The V4, France, and EU Foreign Policy: Time to Act

We are happy to invite you to the debate titled ''The V4, France, and EU Foreign Policy: Time to Act'', which will take place on March 19, 2019 from 17:00 to 18:30 at the Polish Institute (Nám. SNP 27, 814 99, Bratislava).

France is, in today’s EU, arguably the most important actor in the Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). However, relations between V4 countries and France on these issues seem sometimes to lack depth because of different strategic cultures and political priorities. These divisions appear also within the Visegrad Group counties themselves. With the UK soon to be leaving and the role of the US in the world increasingly uncertain, there is a demonstrable need for the EU’s foreign and security policy to finally punch at its weight. What issues can the V4 and France cooperate on more closely? What will the future priorities for the EU’s CFSP be?

Confirmed speakers:

• Dániel Bartha, Director, Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy
• Éric Maurice, Manager of the Brussels Office, Foundation Robert Schuman
• Martin Michelot, Deputy Director, EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy
• Róbert Ondrejcsák, State Secretary of Defense, Slovakia
• Jolanta Szymanska, Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych - PISM

The debate will be moderated by Lucia Yar, EURACTIV.sk.

The project is supported by the International Visegrad Fund and organized by EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy (Czech Republic), Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy (Hungary), Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych - PISM (Poland) and Comenius University (Slovakia).

You can also find the debate on Facebook.

We are looking forward to your participation

Martin Michelot
Senior Associate Research Fellow

Expertise: NATO and transatlantic security, European foreign policy and defense, French politics, elections and society, Visegrad Four and Central Europe, EU institutional issues

V4France cooperation