23rd annual conference of the German-Hungarian Forum and third conference of the Young German-Hungarian Forum
On 28 and 29 November 2013, the 23rd annual conference of the German-Hungarian Forum was held in the German Federal Foreign Office, attended by over 150 experts from politics, business and academia. In parallel, the third Young German-Hungarian Forum was held in the premises of the Hungarian Embassy in Berlin. The Institut für Europäische Politik (IEP) organized the conference in cooperation with the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
In panel discussions and working groups, the participants discussed the present state the EU and the prospects for its future from a German and Hungarian perspective. The working groups focused in particular on the topics “Growth, competition, innovation and dual training” as well as “The role of regional cooperations for the future of Europe”. The panel discussions centered on the bilateral relations in light of the difficult overall situation in Europe, which is currently characterised by challenges in the euro-zone, youth unemployment as well as questions regarding the safeguarding of fundamental rights. In light of current events, the EU’s Eastern Partnership was discussed intensively. The Young German-Hungarian Forum dealt with these challenges by discussing the topics “Ways out of the crisis and youth unemployment”, “Europe’s value”, the “European Neighbourhood Policy” as well as “Informational self-determination between NSA and Facebook”.
The concluding panel of the two-day event, chaired by the Forum’s co-presidents, Elmar Brok, MdEP, and the former Hungarian foreign secretary and vice president of the Hungarian Council of the European Movement, Peter Bálasz, was dedicated to the topic “Europe as a vision and a community of values”. The closing address was held by EU Commissioner Günther Oettinger. He discussed the EU’s role in the world and pointed to the important impulses that Germany and Hungary can give together.
Programme (German)
Conference Report (German)