XXIV Open Society Forum on Rule of Law: Liberty of the Many, Duty of the Few?

We are delighted to let you know that the XXIV Open Society Forum “Rule of Law in the European Union: Liberty of the Many or Duty of the Few?” will take place on
Wednesday, January 13 at 15:00-17:00 (14:00-16:00 CET). We are looking forward to meeting you on Webex platform; the link will be provided after registration.

The Forum is organized in joint cooperation between Open Estonia Foundation and the European Commission Representation in Estonia. 

The keynote speech will be held by Věra Jourová, Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency. The first annual EU Rule of Law Report, launched on September 30, 2020 was one of the major initiatives of the EU Commission Work Programme for 2020. It monitors significant developments, both positive and negative, relating to the rule of law in member states and acts as a preventive tool, deepening dialogue and joint awareness of rule of law issues. 

Vice President Jourová's keynote and a round of Q & A will be followed by a discussion with the former President of Estonia 2006-2016 Toomas Hendrik Ilves; Director of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute at the International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS),
Open Estonia Foundation board member Kristi Raik and Katrin Nyman-Metcalf, adjunct professor at TalTech Department of Law; Chair of Supervisory Council of Estonian Human Rights Centre will tackle the problems European Union is facing regarding the rule of law.  The discussion will be moderated by journalist Johannes Tralla (ERR), former Estonian Public Broadcasting correspondent in Brussels 2012-2018.  

The XXIV Open Society Forum will discuss and understand: 

• What rule of law and conditionality on the rule of law mean in practice in today’s EU;
• How the envisaged rule of law conditionality can link up with and strengthen the rest of the EU’s remedies on the protection and promotion of democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights, 
  including the infringement proceedings of the Article 7 TEU procedure and the Strategy on the implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights;
• What it means to all interest groups and citizens in society
• How can civil society protect the rule of law - challenges and opportunities

The working language of the event is English, with Estonian simultaneous translation provided. 

NB! Please register by January 11 at the following link: https://forms.gle/pDAKMtzGyW2y9aDu5 
Registered participants will be provided with the Webex link in the beginning of next week.
There'll also be an online stream, links will be available next week.
There's already a possibility to submit questions via Sli.do platform - please, go to www.sli.do and enter code: OpenSocietyForum2021.

See you on January 13 at 15:00 (14:00 CET)!

As one of the highlights of every year, the Open Estonia Foundation has been organizing Open Society Forums  already for 23 years now. 
Over the years, we have brought together opinion leaders from Estonia and abroad to debate on topics related to open society, democracy and politics in general. 
Former speakers include George Soros, Martti Ahtisaari, Jeremy Rifkin, Robert Putnam, Timothy Garton Ash, Pippa Norris, Andrei Illarionov, Lilia Shevtsova, Heather Grabbe, Olli Rehn, Timothy Snyder and others.
This year, the Forum is also sponsored by the Estonian Ministry of Justice. 

Looking forward to seeing you soon online,

Open Estonia Foundation
European Commission Representation in Estonia

Additional info:

Mari Roonemaa
Head of Communication
Open Estonia Foundation
mari@oef.org.ee 
+37256454598