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Annual EU Budget Conference 2022 by Directorate-General for Budget, European Commission

The unprovoked and unjustified Russian invasion of Ukraine shook the European security architecture to its foundations and prompted an urgent reassessment of Europe's geopolitical role. It also revealed weaknesses resulting from the EU's energy dependence. Addressing these challenges requires a robust financial response and a forward-looking vision at global and European level.

This year's Annual EU Budget Conference focuses on the role of the EU budget in supporting Europe's geopolitical role and building up its strategic autonomy.

High-level speakers - European and global policymakers, researchers, representatives of think tanks, civil society and businesses leaders - will debate on a broad range of topical questions in a lively, open and inclusive discussion, to which the wider audience will be invited to contribute.

To honour the European Year of Youth, young people will also participate and present their vision on how to build Europe's strategic autonomy and strengthen its geopolitical role.

Key questions will cover:

How does the EU budget help us face global challenges while continuing to support the economic recovery?
The Russian invasion prompted some EU countries to scale up national defence spending. What is the role for the EU budget in this new environment?
How does Europe finance its needs for energy and the green transition? Are the funds planned to date sufficient?
Is the EU budget up to the task of creating a geopolitical and strategically autonomous Europe?
How do young people perceive the future of the EU budget in the new geopolitical context?

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5 OCTOBER 2022

Annual EU Budget Conference 2022 - Agenda

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5 OCTOBER 2022

Annual EU Budget Conference 2022 - Speakers

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The Annual EU Budget Conference is actively participating in the European Year of Youth by paying special attention to youth engagement during the conference.

EU budget | budget policy | EU investment
10 October 2022, 09:40 CEST - 10 October 2022, 16:15 CEST
Brussels, Belgium
Live streaming available

Programme

10 Oct 2022,
09:40 AM - 09:50 AM CEST
Welcome remarks
Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Budget and Administration, European Commission
09:50 AM - 10:00 AM CEST
Keynote address: The EU budget - financing today the Europe of tomorrow
Ursula von der Leyen, President, European Commission (video message)
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM CEST
FIRST THEMATIC DEBATE
Investing in deterrence – a budget for security and defence
Moderator: Paola Tamma, Reporter, Politico
Panellists:
Rasa Juknevičienė, MEP, Vice-chair Subcommittee on Security and Defence, European Parliament
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market, European Commission
Alessandro Profumo, CEO, Leonardo
Mircea Geoană, Deputy Secretary General, NATO
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM CEST
SECOND THEMATIC DEBATE
Investing in energy security and independence – trade-off or synergy with the green transition?
Moderator: Thomas Pellerin-Carlin, Director, EU Programme, Institute for Climate Economics (I4CE)
Panellists:
Tinne Van der Straeten, Minister of Energy, Belgium
Gert Jan Koopman, Director-General for Budget, European Commission
Michala Marcussen, Group Chief Economist and Head of Economic and Sector Research, Société Générale
Tim Gould, Chief Energy Economist, International Energy Agency
02:15 PM - 02:30 PM CEST
TED-STYLE TALK: "Financing EU strategic autonomy"
Alexander Stubb, Director, School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute
02:30 PM - 03:45 PM CEST
THIRD THEMATIC DEBATE
An EU budget for a geopolitical Europe
Moderator: Maria Tadeo, Europe reporter, Bloomberg
Introductory speech: Zbyněk Stanjura, Minister of Finance, Czechia
Panellists:
Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Budget and Administration, European Commission
Sigrid Kaag, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Netherlands
Monika Hohlmeier, MEP, Chair Committee on Budgetary Control, European Parliament
Odile Renaud-Basso, President, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Arancha González Laya, Dean, Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po Paris
03:45 PM - 03:55 PM CEST
Keynote speech: A budget for Europe in a new geopolitical environment
Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister, Croatia
03:55 PM - 04:10 PM CEST
Looking to the future – youth perspectives
Commissioner Johannes Hahn in conversation with Gianna Zoukidou, Human Rights Officer working for the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and Alexandre Romanenko, Student at the Sorbonne University in Paris
04:10 PM - 04:15 PM CEST
Closing remarks
Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Budget and Administration, European Commission