Brave New Disorder: The Trumpian Shock to the World and Europe

This high-level event, co-hosted by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, will explore challenges facing Europe and the world amidst President Trump’s return to office, drawing on ECFR’s latest research and insights from distinguished policy-makers, analysts, academics and thought leaders as well as the cultural sector

– , Lisbon time (WEST, UTC+1)
Venue: Auditorium 2, Av. de Berna 45A, 1067-001 Lisbon, Portugal

The return of Donald Trump to the White House has shaken the world and Europe. The United States’ approach to Ukraine, Russia and transatlantic defence cooperation is almost unrecognisable; key trade relationships around the world are managed through tariff wars more than agreements; and there is no restraint by Trump and figures close to him, including Elon Musk and Vice President J.D. Vance, in interfering with the European political, civic and digital space in a bid to promote a lawless and limitless version of freedom of expression.

From the military, to the multilateral, to the digital arena, the Trumpian shock to the systems strikes Europe at its core. It challenges Europe’s security, geopolitical identity and values, and it also exposes a genuine European vulnerability: its propensity to fragmentation and disunity.

How can the EU use the Trumpian shock to strengthen its geopolitical standing, build resilient alliances, boost its security, and rebuild people’s confidence in the European project?

Agenda

Welcome remarks (15:00 – 15:30):

  • Ivan Krastev, Chair, Centre for Liberal Strategies
  • António M. Feijó, President, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

 

Panel I – Trumpian shock to European security (15:30 – 16:30)

  • Camille Grand, Distinguished Policy Fellow, ECFR; former Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment at NATO (2016-22)
  • Jim O’Brien, Former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State
  • Rachel Rizzo, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
  • Nathalie Tocci, Director, Istituto Affari Internazionali

Moderator: Sylvie Kauffman, Editorial Director and Columnist, Le Monde

 

Polling Insights: Is Europe bound to be alone in the Trumpian world? (17:00 – 17:15)

  • Pawel Zerka, Senior Policy Fellow, ECFR

 

Panel II – Trumpian shock to the world (17:15 – 18:00)

  • Monica Hirst, Research fellow, National Institute for Science and Technology Studies in Brazil
  • Carlos Lopes, Former African Union High Representative for Partnerships with Europe and Professor at the Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town
  • Margaret Myers, Director, Asia and Latin America Program, The Inter-American Dialogue

Moderator: Pawel Zerka, Senior Policy Fellow, ECFR

 

Panel III – Trumpian shock to the European sentiment (18:00 – 18:45)

  • Alberto Alemanno, Jean Monnet Professor in EU Law, HEC Paris
  • Ivan Krastev, Chair, Centre for Liberal Strategies
  • Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida, Novelist and essayist

Moderator: Pedro Magalhães, Researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences (ICS), University of Lisbon

 

Concluding Remarks (18:45 – 19:00)

  • Jim O’Brien, Former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State