ANO pro Evropu
Activities 2006 - Union as it is
During 2006 we organised a diverse series of events. These included:
International Conference: The Czech Republic & the Future of Europe
Held in the Church of St Anne’s, this brought together a wide range of prominent speakers on the three sessions:
The importance of the EU to the Czech Republic Today.
- Jan Herzmann, General Director Factum Invenio
- Jack Stack, Chief Executive Officer, Česká Spořitelna
- Petr Zahradník, Economist, Director EU Office Česká Spořitelna
- Eliška Wágnerová, Deputy Chairperson, Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic
- Vojtěch Cepl, Professor of Law, Law Faculty, Charles University, principal drafter of the Czech Constitution
The Future of Europe – Ideals, Expectation & Possibilities
- Vladimír Špidla, European Commissioner for Social Affairs
- Pat Cox, Former President of the European Parliament, Chairperson of the European Movement
- Catherine Lalumiere, Former General Secretary of the Council of Europe and Chairperson of the European Houses
- Jean Marc Roirant, Chairperson NGO forum of the Economic and Social Committee of the European Union
- Jiři Pehe, Political Scientist, Director of the New York University in Prague
- Jan Hartl, Sociologist, Director of STEM
What Policies Should the Next Government Follow on EU Issues?
- Representatives from the main political parties:
- Cyril Svoboda, Minister for Foreign Affairs, KDU-ČSL
- Libor Rouček, MEP, ČSSD
- Petr Gandalovič, Mayor Ústí nad Labem, ODS
- Ondřej Liška, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Green Party
Exhibition "Bohemia – Moravia"– Commission Building Brussels
Through June we put on a major exhibition in the Palace Berlaymount in Brussels, the headquarters of the European Commission. It included the work of two of the Czech Republic’s foremost photographers Jan Reich and Jindřich Štreit. The exhibition was opened on May 30th by Václav Havel, European Commission President José Manuel Barrosso and European Commissioner Vladimír Špidla.
The response to the exhibition was incredibly positive and it was the most successful event held in the Berlaymount during 2006. We have now proposals for mounting the exhibition for example in Lisbon and Paris.
Book Launch: "Union As It Is"
On May 22nd we launched a new version of the pamphlet "Union as it is – or why the French fear the Polish plumber" by Martin Komárek of Mladá Fronta DNES. This was an extended and updated version of our 2005 publication. It was launched by then Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda and Alexandr Vondra who succeeded him.
Public discussions were held in a number of other regional locations with Martin Komárek for example in Jáchymov, České Budějovice and Olomouc.
"The Future of Europe and the Internal Market"
Hosted in the Czech National Bank on October 13th, this event involved an address by European Commissioner for Internal Market Charlie McCreevy before a predominantly business and political audience. The Commissioner was replied to by ČNB Governor Zdeněk Tůma and Viktor Kotlán of Česká spořitelna.
Conference & Book Launch "Democracy I Europe"
In cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, on October 27th in the chamber of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic we launched a book entitled "Democracy in Europe". This is a collection of original papers relating to civic society and democracy in the Czech Republic and Europe as a whole, with contributions from prominent academics from seven countries.
The event as a whole included an address by European Commissioner Vladimír Špidla, followed by an open debate and a further session involving:
- Senator Petr Pithart – Former Czech Prime Minister and Vice-President of the Senate
- Marie-Claude Maurel, Director CEFRES, Prague
- Henrik H. Kröner, Secretary General, European Movement, Brussels
- Jacques Rupnik, Research Director, Centre for International Research and Studies - CERI, Paris
- Hans-Dieter Klingemann, Research Director, Social Science Research Centre Berlin
- Erazim Kohák, Philosopher and Professor Emeritus at the Charles University, Prague
Seminar Series "National Challenges – Regional Opportunities"
This ongoing seminar series involves a combination of prominent national speakers, regional leaders and relevant experts addressing events in major regional locations. Participants are mostly drawn from regional government, business and academia. The series has included:
Ústí nad Labem
- Alexandr Vondra, Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Petr Gandalovič, Minister for Regional Development
- Jan Kubata, Mayor of Ústí nad Labem
Karlovy Vary
- Zdeněk Tůma, Governor of the Czech National Bank
- Josef Pavel, Hejtman of the Karlovy Vary Region
- Jan Horník, Senator
Jihlava
- Ivan Pilip, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank
- Petr Pithart, Vice-President of the Senate
- Miloš Vystrčil, Hejtman of the Vysočina region
- František Dohnal , President of the National Controlling Institute (NKÚ)
Ostrava
- Tomáš Hruda, Chief Executive, CzechInvest
- Petr Gandalovič, Minister for Regional Development
- Jan Frait, Director General of the Czech National Bank
Student Events
ANO pro Evropu supported the student organisation AEGEE Praha in its work during 2006. AEGEE (European Students Forum) is a very dynamic student organisation which organises many activities amongst its members and also involving bringing students from throughout Europe to Prague.
We sponsored a university student essay competition which was presented in Olomouc in March. A public debate on the topic of the future of Europe was held and Jaroslav Hutka performed.