Forty years since Helsinki Final Act and twenty six years since the fall of Iron Curtain we have left the bipolar World behind us, but the multipolar one is still out of reach. 

We face an interim period which could last quite long. We face international institutions still to be reformed to fit in the new World. And in this period we also observe relativization of a transparent and predictable international order as we know and as we prefer it.

Globalisation tests the concept of borders as a line of defense of our way of life. At the same time, it has brought the issue of dignity of people to the forefront of the global agenda. And there is much bigger competition behind the European Union external borders among governance systems and sets of values.

Is there anything new about all this? Yes, there is. It is a cost and consequences of not doing anything or not doing enough, as the European Union is not the only proactive player. Only too often we have failed to act because we were not sure about the consequences. Or, we were not confident about the right balance between efforts and resources to be mobilised on one side and results it could produce on the other.

Tonight, Štefan Füle will analyze the current state of the European Union and show us the challenges and opportunities for the future.