After the successful debut of the 2023 WSF Report, the Warsaw Security Forum has decided to dedicate the 2024 report edition to mapping out the Weimar Triangle initiative between France, Germany and Poland and discussing the format’s role in shaping the future of EU affairs.

“The Weimar Triangle initiative, which had been overlooked for years, has recently seen a resurgence of interest in Warsaw, Paris, and Berlin. As representatives of three significant, yet diverse EU members align on the most pressing issues, they could serve as a model for others, helping to advance much-needed reforms within the EU. The goal is not to impose a direction, but rather to demonstrate a cooperative approach that could inspire broader consensus across the EU.” – writes Prof. Katarzyna Pisarska, Chair of the Warsaw Security Forum.

As the WSF program takes a closer look at the future of the EU under the theme #ThinkingEuropeAnew, the aspiring role of the presented report is to shape the debate on the cooperation opportunities within the format for a renewed European project. Hence the title: “Pushing the EU agenda forward with the Weimar Triangle”.

The main part of the report is divided into three thematic areas: Foreign Policy, Defence, and Energy & State Resilience. Each area identifies two advocacy causes for initiatives that could mobilise cross-party support and serve as foundations for more unified policies in areas where the EU currently lacks capacity and needs stronger agency. As the final recommendation, the report proposes creating an International Weimar Fund, which would galvanise cooperation between the three states and ensure the long-term sustainability of the project.

The report is a result of the work of over 25 French, German and Polish members of parliament and experts, supported by the Casimir Pulaski Foundation’s team.

The Report was officially presented to Ministers for European Affairs of the Weimar Triangle – Adam Szłapka of Poland, Anna Lührmann of Germany, and Benjamin Haddad of France – during their sideline meeting at the Warsaw Security Forum on October 2nd, 2024.

The 2023 Warsaw Security Forum Annual Report, entitled “Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as a New Center of Gravity: Recommendation on Strengthening Regional, European and Transatlantic Security” was presented during the 10th Anniversary edition of Warsaw Security Forum.

For over half a year, nearly 30 internationally recognized experts and policymakers in foreign policy, defence, energy and cybersecurity, supported by the Casimir Pulaski Foundation’s team, have been working on developing the report. The report consists of four thematic areas, including defence, democratic resilience, energy and climate, and cybersecurity. For each of these areas, the report proposes two advocacy causes, which serve as “calls for action” for decision-makers, reflecting the security needs of the CEE region and creating proposals for implementable policies on the Transatlantic, European and national levels.

“Times of crisis pose both immense challenges as well as unique opportunities. It is the hope of the authors and contributors of this report, that the transatlantic community makes the most of these times of trial, by first and foremost helping Ukraine to win the war with Russia and second by taking this opportunity to strengthen our own collective defence, as well as our democratic resilience. We trust this report will contribute to finding the right solutions for Central and Eastern Europe and the Transatlantic Alliance as a whole.” – writes Prof. Katarzyna Pisarska, Chair of the Warsaw Security Forum – in the introduction to the report.

In 2023 the WSF High-Level Expert Groups worked together in the realization of a research project entitled: “Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as a New Center of Gravity: (Wartime) Reordering of Transatlantic Security”

A selected group of 40 high-level international security experts and decision-makers form three working groups in each of the three thematic areas:

• (Foreign Policy) Ensuring Better Regional Stability by Protecting a Rules-Based Order
• (Defense) Europe at War. Strengthening European Defense Capabilities – the role of CEE
• (State Resilience) Making CEE Societies Fit For an Age of Digital and Energy Security Disruptions