On 30th September 2020 the Casimir Pulaski Foundation participated in a debate co-organized by our partner, Carnegie Europe, titled “How to Bridge the EU’s East-West Divide after COVID-19”. The discussion focused on the main issues dividing Central and Eastern European countries from Western European countries and the possible ways to unite all EU member states. The discussion was moderated by Stefan Lehne, a Scholar at Carnegie Europe. Katarzyna Pisarska, Program Director of the Warsaw Security Forum, and Márton Ugrósdy, Director of the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT) in Budapest, both took part in the online event.
The debate started with a brief overview of the current divisive issues and how they have been affected by COVID-19. The EU’s resilience in the face of crises and the EU’s possible response to the pandemic were integral themes. The experts also considered how the proposed solutions, such as the Recovery Fund, could be a force that will unite all EU member states.
The event was part of the “Bridging the EU’s New-Old Divide” project, co-financed by the Governments of the Visegrad Group (Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) through the International Visegrad Fund. The aim of the International Visegrad Fund is to promote cooperation in Central Europe among the Visegrad countries.
The “Bridging the EU’s New-Old Divide” project is a collaborative effort between the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and four institutions based in the Visegrad countries:

• The Casimir Pulaski Foundation from Poland
• Comenius University from Slovakia
• The Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT) from Hungary
• The Institute for Politics and Society from the Czech Republic