Friday, April 24
17:00-18:30
Opening session
Video
The Limits of Order
Radosław Sikorski, Marshal of the Sejm of Poland
Ana Palacio, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain
Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia
François Heisbourg, Chairman of the IISS and Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Moderated by: Steven Erlanger, London Bureau Chief of The New York Times
18:45 Transfer to the Seaplane Harbour
19:30 Dinner, hosted by the President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves
(by invitation only)
21:30
Transfer to the hotel & conference venue
22:00 Night owl session
Remembering Helsinki
Jaakko Iloniemi, Former Ambassador of Finland to the United States
John Kornblum, Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany
Lauri Mälksoo, Director of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute
Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
Moderated by: Jill Dougherty, Public Policy Scholar, Kennan Institute, Wilson Center
Saturday, April 25
8:00-9:00
Breakfast sessions
Is Home Still a Castle? Lessons from Ukraine for the Baltic Arena
Igor Smeshko, Former Chairman of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) and Joint Intelligence Committee under the President of Ukraine
Sven Mikser, Minister of Defence of Estonia
Frederick Hodges, Lieutenant General, Commander of the U.S. Army in Europe
Urban Ahlin, Speaker of the Swedish Riksdag
Moderated by: Daniel Brössler, NATO and EU Correspondent, Süddeutsche Zeitung
Destination Europe: Is Migration an Opportunity or a Threat?
Per Haugaard, Head of Unit for International Dimension, European Commission Secretariat-General
Urmas Paet, Member of the European Parliament, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
Stefano Silvestri, Former President of the Italian Institute of International Affairs (IAI)
Philip Blond, Director of the ResPublica Trust
Moderated by: Eric Maurice, Journalist of EUobserver
Russia’s Energy Weapon: Blunted or Still Potent?
Alan Riley, Professor of Law, City University London
Vladimir Milov, President of the Institute of Energy Policy, Russia
Yuriy Vitrenko, Managing Director, International Business, Naftogaz, Ukraine
Ando Leppiman, Deputy Secretary General for Energy, Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs & Communications
Moderated by: Matthew Bryza, Member of the ICDS International Advisory Board
The Moment of Truth for Belarus?
Charles Grant, Director of the Centre for European Reform (CER)
Yaraslau Kryvoi, Editor-in-Chief, Belarus Digest; Director, Ostrogorski Centre
Arseny Sivitsky, Director of the Centre for Strategic and Foreign Policy Research, Belarus
Jana Kobzova, Senior Programme Officer, European Endowment for Democracy
Moderated by: Vykintas Pugačiauskas, Foreign News Editor, Lithuanian Radio & Television (LRT)
9:00-10:30
Panel discussion
Video
The World According to Putin, Putin According to the World
Andrei Illarionov, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute, former Advisor to the President of Russia
Michael McFaul, Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia
Natalia Gevorkyan, Writer and Columnist
Hiski Haukkala, Special Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland
Moderated by: Bobo Lo, Independent Scholar and Consultant
Coffee
11:00-12:30
Panel discussion
Video
The Power of Narratives: An Unwinnable War over the Truth?
Peter Pomerantsev, TV Producer and Author
Jüri Luik, Estonian Ambassador to Russia
Leon Aron, Director of Russian Studies, American Enterprise Institute
Linas Linkevičius, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania
Moderated by: Edward Lucas, Senior Vice-President, Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA)
12:30-13:00
Face to Face With…
Video
Jean-Jacques Sahel, Vice President of ICANN for Europe, and Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia
Moderated by: Edward Lucas, Senior Vice-President, Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA)
13:00-14:15
Lunch
14:30-16:30
Optional events – visits and tours
• Medieval Old Town Walking Tour
• Visit to the Seaplane Harbour and the Seaplane Hangars of the Maritime Museum
• Visit to the e-Estonia Showroom
• Visit to the Kadriorg Palace Art Museum and Park
• Tour of Tallinn Military Cemetery
• Tour of Wooden Tallinn: History through Architecture
16:30-18:00
Panel discussion
Video
Ukraine: Is There a Will? Is There a Way?
Hanna Hopko, Chairwoman of Foreign Affairs Committee, Ukrainian Parliament
James Sherr, Associate Fellow, Chatham House
Taavi Rõivas, Prime Minister of Estonia
Ilya Ponomarev, Member of State Duma of Russia
Moderated by: Quentin Peel, Mercator Senior Fellow, Chatham House
Coffee
18:30-20:00
Panel discussion
Video
Thinking the Unthinkable: What’s Next in Store for Us?
Anne Brasseur, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
Lamberto Zannier, Secretary General of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Alexander Vershbow, Deputy Secretary General of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
Riina Kionka, Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to European Council President Donald Tusk
Moderated by: Nik Gowing, International Broadcaster, Visiting Professor of War Studies, King’s College London
20:00-20:30
In Memoriam: Boris Nemtsov
Video
20:30-22:00
Networking dinner in the conference hotel
22:00
Night owl sessions
In the Midst of Information War: Ends, Means and Ways
Ben Judah, Visiting Fellow, European Stability Initiative
Dmytro Kuleba, Ambassador-at-Large, Head of Strategic Communications, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
Tod Leventhal, Head of Counter-Disinformation Team, U.S. Department of State
Andrei Soldatov, Editor of Agentura.ru
Moderated by: Nik Gowing, International Broadcaster, Visiting Professor of War Studies, King’s College London
European Policies Revised: Neighbours Left Out in the Cold?
Tinatin Khidasheli, Chairwoman of the European Integration Committee, Georgian Parliament
Orysia Lutsevych, Research Fellow, Chatham House
Matti Maasikas, Estonian Ambassador to the EU
Edgars Rinkēvičs, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia
Moderated by: Leila Alieva, Academic Visitor, St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford
The ISIS Riddle: Old New War within Islam?
Tarek Osman, Political Economist, Egypt
Ahmed Rashid, Journalist and Writer, Pakistan
İlter Turan, Professor of International Affairs, Istanbul Bilgi University
Hossein Bastani, Political Analyst, BBC World
Moderated by: Steven Erlanger, London Bureau Chief of The New York Times
Extreme Right and Left in Europe: Agents of New (Dis)Order?
Anton Shekhovtsov, Visiting Senior Fellow, Legatum Institute
Ulrike Guérot, Director of the European Democracy Lab, European School of Governance
Ian Bond, Director of Foreign Policy, Centre for European Reform (CER)
György Schöpflin, Member of the European Parliament for Hungary
Moderated by: Quentin Peel, Mercator Senior Fellow, Chatham House
Sunday, April 26
08:00-09:00
Breakfast sessions
Transatlantic Relationship: Who Will Defend Europe?
Julianne Smith, Director of Strategy and Statecraft, Center for a New American Security (CNAS)
Lauri Lepik, Ambassador, Estonian Permanent Representative to NATO
Stefano Silvestri, Former President of the Italian Institute of International Affairs (IAI)
Damon Wilson, Executive Vice President of the Atlantic Council
Moderated by: Natalie Nougayrède, Columnist and Foreign Affairs Commentator of The Guardian
Offensive Cyber: Necessary Evil or Pandora’s Box?
Ariel Levite, Non-Resident Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Anna-Maria Osula, Researcher, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE)
Keir Giles, Director of Conflict Studies Research Centre (CSRC)
Moderated by: Sandro Gaycken, Senior Researcher, European School of Management and Technology
Is the Russian Military Back in Shape?
Aleksandr Golts, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Yezhednevny Zhurnal
Carolina Vendil Pallin, Researcher, Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI)
Tor Bukkvoll, Researcher, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI)
Celeste Wallander, Special Assistant to the U.S. President and Senior Director for Russia and Central Asia, National Security Council
Moderated by: Marek Menkiszak, Head of Russia Programme, Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW)
Eurasian Union: Reality or Illusion?
Janusz Bugajski, Senior Fellow, Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA)
Arseny Sivitsky, Director of the Centre for Strategic and Foreign Policy Research, Belarus
Fabio Belafatti, Coordinator of the Centre of Contemporary Central Asian Studies, University of Vilnius
Marie Mendras, Professor, Paris School of International Affairs – Sciences Po
Moderated by: Kaupo Känd, Senior Advisor, OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities
09:00-10:30
Panel discussion
Video
Sanctions: A Sword or a Boomerang?
Henrik Hololei, European Commission Deputy Secretary General
John A. Heffern, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Sergei Aleksashenko, Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Russia
Anders Åslund, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics
Moderated by: Hans Kundnani, Research Director, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
Coffee
11:00-12:30
Panel discussion
Video
Russian Society: Fertile Ground for a Noxious Regime?
Aleksey Levinson, Head of Social and Cultural Studies, Levada Centre
Vladimir Milov, Chairman of Democratic Choice Party of Russia
Masha Gessen, Journalist and Author
Artemy Troitsky, Journalist and Academic
Moderated by: Kadri Liik, Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
12:30-13:30
Closing session
Video | Transcript
Lennart Meri Lecture
Paul Goble, Analyst and Columnist, Window on Eurasia, and former Special Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State
Final Words
14:00
Farewell lunch