On 11-12 June 2021, ALDE Party will bring together the European liberal family for our first-ever virtual Congress. The Congress is an opportunity for member party delegates, Prime Ministers, party leaders, European Commissioners and decision-makers to come together to discuss and debate defining challenges of our time.

Much of the virtual Congress will be live-streamed on Facebook and YouTube, open to the public for viewing and participation. An overview of the live-streamed sessions are listed below – please check the Congress programme regularly for potential updates.

Friday, 11 June

9:30-10:00

Congress opening ceremony, featuring a tribute to late ALDE Party President Hans van Baalen and speeches from ALDE Party acting co-Presidents Timmy Dooley and Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP as well as messages from some of Europe’s leading liberals, will start the first virtual ALDE Congress.

10:00-12:30

ALDE Party Council meeting takes place as part of the virtual Congress, including a live-streamed segment on the Conference on the Future of Europe with guest speakers Guy Verhofstadt MEP and LYMEC President Antoaneta Asenova.

Note: Only the contributions on COFOE will be streamed and available to general public during the Council meeting.

13:30-14:30

Bureau candidates will hold a debate on Friday early afternoon. Henrik Bach Mortensen, Dita Charanzová MEP and Luis Garicano MEP have been nominated for the positions of ALDE Party Vice Presidents. David Burke and Jasmina Mršo have been nominated for the position of ALDE Party Treasurer.

15:30-17:30

A range of fringe meeting on various topics and in collaboration with partners will take place during the Congress. Two of the meetings will be streamed and available to general public:

Politics Is for Other People – Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in partnership with NCE+

Pushing Europe Further Through Digital Policy – with Representatives from Microsoft and Sky

Saturday, 12 June

9:30-10:50

An interesting panel discussion on Europe’s economic recovery kicks off the second day of Congress. The panel brings together high-level liberal leaders, including Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Commissioner Kadri Simson, Belgian State Secretary Eva De Bleeker, European Parliament Vice-President Nicola Beer MEP, Luis Garicano MEP and Morten Løkkegaard MEP.

11:00-12:30

The second panel discussion of the day focuses on strengthening democracies and reinstating our freedoms. High-level panellists include Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová, Commissioner Didier Reynders, Lithuanian Minister of Justice Evelina Dobrovolska, Romanian Secretary of State Alexandru Dimitriu, ALDE Party Vice President and German MP Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, Sophie in 't Veld MEP and Katalin Cseh MEP.

14:30-15:00

The results of the Bureau elections and the official closing session will conclude this year’s Congress on Saturday afternoon.

Ahead of the Congress, we invite interested members of the press to join ALDE Party for an informal update on the event over a drink at Place du Luxembourg. Please RSVP to [email protected] by Tuesday 8 June.

Please note that potential updates to the programme and speakers are possible. For more detailed information and the Congress programme, visit the ALDE Congress event pages.

You can also follow the hashtag #ALDECongress on Twitter and Instagram for Congress updates.

Photos from the Congress will be updated and available on our Flickr page.