Tuesday, October 9th, 2018
University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 71, Aula, KOL-G-201

Dr. Andrzej Duda

President of the Republic of Poland

Polish perspectives on European integration

Special event as part of ‘The Churchill Europe Symposium 2018’ in collaboration with the Europa Institut at the University of Zurich (EIZ).
Welcome address by State Secretary Roberto Balzaretti, head of the Directorate for European Affairs (EDA).

Lecture in English.

Statement of the speaker on his lecture

The Future of Europe: The Foundations of Unity of the States of Europe

When the concepts of European integration were born, not all European nations were able to make independent choices regarding their future. The forcefully imposed Iron Curtain had such far-reaching consequences that when after the fall of communism Poland and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe began the natural process of their reintegration with the West, not only did they have to overcome the geopolitical rift, but also fight against misunderstandings and the false stereotype of their cultural otherness.

At the time of a vigorous debate about the future of Europe, the political rhetoric of some of today’s leaders echoes prejudices rooted in the Iron-Curtain-era Europe, thus recreating false divisions on the continent.

President Andrzej Duda wants to present his vision of the future of European integration, which needs to be based on the three pillars of equality, morality and freedom.

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The lecture is open to the public. No advance booking required. No seat reservation possible.*

Curriculum vitae

Andrzej Sebastian Duda, born in Krakow in 1972, has been President of Poland since August 2015. The administrative lawyer was a deputy in the Sejm (the lower house) of the Polish National Assembly from 2011 to 2014, and from 2014 to 2015 was an MEP for the European Conservatives and Reformists, having previously worked for Jarosław and Lech Kaczyński. Before this, in 2005 Duda had been a legal advisor to the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS) in the Sejm, later acting Minister of Justice, and then a member of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, as well as Undersecretary of State from 2008.