The two-day working meeting “European Values and Realpolitik” was organised by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for experts from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Dr Malgorzata Bonikowska, president of the CIR, led the session on Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU, with participation of Bogdan Klich, former Defense Minister of Poland, politicians from Spain, Georgia, Slovakia, Hungary and Portugal. The Roundtable discussions focused on the new European Global Strategy, prepared by the team of Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

For the third time this year, Centre for International Relations was a partner of the European Forum for New Ideas. CIR prepared a plenary session “From low wages to innovation: how can the new Member States catch up with 'old' Europe?” and a panel “Many speeds, one direction: a realistic proposal to save European unity?”. The speakers during the discussions were Steeve Keen, Eshter Nova, Dominykas Sumskis, Paweł Świeboda, Danuta Hübner, Jacek Krawczyk and Marek Prawda.

In 2014, Turkey and Poland celebrated the 600th anniversary of diplomatic relations. The intensive interaction led at the end of the day to overlapping of cultures in both the countries. Such a long history of diplomatic ties happens only rarely in international relations. Despite for that, the knowledge and mutual understanding in both the countries is much less today than It was when we had a common border for centuries. Islam is one of the issues that makes Turkey distant from Poland and Europe, especially now, in the time of migration crisis – writes Małgorzata Bonikowska PhD, President of CIR, in a text entitled Poland and Turkey After 600 Years published in Balkanlarda Islam by Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency.