Large and dynamic changes in the world: in the area of security, digitization, climate, demographic, civilization force us to react quickly and often to deeper analysis. Since the 30th edition we have been organizing the international conference Europe of the Carpathians, during which we discuss current problems of the region in a group of experts. I trust that this year's Forum in Karpacz (September 7-9) will bring us many constructive solutions to the existing problems and will set wise paths for the future, especially with the young inhabitants of the Carpathian Europe in mind', says Marek Kuchciński, Chairman of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee. - During the winter edition we took the initiative to inscribe the entire Carpathian region on UNESCO. During the September edition we will be accompanied by the slogan "Carpathians without plastic". Beautiful, green, clean - I think that this is not only my dream - adds the Marshal.

Carpathian Europe within the framework of the Economic Forum in Karpacz was divided into 14 thematic panels concerning, among others, the future of Europe, EU relations with the USA, Russia and China, parliamentary diplomacy, neighborly relations, Green Deal, digitalization, climate and culture. Panelists will include politicians, scientists and journalists. Speakers confirmed their participation, among others: Marshals Małgorzata Gosiewska, Ryszard Terlecki, Marek Pęk, Ministers Andrzej Adamczyk, Zbigniew Rau, Grzegorz Puda, Konrad Szymański, EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski, representatives of parliaments from all over Central Europe and Sweden, Deputy Speakers from Moldova and Ukraine, Ministers of Infrastructure and Foreign Affairs from Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Ukraine and Slovenia, as well as heads of the Tri-City Foreign Affairs Commission.

Program

14:30 - 15:30

Young people/youth (of Central Europe) about the future of Europe

We give the floor to young Europeans as those who are already shaping the future of our continent. What do they think are the most important challenges facing Europe and how should they be tackled?

Moderator: Sebastien Meuwissen

Panelists:

Zsófia RáczUndersecretary of State, Ministry of Human Resources, Hungary

Sviatoslav Yurash, Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

Piotr Mazurek, Secretary of State in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Government Plenipotentiary for Youth Policy, Poland

Stefan TompsonPolish-British journalist, publicist, youtuber, Poland/UK

Ferenc Almassy, French-Hungarian journalist, editor-in-chief of the Visegrad Post news portal, France/Hungary

Maxim Rust, lecturer at the Centre for East European Studies, Contributing Editor of the magazine "New Eastern Europe", Belarus

Yegor Stadny, b. Deputy Minister of Science and Education of Ukraine

15:40 - 16:40

New challenges in international politics: US - Europe - Russia - China

We are observing the rise of China and the change of political order in the European Union. An unquestionable challenge for the world community remains the growth of Russia's military potential in the face of its conflicts.

Moderator: Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski

Panelists

Zbigniew Rau, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland

Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary

16:50 - 17:50

Trilateral Parliamentary Diplomacy

Parliamentary diplomacy is becoming, on the one hand, an element of the power and prestige of the parliament, and on the other hand, an effective soft power tool for the implementation of specific foreign policy interests. As part of the discussion, representatives of the foreign affairs committees of the Trilateral countries will discuss the postulate to create a parliamentary dimension to this initiative.

Moderator: Gregory Upper, Tri-Maritime Association

Panelists:

Marek Pęk, Deputy Speaker of the Senate, Poland 

Marek Kuchcinski, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Polish Sejm

Rihards Kols, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia

Rozália-Ibolya BiróChairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament

Zsolt NémethChairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian National Assembly

Davor Ivo Stier, Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Croatian Assembly

Žiga Turk Former Minister for Development and Economic and Social Reforms, Slovenia

September 8, Wednesday

9:15 AM - 10:35 AM - PLENARY SESSION OF THE ECONOMIC FORUM

10:45 - 12:00

30 Years of Free Central European States and Building Regional Cooperation

The region is facing new challenges, and the pandemic is forcing changes that each country must prepare for. Cooperation is possible because of common goals, ideas, and a neighborhood on the border of the European Union.

Moderator: Maciej Szymanowski, Director of the W. Felczak Institute for Polish-Hungarian Cooperation

Panelists:

Ryszard Terlecki, Deputy Speaker of the Polish Parliament

Ruslan Oleksiyovych Stefanchuk, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

Mihail Popșoi, Vice-President of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova

Richárd Hörcsik, Chairman of the EU Affairs Committee of the Hungarian National Assembly

Emanuelis Zingeris, Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania

Boguslaw Sonik, Delegation of the Sejm and Senate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Poland

Vaclav Klaus, b. President of the Czech Republic

Martin Fronc, b. Minister of Education of the Slovak Republic

Jan Draus, University of Rzeszow, President of the Collegium of the Institute of National Remembrance, Poland

Alexander Bokotey, Director of the Institute of Ecological and Religious Studies, Uzhhorod National University, Ukraine

12:10 – 13:10

European Neighbourhood Policy

The discussion will focus on the Eastern and Southern dimensions of the European Neighbourhood Policy, as well as humanitarian and development aid and the countries' commitment to solving the immigration crisis, including the protection of the EU's external borders and the impact of borders on economic, tourism and migration development.

Moderator: Arkadiusz Mularczyk, Chairman of the Delegation of the Sejm and Senate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Poland

Panelists:

Małgorzata Gosiewska, Deputy Speaker of the Polish Sejm

Harald Troch, Member of the Austrian Parliament

Björn Söder, Member of the Riksdag, Sweden Democrats, Sweden

George-Cristian Tuță, Member, Quaestor of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania

George Simion, Member of the Romanian Parliament

Bartosz Cichocki, Ambassador of Poland to Ukraine

Pawel Latuszka, Coordinating Council for the Transfer of Power in Belarus

13:20 – 14:20

The impact of the Green Deal on transport policy in Central Europe

In this regard, the need to strengthen the role of rail transport, especially during the European Year of Railways, is one of the tools that are part of the broader discussion on decarbonisation of transport. These actions together with consistent development of infrastructure on the North-South axis will in the long run make it possible to create a sustainable transport system in the Carpathian region.

During the panel The Influence of the Green Deal on Transport Policy in Central Europe the discussion will be held about the interdependence between the Green Deal and the construction of modern and low/zero-emission connections in Central Europe and the conditions for the revision process of the Trans-European Transport Network TEN-T, especially in the context of the current investment priorities in the Carpathian area.

Moderator: Włodzimierz Zientarski, automotive journalist, President of the Kierowca.pl Association

Panelists

Andrzej Adamczyk, Minister of Infrastructure of the Republic of Poland

Jernej Vrtovec, Minister of Infrastructure of Slovenia

Andrej Doležal, Minister of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic

Oleksandr Kubrakov, Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine

Julius SkačkauskasDeputy Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Lithuania

Jan Sechter, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Czech Republic

14:30 – 15:30

Future Europe open or closed?

Fourteen years have passed since the largest enlargement of the European Union. The question of whether this period has allowed the division between the old and new member states to blur remains open. The search for a compromise between demands for greater integration and the concept of a Europe of solidarity and sovereign states is still the region's greatest challenge, as is the answer to the question of where the boundaries of European integration lie: geographic, structural, social and economic.

Moderator: Jan Malicki, Director of East European Studies at the University of Warsaw

Panelists

Ben-Oni Ardelean, Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament

Domagoj Hajduković, Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs of the Parliament of Croatia

Ivan Brajović, Committee on Security and Defence of the Parliament of Montenegro

David Usupashvili, Committee on European Integration of the Parliament of Georgia

Barbara Bartuś, Chairperson of the Polish-Romanian Parliamentary Group

Mykhailo Khariy, Chairman of the Transformation Center for Ukraine

Dominik Mierzejewski, University of Lodz, China expert

Tibor Navracsics, b. European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport

Alexander Milinkevich, Belarusian Free University

15:40 – 16:40

European Conservative Alliance - Joint Declaration

Contrary to the treaties in force, the European Union is moving ever more clearly towards a federal state, and is becoming a hostage to radical forces - fanatical pan-Europeanism, extreme liberalism and environmentalism. That is why what is sorely needed is an alliance of those political forces - parties of common sense - who, without rejecting modernity and European cooperation, want to build a community of sovereign states and free nations that relate positively to Europe's cultural heritage and to our fundamental social institutions in their traditional form. The first step towards such an alliance was the recent Joint Ideological Declaration. During this panel we will try to answer the questions: What should we do next? What are the difficulties in building such an alliance? Where do we agree and where do we differ? On what principles would we like to base European cooperation? How to change the balance of political forces in the EU?

Moderator: Zdzisław Krasnodębski, MEP, Vice-Chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE)

Panelists

Nicolas Bay, Vice-Chairman, Identity and Democracy Group, European Parliament, France

Jorge Buxadé Villalba, Member of the European Parliament, Spain

Francesco Giubilei, Founder of the Nazione Futura Movement, Italy

Ján Figeľ, Governing Board of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, Slovakia

David Engels, Chief Analyst, Western Institute, Belgium

16:50 - 18:10 - PLENARY SESSION OF THE ECONOMIC FORUM

18:20 – 19:20

Digital Carpathian Europe. Security and economic leap, or why do we need new technologies?

Why it is impossible to talk about the security of countries without including digital solutions, the translation of new technologies into traditional and innovative industries, and the fourth industrial revolution.

Moderator: Andrzej Zybertowicz, Advisor to the President of the Republic of Poland

Panelists:

Reinis Znotiņš, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Information Technology and Innovative Entrepreneurship of the Committee on Sustainable Development, Latvia

Robert Gontarz, Committee on Digitization, Innovation and New Technologies of the Polish Parliament

Krzysztof Gawkowski, Committee on Digitization, Innovation and New Technologies of the Polish Parliament

Aleksandra Przegalińska, Pro-rector of Kozminski University, Poland

Vadim Melnyk, CEO Dronehub, Ukraine

Jacek Bartosiak, lawyer, columnist on geopolitics and strategy, Poland

Pavel Popescu, Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania

September 9, Thursday

9:15 AM - 10:35 AM - PLENARY SESSION OF THE ECONOMIC FORUM

10:45 – 12:00

Presentation of the Green Deal for Central Europe

Climate neutrality is a major challenge for the hitherto carbon-based economies. Europe is discussing the Green Deal, the related effective and beneficial energy transition and its impact on agricultural production, as well as biodiversity strategy and forest management. The leaders of the V4 countries have to deal with the effective implementation of sustainable development, suitable for the development of the region. Which solutions are the most effective for Central European countries?  

Moderator: Bogdan Rzonec, Member of the European Parliament  

Panelists:

Janusz Wojciechowski, EU Agriculture Commissioner

Grzegorz Puda, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Poland

Robert Telus, Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, Poland

Jarosław Sachajko, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, Poland

Teresa Pamula, Member of the Sejm, Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, Poland 

Waldemar Buda, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy

12:10 – 13:10

A Reconstruction Plan for Europe. National Reconstruction Plan. Carpathian Strategy.

The Next Generation EU and National Recovery Plans are the response of European Union countries to the new threats and challenges posed by the pandemic. Their main objective is to rebuild and restore the resilience of EU economies and to prepare for future unforeseen circumstances. How to use the newly created instruments to help regions like the Carpathian macro-region, which already had a number of problems hindering its development? How to make the best use of EU funds in order to strengthen the competitiveness and attractiveness of the region and limit the outflow of inhabitants by improving their quality of life?

Moderator: Jerzy Kwiecinski, Vice-President of the Management Board of Bank Pekao S.A.

Panelists:

Konrad Szymański, Minister for European Union Affairs, Poland

Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy

Piotr Arak, Director of the Polish Economic Institute

Jan Hudacky, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in Prešov, former Member of the National Council, Slovakia

Teresa Czerwińska, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank

Peter Kremský, Chairman of the Committee on Economic Affairs NR SR

13:20 – 14:20

"The state and perspectives of partnership between Poland and Ukraine"

- presentation of the report prepared by the Institute of Political Science
Institute of International Relations of Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Institute of Central Europe in Lublin and T. Shevchenko Kyiv Institute of International Relations

Expert analysis of Polish-Ukrainian relations by a Polish-Ukrainian research team in five areas: 1) common historical memory and cultural heritage; 2) bilateral relations and international security; 3) economic, social and cross-border cooperation; 4) public diplomacy and strategic communication in both countries; 5) Poland-Ukraine relations and international relations in Central and Eastern Europe.

Moderator: Waldemar Paruch, Head of the Department of Theory and Methodology of Science
Politics and Administration, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Poland

Panelists:

Mykola Kniazhitsky, Chairman of the Committee on Culture and Spirituality, Co-Chairman of the Parliamentary Group for Interparliamentary Relations with the Republic of Poland

Paul Kowal, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

Marek PietrasProfessor, Director of the Institute of Political Science and Administration, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University

Beata Surmacz Prof. of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Director of Central Europe Institute in Lublin

Valentin BalukProfessor, Director of the Center of Eastern Europe, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University

Hryhoriy PerepelytsyaProfessor, T. Shevchenko Kyiv Institute of International Relations

Mykola Doroshko, Professor, Institute of International Relations of the KUN named after him.
T. Shevchenko

14:30 – 15:30

New climate policy in the Carpathians - how to effectively protect the natural heritage. The potential of national parks.

Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing societies. One of the main provisions of the European Union is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. The question remains whether they are effective in achieving the common European goal.

Moderator: Dawid Lasek, Vice-President of the Carpathian Euroregion Association

Panelists:

Anna Paluch, Member of the Polish Parliament

Michal Kiča, State Secretary, Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic

Sándor KölesChairman, Carpathian Foundation, Hungary

Georgis ZarotiadisThessaloniki University of Economics, President of the Association of Economic Universities of Southern, Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region, Greece

Patricia Adamska, Coordinator of the Carpathians Unite, Traditional Pastoralism Project

Richard Prędki, Director of the Bieszczady National Park

Andrew Raj, Director of the Karkonosze Park

15:40 -16:40

Central Europe - Heritage, People and Future

Central Europe is a region where great people were born, where great works of culture and science were created. What values shall we pass on to future generations? How do we implement the maxim that characterizes the European center - maximum diversity on minimum territory? Do our common historical experiences unite or divide us? How do we today understand the idea of "equal among equals, free among free"?

Moderator: Matyas Zrno, Editor-in-Chief of Konzervativní noviny portal

Panelists:

Vladimir Bernacki, Senator of the Republic of Poland, Secretary of State, Government Plenipotentiary for Monitoring the Implementation of Higher Education and Science Reform, Poland 

Piotr BabinetzChairman of the Committee on Culture and Media of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland

Bartholomew Zdaniuk, Ambassador of Poland to Moldova

Pavol Macala, Scientific Association for Personalism, Slovakia

Janusz Kapusta, Drawer, painter, stage designer, inventor of the 11-sided solid K-DRON, Poland

Markiyan Malsky Lviv University, former Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland

Jan Malicki, Director of the Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw, Poland

Igor Cependa, Rector of the Transcarpathian National University, Ukraine