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Annual EU Budget Conference 2024 - Looking ahead: the EU budget of the future

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This year's Annual EU Budget Conference, co-organised by the European Commission and the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, focuses on the role of the EU budget in making Europe fit for the future.  

The last years have been marked by far-reaching geopolitical events, emergencies, crises, that have had an impact on the EU’s economy and society, at a time when it is facing the challenges of the green and digital transitions. This new global environment, as well as the enlargement perspective, will determine the Union’s policies in the coming years. In this context, the EU budget will play a central role in achieving our common EU priorities. 

European Commissioner for Budget, Johannes Hahn, and Belgium Minister for European Affairs, Hajda Lahbib, will be joined by a number of high-level speakers to debate on a broad range of topical questions in a lively, open discussion, to which the wider audience will be invited to contribute. 

Key questions will cover: 

  • What should be the main priorities for the next EU budget? 

  • Are the current structure and financing set up of the budget suitable for the challenges we are facing? 

  • How can the EU budget support effectively the EU economy and its industry in a more competitive global environment? 

  • How can the EU budget leverage additional investments in critical technologies? 

  • How to achieve a simpler, more resilient and flexible EU budget? 

Do you want to take part in the discussion?

You can join us in Brussels, or follow us via livestream!

Save the date of 29 April 2024 in your agenda, add this website to your favourites and most of all: register now! Registrations will close on 24 April 8 pm CEST.

You will need EU Login credentials to register: you will be guided to create them in less than 2 minutes, if you don’t have an EU Login account yet. Then, you will be ready to start your registration. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to EC-ANNUAL-BUDG-CONFERENCEatec [dot] europa [dot] eu (EC-ANNUAL-BUDG-CONFERENCE[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) if you encounter any issue.You can also sign up to receive more information and updates on the event. 

26 APRIL 2024
Annual EU Budget Conference 2024 - Agenda

Read more about our policy briefEU budget policy briefs - Lessons for a future-proof EU budget

  • EU budget
  • Monday 29 April 2024, 08:45 - 18:00 (CEST)
  • Brussels, Belgium
  • Live streaming available

Programme

  1. 29 Apr 2024, 08:45 - 09:45 (CEST)
    Security checks, registration and welcome coffee

        

  2. 09:45 - 09:50 (CEST)
    Welcome and introduction
  3. 09:50 - 10:05 (CEST)
    Keynote address: The EU budget- Looking ahead

    Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Budget and Administration, European Commission 

  4. 10:05 - 10:20 (CEST)
    Opening remarks

    Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions, Belgium 

  5. 10:20 - 10:35 (CEST)
    Keynote address: The future of the EU budget is the future of the EU

    Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister, Croatia 

  6. 10:35 - 12:00 (CEST)
    Panel 1: A future proof budget – MFF 2.0

    Paulo Rangel, Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Portugal 

    Enrico Letta, EU Rapporteur on the future of the Single Market, President of the Jacques Delors Institute, Former Prime Minister of Italy   

    Jyrki Katainen, Head of Group of Public Affairs, Nordea. Former Prime Minister of Finland, Former Vice-President of the European Commission for Jobs, Growth, Investment & Competitiveness

    Fredrik Persson, President, BusinessEurope 

    Stéphanie Riso, Director General DG BUDG, European Commission 

    Moderator: 

    Henry Foy, Brussels Bureau Chief, Financial Times

  7. 12:00 - 12:15 (CEST)
    Keynote address: Europe’s path: supporting accession

    Maia Sandu, President, Moldova 

  8. 12:15 - 14:00 (CEST)
    Lunch break
  9. 14:00 - 15:30 (CEST)
    Panel 2: An EU budget for competitiveness

    Nadia Calviño, President, European Investment Bank. Former Deputy Prime Minister of Spain

    Magnus Brunner, Minister of Finance, Austria 

    Christian Sewing, CEO, Deutsche Bank 

    Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director General of DIGITALEUROPE  

    Moderator: 

    Silvia Amaro, TV reporter, CNBC

  10. 15:30 - 15:45 (CEST)
    Keynote address: An EU budget for a global Europe and global challenges

    Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund. Former Vice-President of the European Commission for Budget & HR

  11. 15:45 - 16:00 (CEST)
    Coffee break
  12. 16:00 - 16:15 (CEST)
    Keynote address: Financing strategic EU priorities

    Vincent Van  Peteghem, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, in charge of the Coordination of the Fight against Fraud and the National Lottery, Belgium

  13. 16:15 - 16:30 (CEST)
    Closing fireside chat: A legacy for the future

    Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Budget and Administration, European Commission 

    in conversation with 

    Maria Tadeo, European Correspondent

  14. 16:30 - 18:00 (CEST)
    Networking drinks
  15. 18:00 - 20:00 (CEST)
    Expert-level session organised by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU

    Attendance is restricted to 3 representatives per Member State. Please express your interest in the registration form.

Speakers

Hadja Lahbib
Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions, Belgium
Paulo Rangel
Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Portugal
Vincent Van Peteghem
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, in charge of the Coordination of the Fight against Fraud and in charge of the National Lottery in the Belgian Federal Government
Enrico Letta
EU Rapporteur on the future of the Single Market  
Henry Foy
Brussels Bureau Chief, Financial Times

Practical information

When
Monday 29 April 2024, 08:45 - 18:00 (CEST)
Where
De Gasperi room (Charlemagne building)
Wetstraat 170 Rue de la Loi, 1049 Brussels, Belgium
Livestream
Starts on Monday 29 April 2024, 09:00 (CEST)
Languages
English
Organisers
Directorate-General for Budget
Social media links

Contacts

General contact

Email
EC-ANNUAL-BUDG-CONFERENCEatec [dot] europa [dot] eu

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