Vytautas Magnus University

Discussion: New security challenges for the Central and Eastern Europe

1025

30th of May, 18:00, Lithuanian National Martynas Mažvydas Library (Gedimino av. 51, Vilnius). Discussion will be held in Lithuanian and Polish with interpretation.

In 2019 we are celebrating two important anniversaries – 20 years since Poland joined the NATO and 15 years since Lithuania joined the Alliance. During this period the international environment of these two countries as well as of the whole Central and Eastern Europe has significantly changed. Apart from traditional military threats, new ones have emerged – cybernetic, economic, ecological, terrorism. The international order had been changed as well. Participants of the discussion will try to identify the main challenges and threats for the region, ways to eliminate them, they will also discuss the role of NATO and the EU in providing a secure environment for the region.

Participants:

  • Eitvydas Bajarunas, ambassador at large for hybrid threats, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, former ambassador of Lithuania to Sweden;
  • Rasa Juknevičienė, deputy chair of the Committe of National Security and Defence at the Lithuanian Seimas, head of the Seimas Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, former President of the NATO PA (2018), former Minister of Defence;
  • Grzegorz Poznański, deputy ambassador of Poland to Lithuania, former director of the Security Policy Departament at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, former ambassador of Poland to Estonia, expert on cybersecurity;
  • dr Aleksandra Kuczyńska-Zonik, head of the Baltic Programme at the Institute of Central Europe in Lublin, expert on security and defence policy of the Central-Eastern Europe and post-Soviet area;
  • moderator: dr Andrzej Pukszto, head of the Politology unit, Department of Political Science and Diplomacy, Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas.

Organisers:

Polish Institute in Vilnius, Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Embassy of Poland in Vilnius.  Partners: Lithuanian National Martynas Mažvydas Library, Vilnius institute of political analyses.