A virtual conference on November 13th

In course of these currently challenging and difficult times, the Karlspreis Europa Summit 2020, organized in cooperation with the State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia and the National Association of German Cooperative Banks (BVR), aimed to provide a forum for vital and lively debates between practioners from the realms of politics, science, economics, media, society and the grant holders of our Charlemagne Prize Fellowship, in order to discuss Europe's role tomorrow. The summit offered opportunities to engage in live-discussions, to network through individual 1:1 meetings and to hear about the research  projects and findings of our Charlemagne Prize Fellows.

The Programme

The year 2020 has posed new challenges to all of us. At such a time it is particularly important not to neglect mutual exchange, which is why we wanted to create a space for discussion and networking with this first ever virtual event of the Charlemagne Prize Foundation.  Particular perspectives were conveyed by our keynote speakers, including the designated laureate of the Charlemagne Prize 2020, President Klaus Iohannis, who spoke about overcoming inner-European discrepancies. In the subsequent discussion with Prof. Luuk van Middelaar, Dutch historian and political philosopher, as well as with former EU Commissioner Viviane Reding, moderated by Ralph Sina, Head of the WDR radio studio in Brussels, the current challenges in the wake of the pandemic were discussed, especially with regard to budgetary decisions and ideas of solidarity. 

Keynote speaker Christos Staikouras, the Greek Minister of Finance, also spoke about the economic aspects of the current crisis and the different perspectives on solidarity in Europe. In the ensuing discussion, the effectiveness of the aid programmes adopted was discussed, as well as the role of banks, entrepreneurs and the public. The panelists included Marija Kolak, President of the National Association of German Cooperative Banks (BVR), Prof. Dr. Hans-Werner Sinn, German Economist and Former President of the Institute for Economic Research (ifo), Chevalier Yves Noël, Chairman of the Board of Directors of NMC S.A. and Rolf-Dieter Krause, German Television Journalist and Former Head of the ARD Studio in Brussels.

As another highlight of the event, our first group of fellows presented their research findings on the key questions of Europe's future challenges. For one year, the projects were supported by the foundation and now offer innovative proposals and incentives for discussion on topics such as the establishment of the Conference on the Future of Europe, the formulation of a potential reorientation of European asylum policy, an examination of the strategic aspects of EU enlargement with regard to the states of the Western Balkans, as well as a highly topical analysis of the dissemination of fake news in Europe with regard to the Corona crisis. After the presentations, the individual research outcomes could also be discussed in virtual thematic coffee lounges. 

Our Fellows 2020/21