Public discussion: “Eastern Partnership One Year After Riga: Where Next? Insights from Latvia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine”, September 21, Riga Graduate School of Law.
The Riga Eastern Partnership summit that took place more than one year ago reconfirmed the importance of the Eastern Partnership as an initiative for closer engagement between the European Union and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine and for supporting reforms in the partner countries. It also introduced several important novelties, such as greater differentiation in the EU’s approach to the six neighbours and strengthening security dialogue.
In preparation for the next Eastern Partnership summit scheduled for 2017, it was a good time to start the discussion on relevant topics.
Public lecture by Dr. Daniel Hamilton: “The State of Transatlantic Relations and the Possible Impact of US Presidential Elections”, September 22, The Stockholm School of Economics.
US foreign policy is about to witness a significant change as President Obama’s term expires in the late fall this year. The arrival of a newly elected President will most probably have a considerable impact on US attitude towards Transatlantic cooperation both in economic and security matters, with the latter being particularly important for the Baltic States. Through this lecture, Dr. Hamilton was focusing on chances of the candidates and implications of their victories for Transatlantic and European economic and security agenda.
The video is also available.
Launch of publication “Euro scepticism in Small EU Member States”, October 6, the EU House.
A series of possible breaking points that destabilize the European house have emerged: the economic imbalances, the questioning of common European values, even the suspension of the rule of law and, not least, rising nationalism. The main event questions were – How Latvia sees the future after twelve years of EU membership? What mood is observed in other small EU Member States? And is there a reason to talk about the collapse of the EU?
Regional discussion with members of all factions of the Saeima (Parliament of the Republic of Latvia): “United States presidential election, 2016. Impact on Latvia”, October 14, Daugavpils University
Discussion: “The Baltic States – An Energy Island or Energy Peninsula in the European Union?”, October 17, Hotel Bergs )
Since the reestablishment of their independence, the Baltic States have been seen as an energy island in the EU. We were looking for answers to a list of questions. How can the current progress in connecting the energy grids assessed? Do the connections with Finland, Sweden and Poland provide the minimum necessary power amount, and what should be the further development perspectives? How could the future natural gas markets and infrastructure evolve given the already existing LNG terminal and issues with the market liberalization?
The video is also available.
A Think Tank International Forum of China and Central and Eastern European Countries, one of the side events of the 5th Meeting of China – Central and Eastern European Countries Heads of Governments, November 4, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia.
The presentation of the first volume – “Latvia’s Foreign Policy Centenary: Ideas and Personalities” – and the public discussion “Modern Latvia’s Meierovici? The Key Ideas and Personalities in Latvia’s Foreign Policy” took a place on November 17, 2016. In 2016, in the framework of the project Latvia’s Foreign Policy Centenary the Latvian Institute of International Affairs created the first of the three planned book volumes – it is dedicated to the key ideas and personalities in the hundred years of independent Latvia’s foreign policy. This book, integrating a broad outlook on the development of Latvia’s foreign policy ideas with a review of key personalities, is the first such volume in Latvia.
Trilogy comprised by this first volume as well as planned volumes on key centenary events (2017) and modern Latvia’s foreign policy (2018) will strengthen knowledge and understanding on Latvia in the international environment, showing broader tendencies and demonstrating links between various periods in the development of Latvia’s foreign policy thinking.
The video is also available.
Public discussion and presentation of the book “The Baltic Sea Region: Hard and Soft Security Reconsidered”, November 22, Hotel Bergs
The Baltic Sea region has experienced profound alterations since the Cold War, and the region’s course of evolution is likely to continue as such. The book “The Baltic Sea Region: Hard and Soft Security Reconsidered” provides a collection of opinions that assess the current situation both in the military as well as non-military fields, with a particular focus on the aftermath of the 2016 NATO Warsaw summit and the state of the play of the regional infrastructure interconnections.
The video is also available.