MED opening programme 6 December and Highlight 7 December

MED opening programme 6 December and Highlight 7 December

MED opening programme 6 December and Highlight 7 December

Challenges to the EU:
The East-West divide

7 December 15:00 - 16:30

The Maastricht Debate Series continues with a critical debate between János Martonyi and Ben Bot, who are both former Ministers of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Martonyi held this position in Hungary as a member of Orbán’s Fidesz party, while Mr. Bot held his position during two cabinets under Prime Minister Balkenende. On the table: the challenges facing Europe, and especially relations between East and West.

With their extensive experience on national and European administrative level, Mr. Martonyi and Mr. Bot will provide the audience with rare insights on how different European member states deal with the fundamental values of the EU and particularly the preservation of the European rule of law.

Registration

  • Registration: 13:30 - 15:00
  • Doors open: 14:40
  • Start debate: 15:00

Language

English

Location

Maastricht University, faculty of law, Statenzaal, Lenculenstraat 26.

Speakers

 Mr. János Martonyi served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and cabinet member under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán from 1998 to 2002 and from 2010 to 2014. From January to June 2011, Mr. Martonyi was in charge of Hungary’s six-month rotating Presidency of the European Union. In 2006 and 2007, Mr. Martonyi was also part of the Action Committee for European Democracy (ACED), a group of high-level European politicians working on rewriting the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe after its rejection by French and Dutch voters, which ultimately served as the earliest draft for the Treaty of Lisbon (2009). Mr. Martonyi is member of Fidesz, the Hungarian Civic Alliance party. 

Mr. Ben Bot served as a minister of foreign affairs and cabinet member under Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende from 2003 to 2007. Before taking office as minister, Mr. Bot already worked as a diplomat for Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He gained extensive experience in European politics during his appointment as a second secretary (1964) and ambassador (1989-1992) at the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands in Brussels as well as during his appointment as ambassador in East-Berlin (1973-1976) and as chargé d’affaires at NATO (1986-1988). As minister of foreign affairs, Mr. Bot was in charge of the Dutch Presidency of the European Union in 2004. Mr. Bot is member of the CDA, the Dutch Christian Democratic party.

Moderator

  

Ms. Marcia Luyten is a journalist and grew up in the South of Limburg. She has written a book about the history of coal mining in this region (Het geluk van Limburg, 2015). She briefly worked at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs but became a journalist for among others, VPRO Buitenhof, NRC Handelsblad, de Volkskrant and Vrij Nederland. Ms. Luyten is currently working on a biography of Queen Máxima.