online roundtable, 12. 11. 2020 at 18:00
The EU integration of South East Europe is intensifying as North Macedonia and Albania are to start the accession talks either at the end of the year or in early 2021. The process of scrutiny of the respect of human rights and rule of law in the region gains new momentum. That process happens in parallel with the novelty in the functioning of the EU, which as of 2020 started publishing annual reports on the respect of Rule of law and fundamental rights not only of the candidate countries, but also of the member states of the EU. Now the traditional instruments of the Council of Europe as continental institutional guardian of human rights and democracy are further empowered by the EU mechanisms.
With a massive reform agenda looming, among the political elites in SE Europe some raise a dilemma What Comes First – Human Rights or Rule of Law. What would be the answer to this question, and whether this is a dilemma at all, we’ll discuss with prominent experts from SEE and EU.
With our debate we want to offer space for analysis of the current trends across the region – the EU integration process which focuses on the key negotiating chapters related to the democratic structures and rule of law, the outcome of the recent electoral processes, the on-going protests in some [SE] European countries, the ever present questions about respect minority rights, and the events related to ethnic/religious-based violence. The debate will also touch on the relevance of EU’s Fundamental Rights charter.
Event schedule
17:50
Online registration
18:00
Welcome address
Daniel Kaddik | ELF, director
Sebastjan Pikl | Institute Novum
18:10
Opening address
Astrid Thors | LI Chair of Human Rights Committee, Finnish Minister of Migration and Europe (2007 – 2011), OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (2013 – 2016)
18:20 – 20:00
Panel session: “SEE Priorities: What Comes First – Human Rights or Rule of Law?”
Margarita Caca Nikolovska | International Judge at the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonian Judge on the ECHR (1998 – 2008)
Tobias Flessenkemper | Head of the Belgrade Office, Council of Europe
Markus Löning | Managing Director, Löning – Human Rights & Responsible Business, German Federal Human Rights Commissioner (2010 – 2013)
Vesna Pusić | Sociologist and politician, Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs (2011 – 2016)
Astrid Thors | LI Chair of Human Rights Committee, Finnish Minister of Migration and Europe (2007 – 2011), OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (2013 – 2016)
Moderator: Emil Kirjas, founder, Kirjas Global, Vice President, LI
Speakers
Daniel Kaddik | ELF, director
Daniel Kaddik is Executive Director at European Liberal Forum in Brussels. Before that he was Director of the Southeast Europe office of Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, a non-profit organisation that promotes liberal values, rule of law, and economic freedom. Providing policy consultations and educational programs, the Foundation is active in more than 60 countries.
Having worked previously for the Foundation in Germany, India, and Russia, Daniel Kaddik is actively involved promoting entrepreneurship and personal and political responsibility. His main interest lay in the field of liberal policy solutions, economics and social sciences as well as entrepreneurship and citizen participation in governance.
He received degrees in Governmental Studies from the University of Erfurt, European Studies from the University of Hamburg, and International Studies from the University of Birmingham.
Sebastjan Pikl | Institute Novum
Mr. Pikl is one of the founders and director of Institute NOVUM, an institute for strategic and applicable research that deals with policy analysis, visual media, and public relations. He has also served as an advisor for various communications projects, including the campaign for president of Republic of Slovenia Dr. Danilo Türk in 2007 and several liberal political parties. Mr. Pikl is a philosopher and political scientist by training, with special interests in the field of psychoanalysis, policy analysis and history of Mediterranean region.
Margarita Caca Nikolovska | International Judge at the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonian Judge on the ECHR (1998 – 2008)
Judge Margarita Tsatsa-Nikolovska was appointed as the international judge of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2011 and elected as the Vice-President of the Court in 2015. She is Macedonian citizen who from 1997 to 1998 was the Judge of the Supreme Court of North Macedonia. She also served as a Judge from North Macedonia to the European Court of Human Rights from 1998 to 2008. From 2010 to 2014 she was a member of the Board of Directors of the Macedonian Open Society Foundation and as of 2011 she has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of Macedonia. She has a close collaboration with a number of international human-rights-orientated organisations. She was a lecturer at a number of trainings, seminars and conferences on the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and was engaged as a legal expert in the human rights protection field. She is the author of a number of professional publications concerning law, in particular those relating to the human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Astrid Thors | LI Chair of Human Rights Committee, Finnish Minister of Migration and Europe (2007 – 2011), OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (2013 – 2016)
Astrid Thors is Chair of the Liberal International Human Rights Committee and Vice President on the Bureau of Liberal International elected for the first time in 2017. A Finnish-Swedish lawyer and politician, Ms Thors has extensive experience in international politics and human rights. Thors served on number of senior jobs in Finland and Europe. She was a member of the European Parliament from 1996 until 2004, before being elected to the Finnish Parliament in 2004. In the period 2007-2011 she was Finland’s Minister of Migration and European Affairs. She returned to the European scene in 2013 when she was appointed OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, a position she occupied until August 2016. She has held numerous high-level positions related to justice and human rights – including as the chair of the National Committee of Unicef Finland 2000-05 and as an advisor to ministers of justice, defence and European affairs. She has also chaired the Advisory Board on Human Rights of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Refugee Advisory Council.
Tobias Flessenkemper | Head of the Belgrade Office, Council of Europe
Tobias Flessenkemper is Head of the Belgrade Office of Council of Europe, after being appointed by the CoE Secretary General in October 2018. His previous postings include the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Council of the European Union in Brussels, Skopje and Sarajevo and the OSCE. 2012-13 he was visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). In 2013 he became managing director of the Berlin-based agency elbarlament.org – cultures of democracy. He regularly contributes to research and higher education programmes with a focus on European cooperation. From 1998-2001 he was Secretary General of the European Youth Forum. He holds a Magister Artium (M.A.) in Political Science from the University of Cologne and European Master in International Humanitarian Assistance (E.MA) from the Ruhr-University Bochum.
Markus Löning | Managing Director, Löning – Human Rights & Responsible Business, German Federal Human Rights Commissioner (2010 – 2013)
Markus Löning is a former liberal German politician. From April 2010 to January 2014 he was the Federal Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid of the German Government. Before that, he was elected a member of the German Bundestag from 2002 to 2009 and regional chairman of the FDP in Berlin from 2004 to 2009. From 2012 he served as Vice President on the Bureau of Liberal International for three mandates, and he chaired the organisation’s Human Rights Committee. In 2017 he was elected a Vice President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe – ALDE Party. He is an internationally respected advisor and input provider on the subject of corporate responsibility and human rights. In 2014 he established Löning – Human Rights & Responsible Business and he has advised both large and medium-sized companies.
Vesna Pusić | Sociologist and politician, Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs (2011 – 2016)
Dr. Vesna Pusić is a Croatian sociologist and politician who served as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs from 2011-2016. She was Croatia’s second female Foreign Minister. After becoming involved in politics in the early 1990s, when Dr. Pusić was one of the 28 founding members of the liberal Croatian People’s Party, Dr. Pusić served five consecutive terms as MP, having been elected to the Croatian Parliament in 2000, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2016. During her 2008–2011 parliament term she chaired the parliamentary committee for tracking the progress of Croatia’s accession negotiations with the European Union. She served as Vice-President of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) and was the founding President of the Liberal Network of South Eastern Europe (LIBSEEN). Pusić lectured at the University of Chicago, Cornell University, American University, The New School, International Forum for Democratic Studies, Foreign Service Institute, Georgetown University, Wilson Center, and MIT Sloan School of Management. Dr. Pusić was Croatia’s candidate in 2016 for the post of UN Secretary General.
Emil Kirjas | founder, Kirjas Global, Vice President, LI
Emil Kirjas is a Vice President of Liberal International, after having served earlier as its Secretary General from 2007-2017. From 2004-2006 he was State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the Government of then Republic of Macedonia. He has extensive experience in various international organisations and institutions, having worked for Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. Earlier over four years he led the International Federation of Liberal Youth. In 2018 he established “Kirjas Global” and advises heads of states and governments, as well as senior political leaders on geopolitics and international relations. He is frequently invited at international level to addresses issues of transformative powers of political networking, strategy and communication. He holds a Master’s Degree in Geopolitics from King’s College in London and Computer Engineering from the Skopje Univeristy.
