Think Tank
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ONLINE EVENTS: State of Romania
22 April 2025
This project aims to enhance the quality of public and expert-level debate on the future policy directions in the EU in the context of democratic security and common EU values while nurturing collaboration amongst civil society as a means further to embed democracy and its resilience in the region.
Related publications:
Central Europe Drives EU Strategic Communication – For Better Or Worse: Democratic Security Brief in V4: Jul – Sep 2024
Click here to download the pdf
Democratic Security Advocates Must Shift Effort From Hungary to Poland EUCO Presidency: Democratic Security Brief Apr – Jun 2024
Click here to download the pdf
New Political Geometry: Democratic Security Brief Jan – Mar 2024
CEE division over Ukraine becomes the top issue for the EU for 2024: Democratic Security Brief Oct – Dec 2023
How European Democracies Are to Survive a New Trump Age: Special Foresight Report on the EU Strategic Agenda 2024-2029
Download the PDF of the report
EU Migration and Enlargement Ambitions Fall on Deaf Ears in CEE: Democratic Security Brief Jul – Sep 2023
Download the PDF of the report
(for subscribers only)
CEE Electoral Polarisation Puts EU and Ukraine at Risk: Democratic Security Brief Apr – Jun 2023
Foresight on EU Values: Democratic Security Brief Jan – Mar 2023
Events:
2-4 April 2024 – Prague, Czechia: Foresight Workshop on Future EU Policy
A closed-door workshop dedicated to EU policies on democratic security and convened with representatives from diverse sectors spanning across the region and the European Union.
In the early months of 2024, the Visegrad Insight team engaged in initial talks about our ongoing project, “Foresight on EU Values and Democratic Security”, which receives partial funding from European sources.
Participants from across the region and Europe gathered in Prague to examine the ongoing policy discussion defined in our FEVDS project and originally outlined in our report, “How European Democracies Are to Survive a New Trump Age“.
The participants utilised their diverse pool of knowledge to pinpoint specific areas for development in EU policy, focusing on sectors such as defence, disinformation, governability and foreign interference. They identified areas with insufficient support and formulated possible policy solutions to address those shortcomings. The outcomes of these exercises will be further developed in forthcoming workshops, as well as in a scenario-based report later in the year.
The FEVDS project aims to bolster the calibre of public discourse and expert-level deliberations regarding forthcoming policy trajectories within the European Union. By fostering synergistic partnerships among civil society stakeholders, it endeavours to fortify democratic resilience within the region. This initiative receives financial backing from the European Union.
See the photo story below
9 and 16 February – Warsaw, Poland: Team Meetings on the Next Stages of the FEVDS Project
In the early months of 2024, the Visegrad Insight team engaged in initial talks about our ongoing project, “Foresight on EU Values and Democratic Security”, which receives partial funding from European sources.
We conducted two team meetings on 9 and 16 February. During the meeting on 9 February, we discussed the grant details, the organisation providing it, and the extension of FEVDS 2023 to this year. We also outlined the anticipated results and shared a document outlining the project deliverables with the team. Additionally, we clarified team roles and presented the schedule for FEVDS 2024.
In the subsequent meeting on 16 February, we proceeded with detailing team roles and responsibilities and introduced the project’s underlying concept. Additionally, we introduced topics for this year’s research meetings that were and will be further explored.
We held two research meetings (3 h on 10 January and 1 45 h on 6 February) to discuss this year’s #EUvalues Foresight on EU Values and Democratic Security topics.
This project aims to promote democratic values and strengthen democratic security in Central European states through our framework. We’ll engage in activities such as scenario-building, yearly foresight reports, conferences, and media appearances to improve the discourse on EU values and foster collaboration within civil society. It develops a CEE-wide public foresight debate on future scenarios for democracy, freedoms, elections, and social cohesion, bringing together thought leaders, academia, and policy-makers. Our primary goal is to address the decline in public debate caused by the lack of information sovereignty, limited trust in democratic institutions and political polarisation, offering solutions and reinforcing support for democratic values.
We discussed the methodology of the grant presenting our work scheme in relation to 2023 and 2024.
13 December 2023 – Bratislava, Slovakia: What Are Slovakia’s Priorities For the Next EU Agenda?
The speakers included Peter Balik (former Minister for Investments, Regional Development and Informatization), Alberto Alemanno (HEC Paris), Wojciech Przybylski (Visegrad Insight), and as a moderator Michaela Terenzani (The Slovak Spectator). See the photo story here.
8 December 2023 – Warsaw, Poland: What are Poland’s priorities in the next EU Agenda?
The speakers included Edit Inotai (Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy), Beata Jaczewska (former Deputy Minister of the Environment), Liam Nolan (RTE) and Wojciech Przybylski (Visegrad Insight), see the photo story here.
8 December 2023 – Warsaw, Poland. Next EU Priorities: A Spotlight on Democratic Security
A select group of experts, diplomats and journalists sat and discussed challenges for the next EU Agenda 2024-2029. Click here to see the photo story.
6 December 2023 – Prague, Czech Republic: How to Save Democracy and Ensure a Ukraine Victory? Roundtable
A select group of experts, diplomats and journalists from Prague meet during a roundtable discussion to address challenges for the EU Agenda 2024-2029. Click here to see the photo story.
6 December 2023 – Prague, Czech Republic: What are the Czech priorities for the next EU Agenda?
The public debate included Martin Ehl (Hospodářské noviny), Marek Havrda (Ministry of European Affairs), Wojciech Przybylski (Visegrad Insight) and Olga Richterová (Czech Parliament) who drove the debate on Czech priorities in the forthcoming EU Agenda. Click here to see the photo story.
21 November 2023 – Bratislava, Slovakia: Roundtable
A select group of experts, diplomats and journalists sat and discussed challenges for the next EU Agenda 2024-2029. What lies ahead for the future of Europe? Click here to see the photo story.
20 November 2023 – Budapest, Hungary: What are Hungary’s priorities in the next EU Agenda?
Edit Inotai (Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy), Márta Pardavi (Hungarian Helsinki Committee) and Wojciech Przybylski (Visegrad Insight) discussed with participants what Hungary’s priorities will be in the next EU Agenda. Read more about the event and see the photo story here.
13 November 2023 – Brussels, Belgium: The European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels
We organised a closed-door roundtable at the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels. Read more about the event and see the photo story by clicking here.
13 November 2023 – Brussels, Belgium: Will the Next EU Agenda Save Ukraine and Democracy?
The main focus was on future policies that the EU will consider regarding strengthening democratic security.
See our photo story and read more about the event by clicking here
13-14 April 2023 – Budapest, Hungary: Scenario building workshop No. 2
25 participants from CEE countries created a strategic foresight plan to navigate future challenges and opportunities. They used a risk matrix to evaluate current trends and formed smaller groups to brainstorm potential scenarios. They developed actionable policy recommendations for the EU strategic agenda between 2024 and 2029. The outcome was a plan that provides insights and concrete actions for long-term development. This was a significant step towards a prosperous future for the CEE region, leaving participants with a sense of achievement and hope.
29-30 March 2023 – Wrocław, Poland: Scenario building workshop No. 1
This workshop gathered policy experts, civil society and business leaders primarily from Central and Eastern Europe, to provide CEE perspectives on upcoming EU strategic plans and emphasise democratic security. The meeting was the first step in developing, analysing, and backcasting alternative futures for EU policies. Participants evaluated the drivers and triggers shaping the region’s future, debating the “most impactful and uncertain” outliers in three teams and began narrating possible scenarios.
Workshop 1 photos by: Tomasz Golla
Workshop 2 photos by: Peter Konaka-Kiss, D1 Stúdió
ABOUT THIS PROJECT:
In this project, we aim to promote democratic values and strengthen democratic security in Central European states through our framework. We’ll engage in activities such as scenario-building, yearly foresight reports, conferences, and media appearances to improve discourse on EU values and foster collaboration within civil society. Leveraging our position, we’ll develop a CEE-wide public foresight debate on future scenarios for democracy, freedoms, elections, and social cohesion, bringing together thought leaders, academia, and policy-makers. Our primary goal is to address the decline in public debate caused by a lack of information sovereignty, limited trust in democratic institutions, and political polarisation, offering solutions and reinforcing support for democratic values.
This project is supported by the European Commission’s Europe for Citizens Programme and the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) framework cooperation.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
ABOUT STRATEGIC FORESIGHT:
Strategic foresight is a powerful analytical method that helps multinational organisations and institutions navigate in times of uncertainty.
By means of strategic foresight, Visegrad Insight – Res Publica Foundation develops plausible scenarios for democratic security in Europe and actionable policy options. We work with a comprehensive network of experts and eminent leaders across Central and Eastern Europe. With a focus on major strategic decisions ahead, we analyse the impact of megatrends, conduct horizon scanning, and host scenario-building workshops. The scenarios generate a future-oriented public debate in Europe to best inform decision-making.
In 2023 Visegrad Insight’s work focuses on three key areas: EU policies’ impact on democratic security, the future of EU enlargement and neighbourhood, and scenarios for the European elections in 2024.
Our strategic foresight is powered by: the German Marshall Fund of the U.S., the National Endowment for Democracy, the ZEIT Foundation, META, the International Visegrad Fund, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office UK, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the European Commission.
