Reinhard Bütikofer will speak on the panel of the discussion on the 21 November at the Embassy of Germany in Prague. The topic to be dealt with is the following:

Three Decades after 1989 – The Future of Democracy in the EU

Almost 30 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, democracy is under pressure in a significant number of EU
Member States. Poland is currently under EU scrutiny (Art. 7) because of its contentious judicial reforms. In
September 2018 the European Parliament voted in favour of starting procedures against the Hungarian
Government for breaching European values on the rule of law. In advance of the elections to the European
Parliament in May 2019, right-wing populists are attacking the core values of open, pluralistic societies. These developments do not affect just Central and Eastern Europe. After the recent parliamentary elections in Germany, Austria, Italy and Sweden we can observe a political shift to the right in those countries, too.

What needs to be done to safeguard democracy and strengthen societal cohesion in the European Union? How should the pan-European crisis of confidence and solidarity be addressed? How can we develop coherent policy solutions and collaborative visions for the future of the European project?