On 23rd June, the Leaders Forum powered by Poland: Better Europe took place at the University of Warsaw. Representatives from the worlds of academia, politics, diplomacy, and business discussed the challenges facing Europe in an era of dynamic geopolitical and economic change.
The Leaders Forum powered by Poland is a platform organised by the Centre for International Relations and THINKTANK for the exchange of experiences and insights on contemporary challenges. It brings together leading European think tanks, decision-makers, experts, and opinion leaders.
On 23rd June, the Forum’s meeting on the future of Europe took place at the University of Warsaw, which is a partner of the event. Participants in the lectures and workshops discussed the geopolitical, economic, and institutional implications of EU enlargement, security, cohesion and competitiveness, as well as relations with regional neighbours and the reconstruction of Ukraine.
“The question is no longer whether Europe must adapt to the changes taking place, but whether it can do so quickly enough. Today’s debate is not solely about the future of Europe. It concerns our shared responsibility for shaping it. Universities have a special role to play in this process; they are places of long-term thinking, where facts, arguments, and sound knowledge matter, and where ideas can be discussed, challenged, and developed. It is here that future leaders learn not only to solve problems, but also to ask the right questions,” said Robert Grey, the UW Chancellor, as he opened the meeting in the auditorium of the Old Library.
Participants in the Forum included: Prof. Danuta Hübner (Member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2024, former EU Commissioner for Regional Policy), Dr Małgorzata Bonikowska (President of the Centre for International Relations and the THINKTANK, researcher at the University of Warsaw’s Centre for European Studies), Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka (Government Plenipotentiary for the Instrument for Strengthening European Security), Ignacy Niemczycki (Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Dr Dariusz Standerski (Secretary of State at the Ministry of Digital Affairs, lecturer at the UW’s Faculty of Economic Sciences), Jurand Drop (Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Finance), Michał Baranowski (Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Development and Technology), Clément Beaune (High Commissioner for Strategy and Planning to the French Prime Minister), Konrad Szymański (former Minister for European Union Affairs), Maciej Witucki (President of BusinessEurope), and Erlingur Erlingsson from the Institute of International Affairs at the University of Iceland.
Leaders’ forum
The Leaders Forum: Better Europe is a continuation of the meetings organised during Poland’s EU Presidency in 2025, including the Leaders Forum powered by Poland, which took place in January 2026 during the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“I am delighted that we can continue the conversation we began at this year’s Leaders Forum in Davos. A few months later, the world has shown that the challenges we discussed at the time have become even more pressing. In the face of geopolitical instability, growing economic competition and rapid technological change, the importance of dialogue and cooperation is greater than ever before,” says the Chancellor of the University of Warsaw.
