Central Europe is the greatest of all of all the continents is the richness of cultures, languages - the maximum of diversity. 40 Nobel Prize winners, the largest number of outstanding personalities - from the arts to the economy. Our part of Europe is a force to be reckoned with. The Visegrad Group Visegrad Group or Tri-Countries are beautiful ideas thanks to which The Visegrad Group or Tri-Council are beautiful ideas, thanks to which cooperation between states and societies fills the political void between Berlin and Moscow.
Within the framework of the Economic Forum in Krynica-Zdrój the 25th edition of the conference Europe Carpathians, which since 2011 proves that the Carpathians can unite. The initiative of Marek Kuchciński's initiative inspires actions The initiative of Marek Kuchciński inspires actions aimed at sustainable development of Central and Eastern Europe; balance between economy and ecology, protection of unique natural protection of unique natural and cultural heritage, wise use of natural resources, especially The balance between economy and ecology, protection of unique natural areas, cultural heritage and innovation or security.
This year's edition consisted of panels:
The Intellectual Face of Central Europe
Culture of Freedom. Yesterday and today, COLLEGIUM CARPATHICUM series: What can universities do for the Carpathian region?
Central Europe about itself: mutual perceptions and regional community
The economy of the future from the perspective of Central and Eastern European countries
Central Europe: in the world of new institutions 2018/2019
Can Central Europe change the balance of power in the European Union?
Information wars: diagnosis and recommendations
Carpathians: environment - heritage - society
The panel Central Europe about itself: Mutual Perceptions and Regional Community was moderated by Marek Kuchcinski, former Marshal of the Sejm, chairman of the Carpathian Parliamentary Group.
This part This part of the conference was devoted to the neighbourhood and cooperation Visegrad Group, the Bucharest Nine and internal problems of Central Europe. Central Europe. - The Visegrad Group is a phenomenon. It is made up of countries that cooperate The Visegrad Group is a phenomenon. at the same time very effective - emphasized Marek Kuchcinski.
Oleg Lipski, Co-Chairman of the Moldova-Poland Parliamentary Assembly spoke about cooperation within the framework of the Eastern Partnership, also under the auspices of the Visegrad Group. - Moldova should benefit from the support of V4. Europe is our common Europe is our common home - he pointed out. Cooperation between the countries of Central Europe has never been so The cooperation of Central European countries has never been so good - remarked Lőrinc Nacsa, Member of the National Assembly of Hungary. - We believe in the same values. We see that the representation of the region's interests We see that the representation of the region's interests must be raised to a higher level - he said.
Emanuelis Zingeris, chairman of Lithuania's International Affairs Committee, spoke in turn about He also emphasized the renaissance of cooperation between the countries within the He also emphasized the renaissance of cooperation between the countries within the Visegrad Group. He also drew attention to the improvement of Polish-Lithuanian relations Lithuanian-Polish relations. According to Martin Fronc, deputy chairman of the Institute of Institute for Christian Social Policy, the countries of our region profess similar values. - The V4 format is good, but I do not know whether we should not extend it. Poland could take on the role of a mediator of our group - he stressed. he stressed.
In turn, Markiyan Malsky, Dean of the Department of International Relations at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, drew attention to the commonality of historical experience. - Our ancestors lived in a common state. The common political will of the countries in the region should lead to the fact that the countries of our region will be the locomotive of the entire European Union. There are countries that can provide new impulses - he assessed.
The Intellectual Face of Central Europe
In the first The discussion focused on the culture linking the Carpathian peoples, intellectual currents in the region, Central European values in the shaping of Central European values in the shaping of contemporary Europe and people of Central Europe who changed the world. The discussion was moderated by Deputy Speaker Terlecki, who spoke about deepening cooperation, common roots and values of the cultures of the countries in the region. - Talking about cooperation and proximity of cultures and civilizations, we try to strengthen historical identity, cultural and linguistic identity. We have found ourselves at a critical time, in the clash of civilizations, where the foundations are undermined - said Terlecki.
Archbishop Zbigniew Stankiewicz, Metropolitan Archbishop of Riga, emphasized that the nations of Central and The people of Central and Eastern Europe have a desire for freedom, for which they have fought for many years. for which they fought for many years. In this context he spoke about the message of John Paul II and Solidarity.
Ingrida Veliutë, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, focused on the issue of digitization as a manifestation of global identity. - Digitalization is a process common to all of us. It is important that institutions cooperate with each other, that it be a sectoral cooperation. It is important for institutions to cooperate with each other, for it to be a sectoral cooperation. Only networking can allow us to help sharing our culture - she emphasized.
- We know, what is the price of freedom, what is the price of hatred for our Christian origin - said Anca-Maria Cernea, the president of the Bucharest Association of Catholic Doctors Association in Bucharest. - The enemies of our civilization have good tools to destroy our civilization - it is a new kind of communism, such as gender or LGTB ideology. It is a new kind of communism, such as gender or LGTB ideology', said Carnea.
Karel Schwarzenberg, Vice-Chairman of the International Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, in turn doubted whether it was possible to talking about common European values. He pointed out that in Central Europe The Czech Republic, in turn, doubted whether it was possible to talk about common European values. He also pointed out that Central Europe devotes too much time to discussing its difficult history, while too little is said about its best moments. He also stressed the importance of the Visegrad Group for cooperation of the countries in the region.
Pavol Mačala, a member of the Board of Directors of the Scientific Association for Personalism, pointed out that although European leaders refer to values, their understanding is often fundamentally different. differ. In his speech, he drew attention to the different concepts of man and society functioning in Western and Eastern Europe. - National consciousness The national consciousness of Central European countries is connected with their roots, with Christian faith - he said.
Timmermans certainly does not recognize the Christian values that were the foundation during the time of the Founding Fathers. Will deeper political - financial and fiscal integration will be sufficient to build strong foundations for Europe or is there a need to return to traditional values based on natural rights and the essence of humanity? of humanity? Who lost more? The East, experienced by many historical events The East, experiencing many historical events, knows the value of religion. The West does not see it,' Mačala argued.
Attila Szalai from the Research and Archival Institute for the History of Systemic Change pointed out Attila Szalai, in turn, pointed out that all speakers touched upon the subject of common values The Polish and Hungarian constitutions contain God. God is enshrined in the Polish and Hungarian constitutions, But it is not present in the EU constitution. Maybe Western Europe will understand that we should not Maybe Western Europe will understand that we should not close churches as it happens in Germany. After Ingrida Veliutë also emphasized the importance of the digitalization of cultural assets.
The Culture of Freedom. Yesterday and Today
Next panel discussion included a discussion about freedom as a fundamental value and contemporary threats to freedom in Europe. The debate was moderated by Piotr Babinetz, Chairman of the Parliamentary Culture and Media Committee.
Frédéric Petit, a deputy in the National Assembly of the French Parliament, drew attention to the need for skillful conflict management and the greatest in his opinion value of the The real freedom means that the European Union has to be free. True freedom means that we are ready for conflict. But conflict does not have to mean war. It has to be must be managed, if only through mediators. The greatest historical value of the EU is ability to mediate. In the Bible also references - Jesus says that he gives freedom that you will argue about, the other example is the tower of Babel. This is evidence of the relationship between freedom and conflict. The threat to freedom is the relationship to reality. Mediation is too fast, man has no time to to truly analyze everything. If he doesn't have time to listen, question and get confused, then there is a problem. Freedom needs a confrontation with reality, needs a place for debate. Freedom is equality and fraternity. Fraternity is is not a courtesy, it is a challenge. There is no freedom and no control over conflicts, if there is no deep work on fraternity and union.
- Understanding what freedom is in the personal sense, human freedom, freedom Understanding what is freedom in the personal sense, human freedom, freedom to make decisions, but also collective freedom - is perhaps the key to of individuals, nations and states - said in turn Piotr Naimski, Secretary of State, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure. - Living under communism, we felt that freedom was taken away from us. It was taken from us on a daily basis. At certain times, when we had to be forced into this system that came under the banner of freedom, we were murdered, put in prison. And what was called freedom. And we thought that was not freedom," he said.
We started Panel from a rather philosophical level. In our generation - those who remember World War II, and those who were born in post-Communist countries, freedom post-communist countries, freedom was treated with a spin. Freedom as a tool for struggle. Recalling the tragedy of the Vendée - genocide in the name of freedom, equality and fraternity. This is the legacy we still have today. Freedom of thought, faith, beliefs, being - maybe the key to the fight for values and national positions of individual states. These are concepts treated differently. In the name of pluralism and tolerance you can effectively repress, in the name of diversity you can break states - said Naimski.
COLLEGIUM CARPATHICUM: What universities can do for the Carpathian region?
Collegium Carpathicum as an institution for strengthening scientific and academic cooperation academic cooperation between higher education institutions in the Carpathians, promotion and creation positive image of the region - these are some of the issues that were discussed during of this panel. The discussion was moderated by Jan Malicki, Director of the Eastern Europe Studies at the University of Warsaw.
In the opinion of Jan Lata, rector of the University of Ostrava in the Czech Republic, universities must first of all create space for freedom and discussion, which are extremely important for economy. Paweł Trefler, rector of the State Higher School of Eastern European University in Przemyśl, emphasized that the initiative of developing Carpathian community cannot take place without grassroots involvement, and exchange of knowledge and experience is the foundation of cooperation.
As noted by Sándor Őze, director of the Hungarian Institute of History at the Catholic University Catholic University in Hungary. Péter Pázmány, learning about the cultures of neighboring nations through their own language is losing its significance nowadays. - That is why it was right to establish Colegium Carpathicum and I hope that we will obtain scholarships that will support teaching languages of the countries in the region to support the learning of these cultures - he emphasized.
Ihor Tsependa, rector of the Ukrainian Vasyl Stefanyk Subcarpathian National University Stefanyk, drew attention to the special role of the region's universities as institutions that comprehensively analyze the Carpathian issues and conduct research to help solve economic problems. Stefan Purici, Vice-Rector for International Relations of the Romanian Stefan University Stefan Purici, Vice-Chancellor for International Relations of the Romanian Stefan University in Suceava, drew attention to the necessity of carrying out analysis, which will help to identify the challenges facing region and assess its potential.
The economy of the future from the Perspectives from Central and Eastern European Countries
Strategies Macro-regional strategies, sustainable development, economic resources of Central and Economic resources of Central and Eastern Europe and its political potential - these were the topics of the last panel discussion on Wednesday. Jerzy Kwieciński, Minister of Investment and Development, opened the discussion, Jerzy Kwieciński, Minister of Investment and Development, while opening the discussion, reminded that a year ago, within the framework of the Carpathian Europe Conference, the following declaration of cooperation was signed declaration of cooperation in the preparation of a macro-regional strategy for the region. - We marked out a map of actions, we made an analysis of needs, strengths and We mapped out a map of actions, made an analysis of needs, strengths and weaknesses. Our action plan was the result of two years of work on the strategy - he said. he said.
Denisa Žiláková, Director General of the Central Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Investment and Denisa Žiláková, Director General of the Central Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Investment and Information Technology in Slovakia, highlighted the most important issues in her opinion related to the formation of macro-regional strategies: political stability and creation of an institutional framework for action. Experience of Albania in this area The experience of Albania in this area was presented by Eduard Shalsi, Minister for the Protection of Enterprise of that country. - We had to rebuild the whole system of institutions. We invested in human resources human resources, in this way we were more experienced - he said.
Gábor Gion, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Finance of Hungary, spoke about the support for the Carpathian Strategy. - We strongly believe that it makes sense. The Carpathian macro-region is an economic zone in itself. It is time for economic reconstruction of the Carpathian region - he he stressed.
Marius Skuodis, Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation of Lithuania, spoke about the conditions Marius Skuodis, Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation of Lithuania, spoke about the conditions for the implementation of macro-regional strategies Their success requires political attention, ambitious goals and efficient implementation implementation.
Władysław Ortyl, marshal of the Podkarpackie voivodeship, emphasized that the The Carpathian Strategy is not in competition with the Danube Strategy and can be It can be complementary to it. In this context he referred to mutually complementary In this context he referred to mutually complementary macro-regional strategies: Adriatic and Alpine macro-regional strategies.
Central Europe: in a world of new institutions 2018/2019
The starting point for the The discussion started with the formulation of four theses by the chairman of the discussion, Prof. Waldemar Paruch, Head of the Centre for Strategic Analysis, formulated four theses. The first one says that Central Europe Central Europe needs new institutions. The second one expressed the view that Central European countries Central European countries have problems with combining their potentials. The third concerned the lack of anchoring in the institutions of various formats of cooperation among the states of this part of the continent. The fourth pointed to the lack of ability to of using European funds to build new institutions.
- It is time to start building the synergy of academia. There is no more looking at universities of Western Europe is over because they went in a different ideological direction. The European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament cooperation between governments and parliaments is very important," stressed the professor.
prof. Krzysztof Szczerski, Head of the President's Office and special guest The panel referred to the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. He expressed the opinion that the fact that representatives of all He expressed the view that the fact that the representatives of all the countries of the region came to Warsaw - despite different historical interpretations of this date - is He expressed the view that the fact that representatives of all the countries of the region came to Warsaw - despite the different historical interpretations of that date - is an important and demonstration of unity. As another symbol of the region's potential, Prof. Szczerski mentioned the "Tri-City Index", which describes a group of companies from our It is becoming increasingly important, which is supposed to confirm the growth of the region's economic strength. economic strength of the region. The Head of the Cabinet of the President added that an important test for the The division of positions in the European Commission will be an important test for the region. This, according to This, according to the speaker, will decide the future of the Tri-City projects for the next half a decade. decades.
Emphasized the necessity of creating common centers of data analysis by the institutions region. Promotion of mutual contacts was also indicated as important, learning each other's languages and culture. This was particularly emphasized by This was particularly emphasized by Professor Maciej Szymanowski, Director of the Wacław Felczak Institute for Polish-Hungarian Cooperation. Maciej Szymanowski, Director of the Wacław Felczak Institute for Polish-Hungarian Cooperation, emphasized this. Karol Biernacki, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Wacław Felczak Foundation in Budapest. This newly established institution organizes and initiates activities for Polish Polish-Hungarian cooperation and promotion of Polish culture, especially among young Hungarians.
Can Central Europe change the balance of power in the European Union?
The second panel definitely belonged to journalists, as all participants in the discussion all participants in the discussion represented this environment. The discussion focused on the role of our region in Europe. The moderator, Prof. Zdzisław Krasnodębski, posed a question, whether we really represent a different view of the European Union. Why Why is there such a discrepancy between the image created in the West about our part of Europe and the reality? He emphasized that we are characterized by He emphasized that we are characterized on one hand by a sense of success and on the other hand formulated in the West.
Jaroslav Daniska, a Slovak publicist and journalist, addressing these questions, Jaroslav Daniska, a Slovak publicist and journalist, said that we are increasingly aware of the power of a common voice. The panelist added, however, that although our interests are largely similar, However, we happen to have a different perspective on some issues. Priorities foreign policy priorities are often clearly different. What he considered as a common element for the countries In his opinion, the common element for the countries of our region is their attitude to Germany, which is expressed in the recognition of that country as one of the most important partners. The most important of them is Germany, which is considered to be one of the most important partners.
In turn Otmar Lahodynsky, President of the Union of European Journalists, underlined the of a common regional voice in Europe used to fight for interests. He cited opposition to the relocation of refugees as an example.
In turn Christoph Schiltz, a journalist associated with the German "Die Welt," referred to the the paradigm shift in German-French domination. He agreed with the thesis Schiltz agreed with the thesis put forward at the beginning of the discussion, that there is a huge discrepancy between the actual better The discussion began with the thesis that there is a huge discrepancy between the actual better condition of Central European countries and the reputation they enjoy in the European Union. The discussion began with the thesis that there is a huge discrepancy between the actual better condition of Central European countries and their reputation in the European Union. He pointed out, however, that there is a new opening in the EU, which may The journalist also stressed that the countries of Central and Eastern Europe are in a very difficult situation. The journalist also stressed that Central European countries should play The journalist also stressed that Central European countries should play an increasingly important role by forming new coalitions. They can be a kind of The journalist also stressed that Central European countries should play an increasingly important role by forming new coalitions. In turn, Michał Karnowski, publicist and commentator In turn, Michał Karnowski, publicist and commentator of the weekly "Sieci", in his speech stressed that common element of the countries in our region is the awareness of the fragility of regained sovereignty, as well as the current prosperity. He also added that we need to think and fight for their own interests. He criticized the attitude of the West as the He also criticized the attitude of the West as the eternal teacher towards Central European countries. He concluded that it no longer had any raison d'etre. He also criticized the attitude of the West as the eternal teacher towards the countries of Central Europe. At the same time - according to the editor - despite the apparent He also criticized the attitude of the West as an eternal teacher He also stated that the European Union has not been a perennial teacher towards the countries of Central Europe.
Information wars: diagnosis and recommendations
Panel focused on broad cyber security issues, modern ways of conducting information warfare and possible ways to defend against manipulation. Opening the discussion, chairing it, prof. Andrzej Zybertowicz offered a definition of information warfare as the practice of deliberate creation and spreading of false information in order to misleading recipients.
John Micgiel from the Center for East European Studies at Warsaw University addressed the practices and techniques of conducting such attacks by the Kremlin. In his opinion, Russian aggression Russian aggression has always been accompanied by developed tactics of information warfare. Currently This is one of the greatest challenges of the West and requires an enormous educational educational effort on the other side.
In turn Edvinas Kerza, Deputy Minister of National Defence of Lithuania, described the hacking of of our adversaries to information systems of other countries as hacking hacking into minds. This makes us able to believe the spread disinformation and act according to the will of the enemy. The only panacea for this tactics is to educate ourselves, draw information from a variety of sources and confrontation.
In turn, Col. Przemysław Przybylak, Commander of the Cyber Operations Center, tried to presented the problem of cyber security from the point of view of military objectives. One of the most important tasks of military cyber services is dementing false information. Related to this is the development of competencies necessary to respond to the challenges of increasingly advanced disinformation. All panelists agreed that the most important thing is to building awareness of threats.
Carpathians: environment - heritage - society
MEP Barbara Bartuś opened the last panel of the 25th edition of the "Carpathian Europe" conference devoted to demography of Central and Eastern Europe, nature and its protection, drinking water resources as well as development of tourism in the context of the Carpathian Carpathian Convention.
Development of Tourism Strategy of the Carpathian Mountains was presented by Anna Krupka, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Sport and Tourism. Carpathian Convention adopted in 2003 (entered into force in entered into force in 2006) regulates many areas, including tourism and ways its development. As its objective it formulated, among others, increasing competitiveness competitiveness of the Carpathian tourism, so that the region becomes the first choice for an increasing number of visitors. It also established a National Programme to plan and The aim is to plan and implement activities that promote the cultural heritage of the Carpathians. Among the examples The National Objective is to plan and implement activities promoting the cultural heritage of the Carpathians. Examples of completed projects include a project for the promotion of Lemko culture and a project devoted to Carpathian shepherding.
In turn President of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management Artur Michalski raised the issue of drinking water, which is scarce in the Carpathian region. scarce good in the Carpathian region. He admitted that many areas are struggling with the problems of water The problem of water and sewage management in many areas, where there is a particular lack of infrastructure. At the same time He emphasized the very well organized work of the State Forests, which are able The State Forests are able to perfectly manage the resources of local nature and combine care for these areas with simultaneous access for tourists.
The audience of They could also learn about the examples of environmental solutions solutions applied in relation to the Tisza river, presented by Ivan Gyurcsik, Permanent Hungarian permanent representative to the Danube Commission. At the same time, referring to the At the same time, referring to the regional Danube Strategy, he assured of great support to the emerging Carpathian Strategy.
Another of the panellists - Jerzy Polaczek MEP - drew attention to the Via Carpatia initiative, which he was one of the initiators in 2006. He stressed that it is currently This is the most important project in the region at the moment. In the scale of Poland it is currently the biggest Poland's largest road infrastructure project. He added that it was important to ensure The project is currently the largest road infrastructure project in Poland.
As noted by Mihai Gherghe, state secretary at the Ministry of Culture and National Identity Romania, understanding freedom is a difficult task, and the concept is subject to constantly redefined. - The fact that we now have to defend freedom shows, that we have a problem with guaranteeing it," he stressed. - History teaches us that when our nations act together, it ends in success - said in turn Leonardas Vilkas, translator of Polish literature, activist of the Lithuanian Freedom League Lithuania.
Marián Šuplata of Slovakia's Matej Bel University drew attention to the redefinition of freedom on the occasion of the French Revolution. He spoke about the conflict between true freedom and its falsified vision. Paruyr Arshaviri Hayrikyan, president of the National Self-Determination Union of Armenia, spoke about his struggle for freedom during the Soviet era. - We fought for freedom, we wrote poems, but my main task was to create real freedom. The culmination of human freedom, human rights, is democracy," he said.
