4th Annual International Security Conference GLOBSEC 2009

Date	29th January 2009, Thursday
Organizer	Slovak Atlantic Commission
Co-organizers	Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the SR, Euro-Atlantic Center and the German Marshall fund of the United States, Representation of the European Commission in Bratislava
Auspices	Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic

 


(Program as of 21st January 2009)

9:00 - 9:10 Official Opening
Rastislav Káčer, President of the Slovak Atlantic Commission

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9:10 - 10:00 1st Keynote Speech: Transatlantic Relations at Crossroad; new challenges ahead
Diana Štrofová, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Slovak Republic

10:00 - 10:30 Coffee Break

10:30 - 12:00 1st Panel: NATO at 60: Towards a New Strategy?

In 2009, NATO will celebrate 60th Anniversary of the Washington Treaty. At the same time it will be 10 years since the last Strategic Concept of NATO was adopted. The upcoming NATO Summit in Strasbourg – Kehl will open fundamental questions about the future of NATO and its role in the security environment of the 21st Century. Is it the time for Retirement or Rethinking the Alliance? Some expert argue, that the current Strategic Concept of NATO does not reflect the changes in the security environment which have occurred after 9/11 2001. Is it the right time to adopt a New Strategic Concept? Are the NATO allies ready at all to agree on a clear definition of the new security threats and are they ready to adopt a common strategy to fight them? The intention of the conference is to bring important stimuli to the discussion about the future strategies of the Alliance.

Chairman: Tomáš Valášek, Center for European Reform, London
Jean François Bureau, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy
Adam Rotfeld, former Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs
Robin Shepard, Chatham House, Senior Research Fellow for Europe, London
Rob de Wijk, Director of The Hague Center for Strategic Studies

12:00 - 13:30 Luncheon hosted by the Slovak Atlantic Commission

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13:30 - 15:00 2nd panel: Transatlantic relations after changing political elites

Barack Obama won the US presidential elections, what will it mean for the transatlantic relations? The new president will be inaugurated in January 2009 and at the time of the conference the setup of the US administration will be clear. We may expect some changes in the approach in the transatlantic relations. What will he bring to the transatlantic relations and what role will EU or NATO play in this regard? The nature of the transatlantic relations will influence the European and global security environment. The intention of the conference is to analyze the possible changes in the policy of the new administration and identify the implications for Euro-Atlantic security environment and alternatives of development in this regard.

Chairman: Pavol Demeš, German Marshall Fund of the United States, Bratislava
John C. Hulsman, German Council on Foreign Relations
Martin Bútora, honorary President of the Institute for Public Affairs, former Slovak Amb. to USA
Marcin Zaborowski, European Union Institute for Security Studies, Paris
Scott Rutter, BAE SYSTEMS

15:00 - 15:30 Coffee Break

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15:30 - 17:00 3rd Panel: Europe Divided? Dealing with a Resurgent Russia

Europe is facing a new challenge: to deal with a resurgent Russia. Russia is increasingly active in its foreign policy and the Russian factor is increasingly dividing European countries, which cannot agree on any common position towards Russia. On one side, there are countries, which would like to “punish” Russia for its actions in Georgia and on the other side there are countries which would not like to give up their strategic relations with this country. How will the partnership of EU as well as NATO with Russia look like in the future? This is a challenge for the European foreign policy as well as NATO. The question of the endeavor of Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO and EU has disturbed the surface of the discussion not only in their countries but also in Europe and Russia. The future of countries like Ukraine and Georgia is crucial for the European security environment. The panel will analyze the possibilities of development in the relations with Russia.

Chairman: Ambassador Ortwin Hennig, EastWest Institute, Brussels
James Sherr, Chatham House, Head of Russia and Eurasia Programme, London
Oksana Antonenko, Senior Fellow (Russia and Eurasia) at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London
Borys Tarasjuk, Chairman of the European Integration Committee, Ukrainian Parliament
Dmitriy Talanov, Head of NATO Unit of the All-European Cooperation Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

17:00 Closing Remarks and Summary
Róbert Vass, Secretary General of the Slovak Atlantic Commission

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17:15 Evening Reception hosted by Miroslav Lajčák, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the SR
        and Jaroslav Baška, Minister of Defense of the Slovak Republic

Short documentary: From Security Receiver to Security Provider: Slovakia 5 years in NATO and EU
In 2009 Slovakia celebrates five years as a member of transatlantic structures, NATO and EU. At the same time, this nation turned from the receiver of security into its provider. The intention of this short documentary is to evaluate the added value of Slovakia in these organizations as well as to draw implications for the future.

Introductory remarks: Michal Križan, president of the Euro-Atlantic Centre

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autor: Slovenská atlantická komisia