I am writing to update you on Friends of Europe's most prestigious events of the year - the State of Europe and President's Dinner - that will be co-hosted by the Luxembourg Presidency of the EU on October 21st and 22nd. They will mark the closing of Friends of Europe's 15th anniversary year, bringing together several hundred of Europe's most influential policymakers, civil society and business leaders.

1. friends
of europe
President
Etienne Davignon
Board of Trustees
Joaquin Altnunia.
László Andor
Michel Barnier
Enrique Barón Crespo
Xavier Bettel
Carl Bildt
Joachim Bitterlich
Franziska Katharina Brantner
Elmar Srok
John Bruton
Carme Chacón Piqueras
Dacian Ciólas
Pat Cox
Robert Cox
Daniel Daianu
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
Anna Diamantopoulou
Mikołaj Dowgielewicz
Sorin Ducaru
Tanja Fajon
Monica Frassoni
Stefan Füle
Catherine Gernay
Ana Gomes
Sylvie Goulard
Elisabeth Guigou
Antonio Guterres
Johannes Hahn
Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Baron Daniel Janssen
Jean-Pierre Jouyet
Sony Kapoor
Jyrki Katainen
Miroslav Lajčák
Pascal Lamy
Spiro Lätsis
Yves Leterme
Linas Antanas Linkevičius
Philip Lowe
Cecilia Malmström
Mario Monti
Alojz Peterle
Andris Piebalgs
Hans-Gert Pöttering
Paul Révay
Koos Ricllelle
Jacek Saryusz-Wolski
Marietje Schaake
Jamie Shea
Javier Solana
Anna Terrón
Frans Van Daele
Frank Vandenbroucke
Herman Van Rompuy
Androulla Vassiliou
Guy Verhofstadt
Veronika Wand-Danielsson
Secretary General
Giles Merritt
Co-Founder & Director
Geert Carni
Dr. Cecilia Malmström
Commissioner for Trade
European Commission
Rue de la Loi, 200
1049, Brussels
_ Brussels, 06 August 2015
Ďecr ÍM
I am writingto update you on Friends ofEurope's most prestigious events of the year -the State of Europe
and President's Dinner - that will be co-hosted by the Luxembourg Presidency of the EU on October 21st
and 22nd. They will mark the closing of Friends of Europe's 15th anniversary year, bringing together several
hundred of Europe's most influential policymakers, civil society and business leaders.
As a spin-off of your participation at the event, we would be delighted if you would agree to a 30-minute
spotlight conversation to be streamed live from a studio at the Palais d'Egmont. The conversation is
inspired by the Luxembourg Presidency's priority of connecting the EU with its citizens, and would be
formatted around questions that have come directly from the European people, to be moderated by
Euronews presenter Chris Burns. The debate will be broadcast on the websites of Friends of Europe and
Debating Europe, witha million viewers from across Europe- many of whom will have submittedquestions
for your interview. The timing of this live-streamed debate can be organised around the time of your
participation at the roundtable itself.This is a unique opportunity at what is a very high-level conference to
involve the citizens of Europe in EU policy and for them to learn how your role as Commissioner affects
their everyday life.
The programme for the event, under the heading "Addressing Europe's Crises: Six Policy Crossroads", will
address issues ranging from restoring trust in the EU, catching up with the Digital Era, recovering global
influence and resolving the continent's infrastructural challenges. The roundtable will be a high-level
meeting of the minds, taking the form of a brainstorm with lively exchanges throughout the day between
the top participants coming from all over Europe and beyond. We would be delighted if you would
participate at this roundtable, or at least part of it. As you will see, there are plenaries and parallel sessions
which you will surely find a great interest in.
Confirmed participants at the State of Europe include HRH King Philippe of Belgium; Federica Mogherini,
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; Estonian President lives; former
Prime Ministers Bildt, Monti and Van Rompuy; European Ministers from many member states; Franziska
Brantner, Member of the Bundestag; Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, CEO of Solvay; Mary Fitzgerald, Journalist,
contributing author of 'The Libyan Revolution and its aftermath' and European Young Leader; Sylvie
Goulard and Marietje Schaake, members of the European Parliament; Jean-Paul Kress, President and CEO
of Sanofi Pasteur MSD; Pascal Lamy, Former Director-General of the World Trade Organisation; André
Loesekrug, Founder and Managing Partner of A CAPITAL; Antonia Mészáros, TV anchor, news and current
affairs at ATV; Nina Rawal, European Young Leader and Women's Forum "Rising Talent"; Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer, President of the Dutch Advisory Council on International Affairs and former NATO Secretary
General; Sandra Polaski, Deputy Director General for Policy at the International Labour Organisation (ILO)
and Michael Diedring, Secretary General of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE). You will
find attached the programme of the event and the list of currently confirmed participants, we should still
confirm high level flyers, EU commissioners and ministers.
The day's discussions will be preceded by our annual President's Dinner on Wednesday 21st October, co-
hosted by our President, Belgian Minister of State and former EuropeanCommission Vice-President Etienne
Davignon, and Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg (Presidency). The dinner offers some
"intellectual beef" coupled with a degree of entertainment.
Best regards.
Nathalie Furrer
Director
Friends of Europe
Friends of Europe, a part of theEurope's World Group, is a leading think-tank that aims to stimulate new thinking
on global and European issues that span political, economic, social and environmental challenges.
Rue de la Science 4· 1000 Brussels· Belgium
TEL: +32 2 893 98 22 | FAX: +32 2 893 98 29
Ref. Ares(2015)3363266 - 12/08/2015