With the war in Ukraine still raging and the international political rulebook reshaped, the EU is seeking to strengthen its competitiveness and build alliances to project influence on the global stage.
The Commission highlights the importance of making Europe fit for the future by reinforcing our security and defence, reforming the single market and advancing its energy transition, all while staying true to the ideals that have forged the union such as rules-based trade and the belief in international cooperation.
The 2026 STOCKTAKING conference evaluates the past year’s developments and explores how the EU’s priorities are likely to evolve as it calls for a focus on strengthening internal cohesion, advancing energy initiatives and building alliances.
This second STOCKTAKING conference will evaluate the Commission’s first year, looking closely at four key agendas that define the Commission’s political priorities and illustrate its ambition and direction.
Preliminary programme:
WELCOME
Margrethe Vestager, Chair, Stocktaking EU and Former Executive Vice President, European Commission
THE COMPETITIVENESS AGENDA UNDER REVIEW
- Christel Schaldemose, MEP, S&D
- Lars Sandahl Sørensen, CEO, Danish Industry
- Claes-Mikael Stahl, Deputy General Secretary, ETUC
- Carl-Johan Dalgaard, Chair, the Secretariat of the Danish Economic Councils
- Nils Redeker, Co-Director, Jacques Delors Centre
THE NORDIC MOMENT
KEYNOTE: Elina Maria Valtonen, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Finland
RESPONSE FROM: Eivind Vad Petersson, State Secretary for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway
PROSPECTS FOR RULES-BASED TRADE
- Jean-Marie Paugam, Deputy Director-General, WTO
- Andrew Small, Asia Program Director, European Council on Foreign Relations
- Roger Gschwend, Head of the World Trade Division, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Switzerland
- Birgitte Markussen, Ambassador, Danish Special Representative for the Great Lakes and the Sahel
A EUROPEAN DARPA: DEFENCE AND INNOVATION
KEYNOTE: Christina Egelund, Minister for Higher Education and Science, Denmark
- Per de la Gardie, Head of Group Government Affairs, Saab
- Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO, Terma
- Lars Frølund, Lecturer, MIT, former EIC Fund Board Member
FOUR YEARS OF WAR: EUROPE IN A NEW GEOPOLITICAL LANDSCAPE
EXPERT OVERVIEW: Jana Kobzova, Co-director of the European Security Programme, European Council on Foreign Relations
KEYNOTES:
- Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Denmark
- Taras Kachka, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Ukraine
- Natalia Gavrilița, Former Prime Minister, Moldova
- Pedrag Zenovic, Cheif Negotiator of the Ministry of European Affairs, Montenegro
- Eric Grégoire, CEO, Scandlines
- Gunhild Grieve, CFO, RWE
- Claes Westerlind, CEO, NKT
- Sara Vad, Head of Public Affairs, Danfoss
OUTLOOK: THE FUTURE OF THE TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONSHIPS
- Jim O’Brien, Former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, USA
RECEPTION with welcoming remarks by Jørgen Tang-Jensen, Chair, Board of Think Tank EUROPA
