The Road to Warsaw Security Forum (#Road2WSF) was a series of online webinars which took place on 17-18th November 2020 and was co-organized by the Casimir Pulaski Foundation and the German Marshall Fund of the United States. The sessions involved a variety of distinguished guests from across the world and covered a broad range of topics related to NATO, the European Union, transatlantic cooperation and threats to liberal democratic values.

The first day of the #Road2WSF online webinar series began with an introductory speech presented by Zbigniew Pisarski (President of the Casimir Pulaski Foundation) and Michał Baranowski (Director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States’ Warsaw office).

| MINISTERIAL CONVERSATION: The Future of the Transatlantic Alliance |

The opening session was a ministerial conversation titled “The Future of the Transatlantic Alliance – New Opportunities for Europe and the United States”. The panelists were Ann Linde (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden), Linas Linkevičius (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania) and Anže Logar (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia). Prof. Katarzyna Pisarska (Program Director of the Warsaw Security Forum) moderated the discussion which focused on the rise of China and the importance of transatlantic relations for European security.

| CONVERSATION WITH A SPECIAL GUEST: General Curtis M. Scaparrotti |

This was followed by “Safeguarding Transatlantic Unity and Resilience” which was a conversation between Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti (Commander, U.S. European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2016-2019) and Florence Gaub (Deputy Director, European Union Institute for Security Studies).

The session primarily addressed the role of NATO in global security and was co-hosted with Lockheed Martin.

| HIGH-LEVEL PANEL ON EUROPEAN SECURITY: European Strategic Autonomy |

The second panel discussion of the day was “European Strategic Autonomy: Can Europe Go Alone?” Panelists for this session were Baroness Goldie DL (Minister of State, Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom), Jan-Olof Lind (State Secretary, Ministry of Defence of Sweden) and Thomas Silberhorn (Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Defence, Germany). Ali Aslan (International TV Presenter and Journalist) moderated the discussion which covered various current issues, including European cooperation in the field of security, the important role of the United States in safeguarding Europe and different interpretations of the term “European strategic autonomy”.

| EXPERT WEBINAR: Climate Change and Security |

“Climate Change and Security” was the third panel discussion of the day and was held by Dr. Jamie Shea (Professor of Strategy and Security at the University of Exeter). The participants of this discussion were Thibaut Fourriere (Deputy Secretary General of the Sahel Coalition), Kate Guy (Deputy Director at the International Military Council on Climate and Security and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Climate and Security), Sherri Goodman (Senior Fellow at the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute and Environmental Change & Security Program) and Audun Halvorsen (State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway). Key topics of this discussion included the climatization of security and how militaries are adapting to tackle climate change.

This session was co-hosted with Friends of Europe.

| MINISTERIAL CONVERSATION: Assuring Security in the Black Sea Region |

The second ministerial discussion of the day was titled “Assuring Security in the Black Sea Region: Solutions to Strengthen It”. Bogdan Lucian Aurescu (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania) and Dmytro Kuleba (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine) participated in the discussion which was moderated by Vera Kobalia (Founder of Kobalia Consulting and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia 2010-2012) and focused on current efforts to maintain peace in the region.

| EXPERT WEBINAR: The European Union, Russia and China in the Western Balkans |

“Strategic Rivalry? The European Union, Russia and China in the Western Balkans” was the final session of the day which saw participants discuss the role of external powers in the Western Balkans and debate the possibility of the countries in the region joining the European Union. The panelists were Theresa Fallon (Founder and Director of the Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies CREAS), Vuk Jeremić (Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia), Stefano Stefanini (Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and Former Permanent Representative of Italy to NATO) and Robert Pszczel (Senior Officer, Public Diplomacy Division, NATO). The moderator for this discussion was Florian C. Feyerabend (Desk Officer, South East Europe/Western Balkans, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung).

Discussion co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland as part of the public diplomacy 2020 grant scheme.