The Friends of European Russia Forum cordially invites you to the online discussion focusing on the Parliamentary Dimension of the EU’s Russia policy, the European launching event of the Czech informal platform “Friends of Free Russia”.
The European Parliament has recently called for a deep revision of the EU strategy towards Russia. Similarly, the Czech Senate has in its latest resolution on Russia condemned the brutality of the Putin´s regime and called for the European solidarity and cooperation, including when imposing additional sanctions on Putin´s regime. This will also be the focus of the Heads of States exchange of views during the 25-26 March European Council. What role might the National Parliaments of the EU Member States play in the ongoing discussion on EU Russia policy and how parliamentarians can contribute to a coherent and effective EU policy towards Russia?
These issues and more will be debated at the first common session of the Friends and European and Free Russia with other parliamentarians across the EU member states. The Friends of European Russia, a recently established new informal platform that brings together representatives of both chambers of the Czech Parliament as well as civil society, will contribute to the discussion from the Czech national perspective of a country that has a history of support pro-democracy movements in Eastern Europe and Russia over the last 30 years since the Velvet Revolution of 1989.
The discussion will be moderated by Mr Pavel HAVLICEK, Research Fellow at the Association for International Affairs (AMO) in Prague, Czech Republic
Opening remarks:
- Mr Andrius KUBILIUS, Member of the European Parliament, Co-President of the European Parliamentary Assembly and Standing Rapporteur on Russia in the European Parliament
- Mr Marek HILŠER, Senator, Senate of the Czech Republic, co-founder of the Friends of Free Russia platform
Guest speaker:
Mr Leonid VOLKOV, Chief Coordinator of regional offices, Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK)
Speakers:
- Mr Bogdan Adam KLICH, Senator, Chair of the Foreign Affairs and EU Committee, former Minister of National Defence of Poland, Senate of the Republic of Poland
- Mr André GATTOLIN, Senator for des Hauts-de-Seine (Ile-de-France), Vice-Chair of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces Committee
- Mr Jan LIPAVSKÝ, MP, Deputy Head of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committees, Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic
- Mr Jacques MAIRE, Member of the French National Assembly, Rapporteur on the poisoning of Alexei Navalny for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
- Mrs Miriam LEXMANN, Member of the European Parliament, Slovakia (TBC)
- Mr Matas MALDEIKIS, MP, Chair of the Parliamentary Group for Relations with a Democratic Russia, Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania
The discussion will be followed by Q&A session.
The event will take place 22 March 2021, Monday, 16.00-17.30 (CET - Brussels/Prague time), on the Zoom and will be held in English.