Discussion Highlights:

• Europe’s preparedness for a potential second Trump presidency.
• Challenges to EU strategic autonomy and transatlantic relations.
• The influence of defense contracts and energy dependencies on European policies.
• Internal EU struggles: technocracy versus democracy and stalled institutional reforms.
• Enlargement prospects in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe as pathways to rejuvenate the EU’s global standing.
• Leadership and unity in the face of global instability.

About Stefan Lehne:
Stefan Lehne is a Senior Fellow at Carnegie Europe, focusing on EU institutions, reforms, and foreign policy. His career spans multiple senior positions, including director general for political affairs at the Austrian Ministry for European and International Affairs, and he has extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy. Lehne has served in Austria’s missions to the United Nations and the European Union and was involved in Austria’s EU accession negotiations.

Lehne’s recent research explores European integration, strategic autonomy, and responses to global challenges. He also lectures at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna and frequently contributes to policy discussions and publications. Lehne was a 2018/19 Europe's Futures Fellow of the IWM and ERSTE Foundation.

Recent Publications by Stefan Lehne:

• Charting the Radical Right’s Influence on EU Foreign Policy (April 2024, with Rosa Balfour) – Carnegie Europe
• The Rules-Based Order vs. the Defense of Democracy (September 2024) – Carnegie Europe
• Europe’s New Leadership Faces a Teamwork Test (June 2024) – Carnegie Europe
• Europe’s Radical Right Is Formidable—but Not Unstoppable (April 2024) – Carnegie Europe

find Stefan on X @StefanLehne

Ivan Vejvoda is Head of the Europe's Futures program at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM Vienna) implemented in partnership with ERSTE Foundation. The program is dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and the generation of ideas addressing pivotal challenges confronting Europe and the European Union: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences is an institute of advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences. Founded as a place of encounter in 1982 by a young Polish philosopher, Krzysztof Michalski, and two German colleagues in neutral Austria, its initial mission was to create a meeting place for dissenting thinkers of Eastern Europe and prominent scholars from the West.

Since then it has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions that now embrace the Global South and North. The IWM is an independent and non-partisan institution, and proudly so. All of our fellows, visiting and permanent, pursue their own research in an environment designed to enrich their work and to render it more accessible within and beyond academia.

For further information about the Institute:

https://www.iwm.at/

Discussion Highlights:

• Europe’s preparedness—or lack thereof—for the second Trump presidency.
• Challenges to EU strategic autonomy and transatlantic relations.
• The role of defense contracts and energy dependencies in shaping Europe’s policies.
• The EU's internal struggles: technocracy vs. democracy and stalled institutional reforms.
• Enlargement opportunities in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe as a pathway to rejuvenating the EU’s geopolitical clout.
• Balancing hope and trepidation in the face of rising global instability.

Dr. Rosa Balfour is the director of Carnegie Europe, specializing in European politics, institutions, and foreign and security policy. Her current research examines the interplay between domestic politics and Europe's global role.

Dr. Balfour has an extensive publication record, including books, research articles, and opinion pieces in international media outlets such as the Washington Post, the Financial Times, The Guardian, and El País. Her work often addresses European politics and international relations, focusing on regions like the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans, as well as topics like EU enlargement and democracy support.

In addition to her role at Carnegie Europe, Dr. Balfour serves as an advisor to Women in International Security Brussels (WIIS-Brussels) and is an associate fellow at LSE IDEAS. She is also an honorary patron of the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) and was appointed to the Scientific Advisory Council of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs in 2024.

Prior to joining Carnegie Europe, Dr. Balfour was a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and directed the Europe in the World program at the European Policy Centre in Brussels. She has also conducted research in Rome and London. Her academic credentials include an MA in history from Cambridge University, and both an MSc in European Studies and a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Dr. Balfour was a 2018/19 Europe's Futures Fellow of the IWM and ERSTE Foundation.

Find Rosa on Bluesky or X

Ivan Vejvoda is Head of the Europe's Futures program at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM Vienna) implemented in partnership with ERSTE Foundation. The program is dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and the generation of ideas addressing pivotal challenges confronting Europe and the European Union: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences is an institute of advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences. Founded as a place of encounter in 1982 by a young Polish philosopher, Krzysztof Michalski, and two German colleagues in neutral Austria, its initial mission was to create a meeting place for dissenting thinkers of Eastern Europe and prominent scholars from the West.

Since then it has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions that now embrace the Global South and North. The IWM is an independent and non-partisan institution, and proudly so. All of our fellows, visiting and permanent, pursue their own research in an environment designed to enrich their work and to render it more accessible within and beyond academia.

For further information about the Institute:

https://www.iwm.at/