Slovakia and the New Leaders of the West

The EuroPolicy civic association and the EURACTIV Slovakia portal, in cooperation with the Prague office of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, invite you to an online discussion titled Slovakia and the new leaders of the West. Discussion will be held on 3 June 2025 from 2 PM to 3:30 PM CET online via Zoom application.

ABOUT THE EVENT

IIn 2025, significant political changes occurred on both sides of the Atlantic. Donald Trump returned to the presidency of the United States, and his actions are keeping the world on edge even more than during his first term. In Germany, a new ‘grand coalition’ of Christian and Social democrats came to power; this time led by chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU). 

The foreign policy priorities of both countries will shape the future course of the West on key issues such as security, Russian aggression in Ukraine, and the direction of the European Union. These major shifts are happening at a time when Slovakia increasingly finds itself on the margins of foreign policy debates within the EU and NATO. The format of cooperation is changing – instead of decision-making in full formats, smaller groups of states, so-called "coalitions of the willing," are beginning to dominate.

The discussion will focus on topics such as:

• the foreign policy priorities set by the new leaders in the USA and Germany,
• what these changes mean for the European Union, particularly in the context of developments in Ukraine and broader security concerns, and what challenges these new dynamics pose for Slovakia and its role within the West.

PANELISTS

• Roderick Kefferpuetz, Director of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union office in Brussels
• Milan Nič, Senior research fellow at DGAP's Center for Order and Governance
• Miroslava Pisklová, Research fellow at Slovak Foreign Policy Association

Discussion will be chaired by Zuzana Gabrižová, Editor-in-chief at EURACTIV Slovakia.

If you wish to attend the event, please fill in a registration form here. Registration is free of charge.