The annual transatlantic security conference organized by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) has become the leading event in Washington D.C. focused on issues in Central and Eastern Europe. The theme of this year’s CEPA Forum 2017 was “Preserving Atlanticism in a Time of Change,” and was held on September 21-22 in Washington, D.C. The Forum was organized by CEPA in cooperation with the Embassy of Hungary and together with a number of corporate and non-profit supporters, including the Visegrad Fund, Friends of Slovakia (FOS), and American Friends of the Czech Republic. FOS has provided support to the Forum for the past several years. This year, Ivan Korčok, Slovak State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, and Dušan Fischer, Researcher with the Slovak Foreign Policy Assn., were featured speakers.
The two-day conference presented several panels featuring experts and government officials discussing various aspects of transatlantic relations from a variety of perspectives, including those of the U.S., E.U., and the individual countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Day 1 panels held at the historic Willard Hotel examined issues of strengthening the Visegrad Four (V-4), reforming NATO for the 21st Century, highlighting the impacts of U.S.-Russia Relations on Euro-Atlantic Security, examining the war of narratives in the information age, and exploring U.S. and European perspectives on migration and security. The second day of the conference was held at the Meridian International Center and focused on defense and military issues, particularly the threat to its neighbors arising from Russia’s recent actions. This second day of the CEPA Forum was off-the-record.
Dušan Fischer comments at the CEPA Forum (Photo courtesy of CEPA)
