On 14 May, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier – in cooperation with the Bertelsmann Foundation – hosted a panel discussion at Schloss Bellevue as part of the series Forum Bellevue on the Future of Democracy.

The seventh forum was titled The European Union – what is at stake. The Federal President and his guests examined the significance of the European Union for our future and above all how the EU and its Member States can constructively tackle the crises they are facing.

The Federal President discussed this topic with Ivan Krastev (Chairman, Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia, and Permanent Fellow, Institute of Human Sciences, Vienna), Luuk van Middelaar (historian, author and political columnist, for NRC Handelsblad among others), Daniela Schwarzer (Director, German Council on Foreign Relations, Berlin) and Adam Tooze (Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of History, Columbia University, New York).

The primary focus of the Federal President and his guests’ discussion was on key issues of the upcoming EU legislative period – including: How can we create new cohesion in the EU? And how can we boost innovation? How can the European Union regain trust among its citizens? To which challenges can the European Union find answers, and where do we need strong Member States? In what ways can Germany – in cooperation with France – help further develop the European Union? Finally, the conversation centred on the case for giving the European Union a new rationale, and whether more constructive opposition in the European Parliament and increased political competition among pro-European parties would be useful.

The developments within the European Union are part of a global trend towards calling liberal democracy into question. Therefore, Federal President Steinmeier’s discussion with his panel members also looked at how the European Union can credibly represent the liberal, social and democratic values of the West and form additional, strong alliances.