{"id":13488,"date":"2016-12-07T11:20:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-07T10:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/?p=13488"},"modified":"2022-08-24T11:28:51","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T09:28:51","slug":"dialogue-on-europe-goes-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/","title":{"rendered":"Dialogue On Europe goes East!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>Exactly one year after launching DIALOGUE ON EUROPE, a further bilateral half-day #TownHallMeeting was organized \u2013 this time in Warsaw. On December 7 th , representatives of academia, civil society and culture from Germany and Poland followed our invitation to discuss possible future scenarios for Europe. Open discussions fed directly into a live conversation about the challenges of European integration and Polish-German relations with&nbsp;Michael Roth, German Minister of State for Europe.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cornelius Ochmann, Director of the Foundation for Polish-German Co-operation, and Tobias D\u00fcrr, Chairman of Das Progressive Zentrum opened the event: The relevance of a well-connected and active civil society for sustainable and successful European integration was their shared message highlighting the reasons behind organizing open Town-Hall- Meetings around Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first keynote speech was delivered by <strong>Jochen Roose<\/strong>, professor at the Willy Brandt Center for German and European Studies in Wroclaw, who shared his ideas for bringing Europe together again. He presented a framework for possible solutions to overcome current political and institutional crises in Europe: a shared vision of Europe, embodied in European citizenship and European solidarity; rebuilding civic trust in European institutions and political mechanisms and launching a transnational discourse on European political and social issues. By building up common knowledge on European challenges and opportunities the civil society could develop a new, constructive understanding of the European Community. Building on this perspective, <strong>Katarzyna Kozyra<\/strong>, sculptor and performance artist, founder of the Kozyra Foundation for supporting female artists and artistic activities in the public sphere, elaborated on the role of culture and art for European integration and a unified transnational civil society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cWhat\u2019s next, Europe?\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Following, three parallel panel discussions focused on the <strong>role of culture<\/strong> in modern societies, the <strong>future organization of Europe<\/strong> and <strong>Polish-German relations<\/strong>. In exchange with experts such as <strong>Christoph Bartmann<\/strong>, Director of Goethe Institute in Warsaw, and <strong>Katarzyna M\u0142y\u0144czak-Sachs<\/strong>, international relations manager of Wroclaw 2016 European Capital of Culture, the participants of the \u201cCulture in Dialogue with Politics and Society\u201d panel discussed how to reconcile national cultures with the European one and whether artists could mediate this challenging relation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conclusion: before discussing the role of culture in politics and society, a clear distinction between culture and art is necessary. Culture is something societal, whereas art is purist, aesthetic. Unless they are outspokenly political, artists don\u2019t consider whether they contribute to European identity or not. Free, underground art is not promoting political issues. National agendas often speak for governments or just promote cultural products. Meanwhile, art or culture should always be transnational \u2013 otherwise, they can\u2019t be art or culture. In that sense, fostering international culture cooperation means that working with partners to create something transnational does not directly translate into promoting the culture of a country or exhibiting products. Culture is a mixture of the universal and the specific, if there are too many regional aspects, people won\u2019t understand it, especially when the key tool of promoting country cultures are national languages. Additionally, a dilemma of financing culture and independence of artist arises. Does being a \u201cgrant-eater\u201d mean that artists become agencies of certain interests? What if there are attempts to use art as a propaganda tool by politicians? A solution might be to rely on more than a single financial source. Recommendations arising from the discussion were very clear: they suggested securing the autonomy of the cultural sector and introducing more international cultural exchange, cultural education and financial incentives for launching culture activities at the local level, in peripheral areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second panel featured <strong>Barbara Nowacka<\/strong>, a progressive politician and leader of a feminist protest movement and <strong>Marcin K\u0119dzierski<\/strong> from the&nbsp;Centre of Analysis of the&nbsp;Jagiellonian Club, a republican Think-Tank from Cracow. <strong>Gavin Rae<\/strong>, professor at the Kozminski University, joined their search for potential European game changers, which could reform the current course of European politics. The discussion revealed that people still fight for values which emerged during The French Revolution in 1789: liberty, equality, solidarity. The economic crisis that started in 2008 had long-term consequences, hitting the centre of the world economy, which triggered the rise of nationalism and populism in the core countries of the EU. Nation states are not as strong as they used to be in the past, the elites lost their credibility. Main political parties had very similar solutions to the economic problems and as a result, traditional division between the left and the right seemed to be less and less adequate as an explanatory tool for describing party systems. Meanwhile, the citizens in the EU want changes. On the one hand, there seems to be rising an important \u201cgame changer\u201d: a group of young women in Poland initiated Black Protests defending their reproductive rights, in Austria predominantly young women voted against the FP\u00d6 presidential candidate, Norbert Hofer. Brexit, on the other hand, was also a \u201cgame changer\u201d, but a negative one: votes supporting it were cast in favour of the political forces which opposed the ruling elites. The problem was, however, that fake news were accepted widely and the post-truth politics became a mainstream trend. Thus, a new paradigm in analysing the problem emerged: perhaps new rules of the game are needed, not the game changers only?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Polish-German relations were the topic of the third discussion: Together with the audience, <strong>Kai-Olaf Lang<\/strong>, (The German Institute for International and Security Affairs \u2013 Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik), <strong>Piotr Buras<\/strong> (European Council for Foreign Relations), <strong>Irene Hahn-Fuhr<\/strong> (Heinrich-B\u00f6ll- Stiftung), and <strong>Sebastian P\u0142\u00f3ciennik<\/strong> (Polish Institute of International Affairs) developed ideas on how to improve bilateral exchange and turn the German-Polish neighbourhood into a role model across Europe. Times are challenging for Polish-German relations. Not only Eurosceptic sentiments and growing nationalism have a negative impact, but also polarization within the societies matter. Many issues from the past have not yet been solved. Contradicting narratives are often used in political discussions, there still exist many negative stereotypes on cultural differences on both sides. Significant differences persist in economic potential of both countries: Poland pursues a low-cost economic paradigm, allowing technological asymmetry to grow. There are no significant strategic investments uniting both countries in a joint endeavour. However, despite those problems, Germany has historically been the major partner in the West for Poland. There still are differences of opinion among both countries that deserve some attention, but conflicts are inevitable and can have a positive function if led in a constructive way. Governments come and go \u2013 societies stay. The interlinkages between the Poles and the Germans work independently. Through closer economic cooperation and joint scientific and educational projects, future mutual relations could not only be maintained but also improved, if only a more pragmatic approach would be adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Debating the future of the European Union with Michael Roth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Michael Roth joined the event for an open debate with the audience. Katarzyna Mirecka, junior economist at the Center for Social and Economic Research, Przemys\u0142aw Potocki, co-founder of the Igrancy Daszy\u0144ski Center and Aleksandra \u017bebowska, employee of the Ko\u017ami\u0144ski University, agreed to be the rapporteurs for each panel, briefing German Minister of State for Europe on the details of all three discussions. Engaging in a discussion with the audience, Roth stressed that what Europe\u2019s future will look like is not a question only for politicians and the usual suspects. The dialogue about Europe\u2019s prospects must to a greater extent be conducted outside EU headquarters and conference centres. All representatives of civil society should be involved. He looked forward to enthusiastic and vivid debates among committed Europeans in Warsaw. Next, the event was closed by a concluding speech delivered by Janusz Reiter, former ambassador of Poland in Germany and the founder of the Centre for International Relations, leaving the participants with even more food for thought that evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The #EuropeanTownHall Meeting in Warsaw was organized with the support of the German Federal Foreign Office in cooperation with Bundesnetzwerk B\u00fcrgerschaftliches Engagement, Krytyka Polityczna and Centrum Stosunk\u00f3w Mi\u0119dzynarodowych, with friendly support of the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation. The agenda of the event can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/THMWarszawa7.12-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/20161207_253.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"13494\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/20161207_253.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13494\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/20161207_1366.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-id=\"13490\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/20161207_1366.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13490\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"13496\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13496\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"13501\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13501\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-7.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"13502\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13502\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-9.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"13499\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13499\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-14.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-id=\"13495\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-14.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13495\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-30.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"13498\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-30.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13498\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-44.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"13497\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-44.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13497\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-48.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"13493\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-48.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13493\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-80.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"13491\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-80.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13491\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-100.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"13503\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-100.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13503\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-103.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"13492\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-103.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13492\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-106.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"13504\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-106.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13504\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-107-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-id=\"13505\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-107-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13505\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-119.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"13500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-119.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13500\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-125.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-id=\"13506\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/DPZ-125.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13506\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption\">Photos: Jerzy Dziedziczak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Authors<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"person-item person-view-author\"><div class=\"person-info-wrapper\"><div class=\"person-thumbnail\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/person\/dr-maria-skora\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Maria-Skora_gross_Das-Progressive-Zentrum_Capital-Headshots-Berlin-1-1024x681-1-600x600.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" \/><\/a><\/div><h4 class=\"person-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/person\/dr-maria-skora\/\">Dr. Maria Sk\u00f3ra<\/a><\/h4><div class=\"person-position\">Policy Fellow<\/div><div class=\"person-social\"><a class=\"person-twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mariaskora\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><svg class=\"icon icon-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"img\"> <use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/themes\/dpz\/assets\/images\/svg-icons2.svg#icon-twitter\"><\/use> <\/svg><\/a> <\/div><!-- .person-social --><\/div><!-- .person-info-wrapper --><div class=\"person-excerpt\">Maria Sk\u00f3ra is a policy fellow at Das Progressive Zentrum. Previously, she was Research Associate at the Institut f\u00fcr Europ\u00e4ische Politik and head of the International Dialogue program at Das Progressive Zentrum.<\/div><\/div><!-- .person-item -->\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light alignfull\" style=\"min-height:50px;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-light-grey-background-color has-background-dim-100 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-cover-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Further articles<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"news-items-wrapper news-view-normal news-count-3\">  <div class=\"news-item\"><div class=\"news-thumbnail\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/buried-villages-fragile-democracies-coal-community-and-the-unsteady-politics-of-the-climate-transition\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/dominik-vanyi-Mk2ls9UBO2E-unsplash-768x512.jpg\" class=\"attachment-dpz-blog-thumbnail size-dpz-blog-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"A wide-angle, high-perspective photograph of a vast open-pit mining operation. Multiple pieces of heavy industrial machinery are active across tiered dirt terraces, including large yellow haul trucks and hydraulic excavators in yellow and orange. The scene captures the scale of resource extraction, with steep, excavated rock walls in the background and a dusty, industrial atmosphere.\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"news-info-wrapper\"><h4 class=\"news-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/buried-villages-fragile-democracies-coal-community-and-the-unsteady-politics-of-the-climate-transition\/\">Buried Villages, Fragile Democracies: Coal, Community, and the Unsteady Politics of the Climate Transition<\/a><\/h4><div class=\"news-date\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Posted on<\/span> <time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-03-26T12:16:48+01:00\">26. March 2026<\/time><time class=\"updated\" datetime=\"2026-03-26T12:18:08+01:00\">26. March 2026<\/time><\/div><div class=\"news-content\">The transition away from fossil fuels is as much about democratic resilience as it is about energy. Steve Patterson explores the \u201cpolitical whiplash\u201d of shifting national policies and the enduring struggle to protect community heritage from the erosion of both physical landscapes and institutional norms.<\/div><div class=\"news-authors\"><a class=\"news-author-item\" href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/person\/steve-patterson\/\">Steve Patterson<\/a><\/div><div class=\"news-category\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/kategorie\/debate\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Debate<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/kategorie\/projektbericht\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Project Report<\/a><\/div><\/div><!-- .class=\"news-info-wrapper --><\/div>  <div class=\"news-item\"><div class=\"news-thumbnail\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/how-can-the-new-special-fund-and-the-reform-of-the-debt-brake-achieve-optimal-effectiveness\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/250917_dpz_titelbild_jakob-von-weizsacker-768x512.jpg\" class=\"attachment-dpz-blog-thumbnail size-dpz-blog-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"news-info-wrapper\"><h4 class=\"news-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/how-can-the-new-special-fund-and-the-reform-of-the-debt-brake-achieve-optimal-effectiveness\/\">How can the new special fund and the reform of the debt brake achieve optimal effectiveness?<\/a><\/h4><div class=\"news-date\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Posted on<\/span> <time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-04-03T10:21:45+02:00\">3. April 2025<\/time><time class=\"updated\" datetime=\"2025-09-17T10:33:04+02:00\">17. September 2025<\/time><\/div><div class=\"news-content\">The CDU\/CSU and SPD parties have reached an agreement in the exploratory talks at a remarkable speed to create a special fund for infrastructure and to provide a far-reaching opportunity to increase defense spending beyond the limits of the debt brake. How should these proposals be assessed? What needs to be considered for the sustainable success of this modernization agenda? These questions were discussed on March 7, 2025, in a background roundtable with experts.<\/div><div class=\"news-authors\"><a class=\"news-author-item\" href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/person\/sebastian-pieper\/\">Sebastian Pieper<\/a><\/div><div class=\"news-category\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/kategorie\/veranstaltungsbericht\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Event Report<\/a><\/div><\/div><!-- .class=\"news-info-wrapper --><\/div>  <div class=\"news-item\"><div class=\"news-thumbnail\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/friedrich-merz-shattered-a-political-taboo-this-is-a-chance-for-the-centre-left\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/250211_dpz_slider_florian-ranft-for-the-guardian_c-epa-images-768x512.jpg\" class=\"attachment-dpz-blog-thumbnail size-dpz-blog-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Slider: Coverpicture for the article of florian ranft in the Guardian\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" \/><\/a><\/div><div class=\"news-info-wrapper\"><h4 class=\"news-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/friedrich-merz-shattered-a-political-taboo-this-is-a-chance-for-the-centre-left\/\">Friedrich Merz shattered a political taboo. This is a chance for the centre-left in Germany<\/a><\/h4><div class=\"news-date\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Posted on<\/span> <time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-02-11T15:51:27+01:00\">11. February 2025<\/time><time class=\"updated\" datetime=\"2025-05-09T16:38:17+02:00\">9. May 2025<\/time><\/div><div class=\"news-content\">Progressive parties swiftly need to turn the dial, Florian Ranft states in The Guardian. The attention needs to be moved from simply despising the enemies of democracy to what people really expect.<\/div><div class=\"news-authors\"><a class=\"news-author-item\" href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/person\/dr-florian-ranft\/\">Florian Ranft<\/a><\/div><div class=\"news-category\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/kategorie\/wir-in-den-medien\/\" rel=\"category tag\">In the Media<\/a><\/div><\/div><!-- .class=\"news-info-wrapper --><\/div> <\/div><!-- .news-wrapper -->\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/blogs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">To the blog<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>#EuropeanTownHall Meeting in Warsaw<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":13489,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[413,309,353,136],"class_list":["post-13488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-veranstaltungsbericht","tag-dialogue-on-europe","tag-eu","tag-polen","tag-liberale-demokratie"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Dialogue On Europe goes East! - Das Progressive Zentrum - EN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dialogue On Europe goes East!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"#EuropeanTownHall Meeting in Warsaw\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Das Progressive Zentrum - EN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-12-07T10:20:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-24T09:28:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/THM_Warschau_DoE-1024x576-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tnicolaus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tnicolaus\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/\",\"name\":\"Dialogue On Europe goes East! - Das Progressive Zentrum - EN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/THM_Warschau_DoE-1024x576-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-07T10:20:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-24T09:28:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/9717a409f2633977ae24290923017495\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/THM_Warschau_DoE-1024x576-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/THM_Warschau_DoE-1024x576-1.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":576},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Dialogue On Europe goes East!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Das Progressive Zentrum - EN\",\"description\":\"Renewing the Promise of Progress.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/9717a409f2633977ae24290923017495\",\"name\":\"tnicolaus\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0b3236244f4696fc8f8aeae916954fa2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0b3236244f4696fc8f8aeae916954fa2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"tnicolaus\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/author\/tnicolaus\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dialogue On Europe goes East! - Das Progressive Zentrum - EN","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dialogue On Europe goes East!","og_description":"#EuropeanTownHall Meeting in Warsaw","og_url":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/","og_site_name":"Das Progressive Zentrum - EN","article_published_time":"2016-12-07T10:20:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-24T09:28:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":576,"url":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/THM_Warschau_DoE-1024x576-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"tnicolaus","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"tnicolaus","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/","url":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/","name":"Dialogue On Europe goes East! - Das Progressive Zentrum - EN","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/THM_Warschau_DoE-1024x576-1.jpg","datePublished":"2016-12-07T10:20:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-24T09:28:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/9717a409f2633977ae24290923017495"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/THM_Warschau_DoE-1024x576-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/THM_Warschau_DoE-1024x576-1.jpg","width":1024,"height":576},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/dialogue-on-europe-goes-east\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Dialogue On Europe goes East!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/","name":"Das Progressive Zentrum - EN","description":"Renewing the Promise of Progress.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/9717a409f2633977ae24290923017495","name":"tnicolaus","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0b3236244f4696fc8f8aeae916954fa2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0b3236244f4696fc8f8aeae916954fa2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"tnicolaus"},"url":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/author\/tnicolaus\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13488"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13509,"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13488\/revisions\/13509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}