Austria is halfway through its EU Council presidency. It falls into a particularly interesting time, just months away from the European elections, Brexit and ongoing divisions amongst the EU Member States.

The priorities stated by the Austrian government were security and the fight against illegal migration, stability in the European neighbourhood, and securing prosperity and competitiveness through digitalization. Whereas the latter has not received as much attention as the other priorities, the pressure to deliver on all areas is high.

How can the self-declared “neutral broker” Austria push for further progress until the end of the year, especially in the field of migration where it has promoted a rather tough stance? To what extent do the difficulties in the Brexit negotiations take away attention from its main priorities?

Wedged between the EU informal leaders meeting and the October summit the following days, we would like – together with our distin-guished speakers – discuss the Austrian EU Council presidency.

A joint event series of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and ALDE Party

Wednesday, 17 October 2018
Registration & Light Breakfast: 8:15h
Event: 8:30 – 9:30h

Venue: Friedrich Naumann Foundation Europe, avenue de Cortenbergh 71, 1000 Brussels

Please register your attendance here.