Together with the European Commission, the Austrian Presidency of the EU is holding a conference on the future of Europe next week (27-28 January) entitled “The Sound of Europe”. The conference will take place in the congress centre in Salzburg, the city in which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born exactly 250 years ago.
The conference participants will discuss fundamental questions as to the future of Europe, European values, identity and culture. “The Sound of Europe” follows on from a series of events held in 2004 under the Dutch EU Presidency on the subject of “Europe. A beautiful idea?", which culminated in a final conference in Rotterdam. At the same time, the conference will give the starting signal for as wide-ranging a debate as possible on the future development of Europe, in keeping with the reflection and discussion phase decided by the European Council in June.
More than 300 personalities from the world of politics, science, arts and the media will deliberate on prospects and proposals for making progress on the European project in view of global challenges. The unease and scepticism people express about Europe will also be addressed, and the underlying causes analysed.
The closing debate on Saturday, 28 January, with the participation of leading European politicians, is entitled “Conducting Europe” and will be broadcast live on ORF2 from 11.00.
The participants include the Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the Prime Ministers of France (Dominique de Villepin) and the Netherlands (Jan Peter Balkenende), Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Mayor of Athens (Dora Bakoyannis) and leading figures from the European Commission (President José Manuel Barroso, Vice-President Margot Wallström, Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Jan Figel) and the European Parliament (President Josep Borrell). Austrian participants in addition to the host, Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, include Federal President Heinz Fischer and Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik. Numerous intellectuals and artists are also taking part, such as Oliviero Toscani, Leon de Winter, Martin Kušej, Gilles Kepel, Dominique Moïsi, Slavenka Drakulić, Franzobel, Mario Monti, Bronislaw Geremek, Mark Leonard, Peter Ruzicka und Jürgen Flimm, to name but a few.
The conference logo is the work of Rem Koolhaas, and is a variation on the Austrian Presidency logo. During the conference, Ars Electronica Linz will arrange projections and installations echoing contributions to the debate.
The event is being co-organised by the Federal Chancellery, the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee.
Click here for more organisational information.
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