities?

Wednesday, March 1 from 11:15 to 12:30 CET

Katharina Gnath, head of our project Europe’s Economy, will moderate a panel discussion on whether the EU budget is able to react quickly and adequately to both acute crises and long-term goals.

Over the past years, the EU has been expected to act quickly to address the crises it has faced – from the coronavirus pandemic to the war in Ukraine. The EU budget has been instrumental in securing a strong joint response. However, the numerous and large-scale challenges have demonstrated the limitations of the EU budget, whose structure and governing rules are pre-defined. The question therefore arises, is the EU budget – the way it functions today – fit to meet the expectations towards it?

Event Panelists:

• Damian Boeselager, MEP
• Jorge Núñez Ferrer, Senior Research Fellow, CEPS
• Eulalia Rubio, Senior Research Fellow, Jacques Delors Institute
• Katharina Gnath, Bertelsmann Stiftung (moderator)

Join us at the 10^th annual CEPS Ideas Lab.

About the author

Brandon Bohrn works as a project manager for the “Europe’s Future” program at the Bertelsmann Stiftung. His work centers around U.S-German affairs and transatlantic relations. Previously, he worked as a project manager for transatlantic relations with the Bertelsmann Foundation in Washington.

Nathan Crist is Project Manager in the Europe’s Future Program at the Bertelsmann Stiftung working on the Europe’s Economy Project.

Read about the Europe’s Future Team’s participation at past CEPS Ideas Lab events.

CEPS Ideas Lab 22: Are Peace and Prosperity for Europe An Impossible Dream?

CEPS Ideas Lab 2020 – Some Takeaways