During the first half of 2018, a series of expert forums will be organised around Europe on topical matters and challenges facing the European Union, and will be conducted as the ALDE Party considers its manifesto for the 2019 elections to the European Parliament.

Experts in the respective fields from our member parties are warmly invited to participate in these meetings for sharing their views and actively contributing to the manifesto drafting process.

The sixth Manifesto Forum, organised by the European Liberal Forum in cooperation with NEOS Lab and the ALDE Party, took place in Vienna on Monday 23 April. The main topical focus this time was on mobility and infrastructure – currently shaped by trends in digitalisation, automatisation and decarbobisation. Understanding ongoing changes and emerging trends and their potential implications are important to ensure sustainable mobility for the 21st century across Europe.

ALDE Party Vice President Angelika Mlinar MEP welcomed the participants to the event by praising the value of the expert forums: "We want to use these expert forums to collect knowledge and break down silos between sectors. We want to bring together politics with communication, research and economics."

.@AngelikaMlinar: “The aim of these events are to bring together politics with communication, research and economics” #ELFevent #ALDEmanifesto @neoslab_eu pic.twitter.com/8Pln0t7lot

— ALDE Party (@ALDEParty) April 23, 2018

The discussions focused on three main aspects: cross-border infrastructure, cross-border mobility, and digitalisation of transport.

Before the start of the discussions, we had the opportunity to have a Facebook Live talk on cross-border infrastructure with Gesine Meissner MEP, a member of the ALDE Group and a member of the Transport Committee in the European Parliament.

Our Metroplan shows what it needs: Mobility keeps us together. It shows #Europe is united and has to be united. @gesine_meissner #ELFevent #ALDEmanifesto #EuropaNeuDenken pic.twitter.com/uZF5nQDTlr

— NEOS Lab (@neoslab_eu) April 23, 2018

During the coffee break, we also discussed on a Facebook Live chat with Elmar Fürst, Professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, who offered his insight as an expert on cross-border mobility.

At the end of the event, we also discussed on a Facebook Live chat with Irene Rivera, a Member of the Spanish Parliament from Ciudadanos and an expert on road safety and sustainable mobility.

"Let's create ecosystems where driverless cars & regular cars can coexist", says @_Irene_Rivera #ELFevent @Cs_Europa @neoslab_eu @ALDEParty pic.twitter.com/3IGe7KoVfL

— European Liberal Forum (@EurLiberalForum) April 23, 2018

NEOS Lab Director and European Liberal Forum member Josef Lentsch wrapped up the discussions.

Our @neoslab_eu Director and @EurLiberalForum Board Member @joseflentsch closes the ELF Expert Forum. At this point: many thanks to @ALDEParty and @EurLiberalForum! This is how a new and better Europe works! 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/MivvOXaMAx

— NEOS Lab (@neoslab_eu) April 23, 2018

Do you want to read a more thorough summary of the content of the discussions? Check it out here.

You can take a look at some of the best moments of the manifesto forum in Vienna on our Flickr album. Scroll through the pictures below:

For an overview of all the expert forums coming up in spring , take a look here.