Opening of the conference.

 

Trivimi Velliste

ESTONIA

 

Chairman of the Pro Patria Institute and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Trivimi Velliste is one of the founders of the heritage protection movement and Estonian Citizens’ Committees Movement. He was the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Estonia for 1992–1994, the ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to the UN for 1994–1998. Velliste was a member of the defence commission in the Riigikogu and one of the leaders of the Baltic Assembly, and Chairman of the parliament’s National Heritage union for 1999–2011. Velliste is the chairman or honorary chairman of many associations. Ambassador Velliste is currently involved in the Estonian War Museum and is one of the leaders of the Patarei Sea Fortress development project.

 

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Values versus real policy: Possibilities of the centre-right parties to influence European policy

 

Tunne Kelam

ESTONIA

 

Member of the European Parliament Tunne Kelam graduated from Tartu University as a historian (1959). By the end of the 1980s he had become one of the leading advocates for the restoration of independence in Estonian society. He was founder and member of the executive of the Estonian National Independence Party (1988–1995), the first registered non-communist political party in the USSR. In 1992, he was elected chairman of the Congress of Estonia, the alternative parliament that confronted the puppet Supreme Soviet. He has been a member of the Estonian Parliament (1992–2004), and since 2004 Tunne Kelam has been a member of the European Parliament (EPP) Group. He is a member of the Foreign Affairs committee, subcommittee of Security and Defence. Tunne Kelam is one of the initiators of the European Parliament’s resolution on Euro-pean Conscience and Totalitarianism (2009) and the EU report on Cyber Security and Defence.

 

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Common foreign, security and defence policy

The future of European common foreign, security and defence policy. US and EU relations after last US presidential elections

 

Matthew Crandall

born in the USA

 

Matthew Crandall is an associate professor of International Relations at Tallinn University where he also defended his PhD (2016). He completed a master’s degree in EU-Russian Studies from the University of Tartu (2010) and a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University in Political Science (2007). He has published in Contemporary Security Policy, Defence Studies, and East European Politics, and his major field of research is small state foreign and security policies. Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe.

 

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What are Estonia’s opportunities at a time when Europe and the US are moving apart?

 

Erkki Bahovski

ESTONIA

 

Erkki Bahovski is an Estonian journalist, public relations professional and translator. He graduated from the University of Tartu in 1999 as a historian. Until autumn 2008 he worked as a journalist for the newspaper Postimees, then as a press representative of the European Commission Representation in Estonia. Since November 2014 he is the editor-in-chief of the magazine Diplomaatia. Postimees declared him the Opinion Leader of the Year in 2009. In 2010 he was awarded the Order of the White Star, Fifth Class.

 

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Western and Russian relations, does it get worse?

 

Andrei Kuzitškin

ESTONIA

 

Andrei Kuzitškin is a Russian politician and state figure, since 2014 a political refugee in Estonia. He graduated from the Tomsk State University in 1981 and 1997 with degrees in biology and international relations. In 1998 he studied in the Fojo Media Institute in Sweden. In 1994–1996 he was a member of the staff of the Russian Democratic Choice Party. In 1996–2012 he held various positions in the Tomsk Oblast Administration. In 1998 he joined the Union of Right Forces and edited the party’s newspaper. In 2012 he led the Department of Fine Arts of the Tomsk Business Institute. In 2012–2014 he was a lecturer in the Innovation Technologies Faculty of the Tomsk State University for Management Systems and Radio Electronics. In spring 2014. Kuzitškin applied for political asylum in Estonia for systematic persecution by the FSB. The Republic of Estonia granted him asylum in August 2014.

Kuzitškin’s career suffered from a scandal after the publication of a translation of the Krishnaites’ holy book “Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is” in Tomsk in 2011. The FSB found that the book promoted extremism. Kuzitškin was removed from his job in the Tomsk Oblast Administration on criminal charges.

 

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Panel discussion chaired by

 

Mari-Ann Kelam

ESTONIA

 

Born in Germany in an Estonian war refugee camp. Her family moved to the US where Mari-Ann was educated and lived until the restoration of independence in Estonia. In the 1980s she was a member and vice president of the central organisation of the US Estonian community, organised support for the independence efforts of the Baltic countries and communicated information on Estonia to the Western public. 1990–1992 Delegate to the Congress of Estonia and member of the Committee of Estonia. In 1993 she returned to Estonia permanently and worked as the press representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She is a member of the Estonian National Independence Party and has been the foreign secretary of the party. Member of the 9th and 11th compositions of the Riigikogu. She has been awarded the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 4th class, and the Canadian Estonians decoration.

 

          

 

 

Sovereignty and cooperation ‘European way of life’.

Globalisation, democracy and national sovereignty.

 

Urmas Reinsalu

ESTONIA

 

Urmas Reinsalu is an Estonian politician, Minister of Justice since 9 April 2015 (in the second government led by Taavi Rõivas until 23 November 2016 and from then on in the Jüri Ratas government).  He is a former member of the Riigikogu and former Defence Minister. Chairman of the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union from 28 January 2012 to 6 June 2015. Member of the Res Publica Union since 1992 and of the Res Publica Party since 2001, and of the IRL after the merger of Res Publica with Pro Patria Union.

 

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Purpose of Hope and Society of Well-Doing.

 

Jari Olavi Ehrnrooth, PhD

FINLAND

 

Ehrnrooth is a Finnish writer and cultural researcher. He has published novels, essays, scientific studies, free prose and information works from various fields. His works have been translated into different languages. Ehrnrooth graduated as a Bachelor of Philosophy in 1988 and Licensed in 1989 from the University of Joensuu. He defended his doctorate in political science from the University of Helsinki in 1992. He has worked at the Academy of Finland research assistant (1990–1992), a junior researcher (1995–1998), a senior researcher (2000–2003) and Academy Research Fellow (2004–2009), as well as a researcher at the University of Helsinki Department of Sociology (1992–1995, 1998–2000 and 2003–2004). Ehrnrooth is a docent of cultural sociology at the University of Lapland (1993–), docent of cultural history at the University of Turku (1996–) and Docent of Sociology at the University of Helsinki (1999–…).

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What does the notion of sovereignty stand for in the twenty-first century?

 

Mantas Adomenas, PhD

LITHUANIA

 

Mantas Adome˙ nas, Member of the Parliament (Lithuania), is a Lithuanian philosopher and political activist. In 2000 he defended the doctoral dissertation “Nature in Flux: Plato’s Reception of Presocratic Cosmological Theories” in the University of Cambridge (UK). He was elected to the Seimas in 2008 and 2012. He was designated as the Vice Chairman of the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats in 2017.

 

 

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Panel discussion chaired bymedia expert

 

Mart Luik

ESTONIA

 

Mart Luik is an Estonian journalist, TV host and media manager. He is the vice chairman of the Tallinn City Council. He studied in Tallinn Secondary School No. 2 and obtained degrees in journalism and public relations from the University of Tartu. He is currently a master student of media management in the University of Cumbria. In early September 2017 he left the Tegus Tallinn election coalition and became the first candidate for IRL in the Haabersti City district.

 

 

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Conclusions

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The EU has weathered the financial crisis but continues to face a host of challenges: its role in international politics, the scope of security and defence cooperation, the question of how to redefine the concept of ‘sovereignty’, the societal impact of technological disruption and migration, and the general anxiety among the EU’s population in relation to globalisation. In this context it is important for the EU to remain confident in itself and its sense of identity.

Wolfgang Schüssel,

Chancellor of Austria from February 2000-January 2007

 

European way of life’. This, by the way, is what we should propose as a campaign slogan for the 2019 elections to the European Parliament.

Wolfgang Schüssel,

 Chancellor of Austria from February 2000-January

 

Before repatriating our voters we should repatriate our ideological agenda, reclaim it and project it forcefully. Centre-right parties have to stay the course, defend liberal values, respond to the challenges based on our own ideological arsenal. We can be patriotic without being nationalistic, we can defend freedom and human rights as well as law and order with equal conviction.

Constatin Arvanitopoulus,

 former Minister of Education in Greece

 

Dear friend!

To build Europe on a firm foundation, common economic interests are not nearly enough. We have to build our activities on true values stemming from the universal moral laws that have been written into the heart of every person. A Europe trading these basic values for ethic indifference and scepticism exposes itself to enormous risks, and will see the most dreadful spooks of its past appear again in a new form, sooner or later. The role of Christianity is inevitable in order to avoid this danger. Robert Schuman, one of the founders of European unity, has said that democracy will either be Christian or it will not be. We wish you meaningful discussions and inspiring ideas!

 MEPTunne Kelam.

 

 

 

Pro Patria Institute in co-operaton with the EPP Group at the European Parliament and Kultuuriselts Hirvepark.  Hosted by MEP Tunne Kelam.