Security is not a commodity, security is a value. Every citizen and every society deserves to be safe. The key role of NATO is to defend peace – said Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland, during the opening of the Warsaw Summit Experts’ Forum. The event was held at the National Stadium in Warsaw as a part of the NATO summit organised between July 8-9, 2016. According to President Duda, the fear of losing global peace – peace that we have known so far – is growing. Therefore, it is crucial to strengthen our potential for deterrence within the NATO alliance. Małgorzata Bonikowska, President of CIR, and Janusz Onyszkiewicz, CIR expert and former Polish Minister of National Defence also took part in the event.

Dialogue is the axis of the Polish-German relations. Instead of discussing the dissymmetry of Polish-German relations we should talk about interdependency. – said Janusz Reiter, Founder of CIR, Chairman of the Foundation Board and the former Polish ambassador to Germany, during the opening of the Polish-German Energy Forum on the 14th of July in Warsaw. Michał Kurtyka – the Deputy Minister for Polish energy sector, Rainer Baake- German Deputy Minister for economy and energy, Konrad Szymański – the Secretary of State for European affairs in the Polish Ministry of Foreign Relations and other representatives of Polish and German energy sector took part in the debate.

The fate of Brexit was decided by members of the older generations and their sentiments towards good old England that doesn’t exist anymore. The United Kingdom is constantly changing. Even the campaign that preceded the referendum was very unusual; instead of the traditional keep calm and carry on slogans, it was dominated by arguments and very strong emotions. – said Małgorzata Bonikowska Ph.D., the President of CIR, during a debate entitled British referendum: the day after organized in cooperation with the Casimir Pulaski Foundation and the Academy of Finance and Business Vistula in Warsaw Trade Tower. The debate was moderated by Zbigniew Pisarski - Director of Casimir Pulaski Foundation.

"The statements about the fall of the West are premature. Pax Americana will not be replaced by any alternative world order in years to come, because so far, there is no country that could take the place of the USA" – said prof. Salvatore Babones from the University of Sydney. His lecture was the core part of the debate “World 2050: The Rest and the West” organised on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Centre for International relations and 7th anniversary of THINKTANK – Centre for Dialogue and Analysis, in the frame of the discussion series “World: Inspirations”.

Crisis is a Greek word that accompany us from the ancient times. On the other hand, there is a Polish proverb saying: 'What won’t kill you, will strengthen you'. Continous crises in Europe may help in redefining its new role and way of functioning. Managing crises might become a permanent element of our reality. – said dr Małgorzata Bonikowska, the President of CIR, during a discussion on the future of the EU at the YPIN meeting in Kraków. The meeting was moderated by Karolina Zbytniewska, editor in chief of Euractiv.pl. Bogusław Sonik, an MP and Marcin Żyła, deputy editor in chief of Tygodnik Powszechny also took part in the discussion.

The European Union has got a dillema whether to develop as a whole community or internationally – relying on decisions made by particular governments. It is important to not loose “the big picture” – the broader perspective. The European Union is providing us with the balance of power on the continent. In addition it provides the western world with political cohesion. Strong European Union is also in the interest of the United States. – said Janusz Reiter,  the Chairman of Centre for International Relations foundation board, in his speech on the future of the European Union during the 8th European Economic Congress in Katowice Spodek Arena.

A man who has stood for liberal democracy in Europe for almost 40 years. A true friend of Estonia and freedom. This is what the President of Estonia – Tomass Henrik Ilves – wrote on his Twitter account about Eugeniusz Smolar. An expert and a member of the board of Centre for International Relations was awarded with a class V Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana for his contribution to journalism for the Republic of Estonia. The award has been constituted in 1995 to honour the Estonian independence and it is the highest class decoration given to non-Estonian citizens for special services to the Republic of Estonia.