The Institute of International Relations (IIR) in
Prague
cordially invites you to the conference:
,,Visegrad Group and the
Czech EU-Presidency"
June 5 ­ 6th
, 2008
at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
Loretánské náměstí 5, Praha 1
Opening speech:
Alexander Vondra, Vice Prime Minister for European Affairs, Czech Rep.
Kristóf Forrai, Executive Director of the International Visegrad Fund
Working language: English
The conference is supported by the
International Visegrad Fund
Programme:
Thursday, June 5th
, 2008
12:30 - Registration
13:00­13:30 - Conference Opening
Alexandr Vondra, Vice Prime Minister for European Affairs, Czech Republic
Kristóf Forrai, Director of the International Visegrad Fund
13:30­15.15 - Panel I. French, Slovenian, Swedish and Czech Presidency
Programs: Team Presidency and Differing Priorities
Chair: Petr Drulák (Director of the Institute of International Relations, Prague)
13:30­13:45: Slovenia H. E. Franc But (Ambassador of Slovenia to the Czech
Republic)
13:45­14:00: France H. E. Charles Fries (Ambassador of France to the Czech
Republic)
14:00­14:30: Czech Republic Marek Mora (Deputy Vice Prime Minister for European
Affairs)
14:30­14:45: Sweden H. E. Catherine von Heidenstam (Ambassador of Sweden to the
Czech Republic)
14:45­15:25: Discussion
15:25­15:45 - Coffee Break
15:45­17:45 - Panel II: Regional Cooperation and the EU Presidency: Experiences,
Potential and Limitations
Chair: Martin Dangerfield (Jean Monnet Chair in the European Integration of Central and
East Europe)
15:45­16:05: H. E. Gregor Woschnagg (Former Austrian Ambassador to the EU)
16:05­16:25: Zlatko Sabic (President of the CEEISA, Associate Professor of
International Relations, University of Ljublana) Slovenia's Presidency:
Preliminary Analysis
16:25 ­16:45: An Schrijvers (Ghent University) Closer Cooperation within the
European Union: Experiences from the Benelux.
16:45­17:05: Mats Braun (Institute of International Relations, Prague) Regional
cooperation and EU presidency ­ the case of the Nordic countries
17:05­17:45: Discussion
18:00­21:00 - Glass of wine (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Introduction: Jan Kohout (Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic)
19:00­21:00 - Round Table (Venue: Music Lounge, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, special
invitations only)
Friday, June 6th
, 2008
9:00­11:00 - Panel III: Czech EU-Presidency Priorities from the Perspective of Visegrad
Countries
Chair: Jiří Schneider (Programme Director of the Prague Security Studies Institute, Prague)
9:00­9:20: Jan Karlas, Michal Kořan, Elsa Tulmets (Institute of International
Relations, Prague) Czech EU Presidency in the Light of the Visegrad
Cooperation: Potentials and Limits
9:20­9:40: András Rácz (Hungarian Institute of International Affairs) Priorities of the
Czech EU Presidency from the Hungarian Perspective
9:40­10:00: Leszek Jesień (Polish Institute of International Affairs) Priorities of the
Czech EU Presidency from the Polish Perspective
10:00­10:20: Tomáš Strážay (Slovak Foreign Policy Association) What Contribution
of the V4 to the EÚs Foreign Policy? Tasks for the Czech Presidency
10:20­11:00: Discussion
11:00­11:30 - Coffee Break
11:30­13:30 ­ Expert Roundtable: Visegrad Cooperation during the Czech EU-
Presidency
Chair: Michal Kořan (Research Fellow, Institute of International Relations, Prague)
11:30­12:30:
Czech Republic Jiří Čistecký (Czech Coordinator of the Visegrad
Group, MFA)
Hungary László Máthé (Hungarian Coordinator of the Visegrad Group,
MFA)
Poland Leszek Hensel (Polish Coordinator of the Visegrad Group,
MFA)
Slovakia František Dlhopolček (Slovak Coordinator of the Visegrad
Group, MFA)
12:30­13:30: Discussion
13:30 - Closing of the Conference