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Visegrad Group and Germany – prospects of cooperation

Policy Makers Seminar

Prague, November 13-14 New office of the Aspen Institute in Prague, International Visegrad Fund, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung together with Slovak Foreign Policy Association, Centre for Eastern Studies, Polish Institute for International Relations, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs organize a closed-door round for policy and decision-makers. This event will be held on November 13-14 in premises of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague. Aim of the seminar is to create a discussion forum, where government representatives, parliamentarians and experts from the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia will discuss potential cooperation modalities. Invited guests will have the opportunity to explain official positions and seek possibilities of further cooperation between the V4 and Germany. The event will focus on three specific areas:

• Cohesion policy in the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014+ • European energy infrastructure with special focus on electricity • Economic and business dimension of the Eastern Partnership with special focus

on DC FTA with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine Aim of the event

§ Discuss national position in the abovementioned areas § Single out problem issues and possible cooperation points § Debate possible join projects/ initiatives

Participants

§ High level representatives of Ministry of Foreign Affairs/ Ministry for Regional Development/ Ministry of Industry (or equivalent)

§ High level representatives Office of the Government § Members of Parliaments with the portfolio in the abovementioned areas § Think tank experts from V4 and Germany § V4 and German diplomats

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Topics specification 1. Cohesion policy in the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014+

• Cohesion policy and the Europe 2020 strategy: the case of Central Europe • The question of phasing-out transition regions • Funds and programs under cohesion policy 2014+, Connecting Europe Facility • Conditionalities (ex-ante, performance-oriented, macroeconomic)

2. European energy infrastructure – with focus on electricity

• Memorandum of Understanding on North South Interconnections in Central and Eastern Europe, and the following Action Plan

• EC proposal for a regulation on guidelines for a Trans‑European energy infrastructure • Cooperation between transmission system operators (TSO’s) and regulatory authorities

under the NSI initiative • NSI in the context of the new Multi-Annual Financial Framework and Eastern Partnership

3. Economic and business dimension of the Eastern Partnership with special focus on

DC FTA with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine

• How to assist Eastern Partnership countries during the DC FTA negotiation process? • EU-Ukraine DC FTA initialed, what next? • Potential and benefits of the DC FTA for Central European region • What role can the private sector play in the economic relations with Georgia, Moldova

and Ukraine? Possibilities of public-private partnership

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Program 13.11. 2012 Day 1 9:30 Opening of the Seminar

Official welcome

Jiří Schneider, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and State Secretary for European Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic

Radek Špicar, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Prague

Werner Böhler, Head of the KAS Office in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Keynote speech

Martin Tlapa, Deputy Secretary of State for European Affairs, Office of the Government of the Czech Republic

Cohesion policy in the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014+

10:00 – 11:00 Presentation by official representatives

Daniel Braun, First Deputy-Minister, Ministry of Regional Development, Czech Republic

Aleksandra Kisielewska, Head, Unit for Future of Cohesion Policy, Ministry of Regional Development, Poland

László Nyárádi, Expert, Department for Future of Cohesion Policy, Ministry for National

Development, Hungary

Dietrich Jahn, Deputy Director, Financial Relations with the European Union, Ministry of Finance, Germany

11:00 – 11:15 Coffee Break

11:15 – 12:45 Presentations by experts and discussion

Arnošt Marks, Strategia o.s., Czech Republic

Patryk Toporowski, Polish Institute of International Affairs, Poland

Attila Marján, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, Hungary

Martin Obuch, Consulting Associates, Slovakia

Peter Becker, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Germany

12:45 – 13:00 Press briefing 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch

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European Energy Infrastructure

14:00 – 14:15 Introduction 14:15 – 15:30 Presentation by V4 and Germany senior officials

Pavel Šolc, State Secretary, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Czech Republic Alena Žáková, Director, Department of International Relations in Power Industry, Ministry

of Economy, Slovak Republic Marta Babicz, Head of the European and Regional Energy Policy Unit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

Poland Stefan Bantle, Deputy Head of Division Energy Policy, Federal Foreign Office, Germany 15:30 – 15:45 Coffee Break

15:45 – 17:15 Presentations by experts and discussion

Roman Portužák, Energy Units for Utilization of non-Traditional Energy Sources Project, Technical University Ostrava

Robert Zajdler, Sobieski Institut, Poland

András György Deák, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, Hungary

Matúš Mišík, Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia

Frank Umbach, EUCERS/King's College London, Germany

17:15 – 17:30 Press briefing 19:00 Dinner

Official welcome Karla Wursterová, Executive Director, International Visegrad Fund

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14.11. 2012 Day 2

Economic and business dimension of the Eastern Partnership with special focus in DC FTA with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine

9:30 Introduction 9:45 – 11:00 Presentation by V4 and Germany senior officials

Petr Mareš, Ambassador at Large for the Eastern Partnership, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

Czech Republic

Gábor Bródi, Department of Common Foreign and Security Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hungary

Dagmar Repčeková, Director General, Directorate General for Economic Cooperation, Ministry

of Foreign Affairs, Slovakia 11:00 – 11:15 Coffee Break

11:15 – 12:45 Presentations by experts and discussion

Vilém Semerák, CERGE-EI, Czech Republic

Rafał Sadowski, Centre for Eastern Studies, Poland

Sandor Richter, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, Austria

Jana Kobzova, The European Council for Foreign Affairs, UK

Iana Dreyer, Montaigne Institute, France

12:45 – 13:00 Press briefing 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch

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About organizers

The International Visegrad Fund is an international organization founded by the governments of the Visegrad region. The Fund facilitates and promotes the development of closer cooperation among V4 countries through grant support of common cultural, scientific and educational projects, youth exchanges and cross-border projects.

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung is a German political foundation. At home as well as abroad, our civic education programs aim at promoting freedom and liberty, peace, and justice. We focus on consolidating democracy, on the unification of Europe and the strengthening of transatlantic relations, as well as on development cooperation.

Aspen Institute Prague is a non-ideological and non-partisan institution for airing new ideas and diverse points of view and provides a venue where all parts of society (public, experts, policy-makers, etc.) can join a neutral discussion on key topics of today. One of goals of the Aspen Prague is also support of talented and motivated young leaders in developing their skills.      Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic