To seek answers to the challenges of the European Union’s future security, unity and global influence in a rapidly changing world order, an international conference titled “EU Negotiations 2026: Protecting the Future” will be held in the Saeima on Friday, April 10.
The conference will be held for the eleventh time, bringing together European policymakers and experts for discussions on the most important issues of the development of the European Union. It is organized by the Saeima Committee on European Affairs in cooperation with the Latvian Institute of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission Representation in Latvia.
The conference will be opened by the Speaker of the Saeima, Daiga Mieriņa, the Head of the European Commission Representation in Latvia, Andris Kužnieks, and the Director of the Latvian Institute of Foreign Policy, Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova.
The opening will feature a conversation with Foreign Minister Baiba Braže about European foreign policy and its role in the global context. The discussion will analyze the extent of the European Union’s autonomy and influence in the new world order. It will be followed by several panel discussions and parallel talks.
In the second part of the conference, participants will discuss Europe’s geopolitical partners and challengers in parallel discussions, analyze the strategies and policy approaches that the European Union must implement to prevent and overcome external threats, and assess opportunities to mitigate the impact of Russian aggression.
The closing discussion will assess the expectations and realities of European Union decision-makers regarding the accession of Eastern European and Western Balkan countries to the European Union.
The conference will be attended by officials and experts including Edmunds Cepurītis, Chairman of the Saeima European Affairs Committee, Egils Levits, President of Latvia (2019–2023), Roberts Zīle, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Reinis Pozņaks, Member of the European Parliament, as well as researchers and experts from Denmark, France, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and Germany. Parliamentarians from Finland, Hungary and Belgium, as well as representatives of the European Commission and other EU institutions, will also participate in the discussions.
The international high-level conference “EU Negotiations 2026: Protecting the Future” will begin on Friday, April 10, at 9:00 a.m. in the Baltic Hall, Jēkaba Street 6/8. It will be possible to follow it online on the Saeima website www.saeima.lv , on the parliament’s Facebook and YouTube channels, as well as on the websites of cooperation partners.
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