Tuesday, 23 January
13:30-15:30
Radisson Red Hotel
When it comes to calling out rule of law violations, Brussels’ double standards have become painfully apparent in the last few months.
The silence over what’s happening in Spain puts the relentless—and politically charged—harassment over the past decade of the Hungarian and Polish governments into perspective. Hundreds of thousands have been protesting the socialist Spanish government’s proposed amnesty deal with Catalan separatists—a deal that would violate the country’s constitutional order. Yet Brussels has done next to nothing to stop it.
At this event, we’ll bring together lawmakers and experts to ‘decode’ the situation in Spain, in light of a broader discussion about the Rule of Law and its often obscure implications on EU dynamics.
We’ll also touch on the examples of Hungary, which is threatened with yet another infringement procedure which would prevent it from exercising its rights under the EU treaties, and Poland, whose new left-wing government (under the life-long Eurocrat Donald Tusk) has begun purging contrarian / dissident voices from the media—but receives only cheers and encouragement from Brussels.
- What does the Rule of Law truly entail?
- Where does ‘law’ end and ‘politics’ begin, and where is the place of ‘values’ in all of this?
- What does Spain tell us about the functioning of the European Union?
- And why does the EU seem to exaggerate one ‘offence’ but remain willfully blind to another?
Entry is free but registration is compulsory.
Register here.
PROGRAMME
13:15-13:30 Arrivals & Registration
13:30-14:30 Panel Discussion
14:30-15:30 Lunch Reception
MEET THE SPEAKERS
Mr. Zdzisław Marek Krasnodębski is an acclaimed Polish sociologist and social philosopher who has taught at many renowned higher education institutions across Europe, including the universities of Warsaw, Kassel, and Bremen, as well as at the Catholic University of America and Columbia University in the U.S. Prof. Krasnodębski is also a prolific writer and well-known public speaker, and has had a long-standing career in politics—both domestically, becoming a member of the Law and Justice Party in 2014, and on the European level, as an MEP since 2014. He has also served as the Vice President of the European Parliament. He is currently a member of the Bureau of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group.
Mr. László Trócsányi is a distinguished Hungarian lawyer, academic, diplomat, politician, and since 2019, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Formerly, he served as Hungarian Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg from 2000 to 2004, and as a Justice of the Constitutional Court of Hungary between 2007 and 2010. He was appointed Hungarian Ambassador to France in 2010 and served in that role until 2014, when he continued as Minister of Justice in the third and fourth Orbán cabinets (until 2019). Amb. Trócsányi has also been a guest professor and guest lecturer at several French universities, and since February 2022, has served as the Rector of the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary.
Mr. Javier Villamor holds a double degree in Journalism and Audiovisual Communication from CEU San Pablo University in Madrid. He has more than 15 years of experience, and has specialised in international politics and conflicts. He has extensive experience in Spain, Germany, France, UK, U.S., and Canada, and has collaborated as an analyst, policy advisor, and consultant. He is currently the EU and NATO correspondent for El Debate / The Debate in Brussels.
