Tag: President Donald Trump

Festival of Europe lines up top-flight speakers to discuss recent dramatic developments on the world stage

Keeping democracy healthy in Europe is key theme, says organiser

Scotland’s second Festival of Europe is being held at the French Institute, Edinburgh, on 10th and 11th May. Backed by the European Movement in Scotland and a wide range of other organisations, a major theme of the two-day event is  “The Future of European Democracy”.

The Festival comes at a time when far right parties are on the rise across Europe and, as Donald Trump’s administration changes the global order that has been in place since the end of World War 2.

Mark Lazarowicz, one of the conference organisers and a former Edinburgh MP, says: “The world is more unstable today than at any time in the past 80 years. There are powerful political forces at work here, in Europe, the USA and globally that want to tear down the institutions and ideas that have brought freedom, dignity, security and stability to millions.

“We have assembled an outstanding cast of speakers who will explain where we are now and look at how we can keep democracy healthy in Europe.”

Among the issues to be discussed are proposals to revitalise the European project of political and economic integration, how the EU should respond to hard right politics, how political parties and civil society can strengthen liberal democracy and what the prospects for closer ties between Scotland, the UK and the EU.

On the economics front, the recent report on the future of European competitiveness is being seen as a vital blueprint for Europe, a matter made far more urgent by America’s new protectionist trade policy. A conference session will look at how the report recommendations can be implemented the implications for economies across Europe, including Scotland and the UK. 

MSP Clare Adamson and Alistair Mackie, Chief Executive of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, will look at progress on the Face the Music campaign. Brexit has meant that artists, performers and technical specialists who support performers have lost income and bookings across Europe.

To book tickets for The Future of European Democracy Conference and all the other events taking place as part of the Festival of Europe go to

What’s On – Events

Speakers include:

Tanja Bueltmann, Professor of International History at the University of Strathclyde. She specialises in the history of migration and diaspora. She is also a citizens’ rights campaigner and founder of the EU Citizens’ Champion campaign.

Mark Leonard is co-founder and director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, currently the Henry A Kissinger Chair in foreign policy and international relations at the US Library of Congress, Washington DC. 

Sophie Pornschlegel is Deputy Director of Europe Jacques Delors, a Brussels-based think tank. She is also a Policy Fellow with Das Progressive Zentrum in Berlin.

Alyn Smith was an SNP Member of the European Parliament for Scotland from 2004-2019 and SNP MP for Stirling from 2019 to 2024. He was the party’s Westminster lead on Europe until last year.

Sir Graham Robert Watson was a Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament between 1994 and 2014. He is a previous leader of the Liberal Group in the European Parliament,

Sandro Gozi MEP sits for France in the European Parliament. He is Chair of the European Parliament Delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly. He is a former Minister for European Affairs in the Italian government.

Catherine Barnard has been Professor of European Union and Employment Law at the University of Cambridge since 2008. She has also been Deputy Director of the UK in a Changing Europe think-tank.

Cecilia Jastrzembska is President, Young European Movement (YEM). She has worked as a senior policy advisor in UK government departments. She has also held leadership roles in the Young European Socialists. She speaks and writes on feminism, climate change and AI, and European citizens’ rights.

Stephen Gethins has been an SNP MP from 2015-2019 and from 2024. He was SNP Spokesperson for International Affairs and Europe at Westminster. He is Professor of Practice in International Relations at the University of St. Andrews. He has worked in the NGO sector specialising in peace-building, arms control and democracy in the Caucasus and the Balkans.

Alistair Mackie, Chief Executive of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Originally from Ayrshire, Alistair Mackie was appointed Chief Executive of the RSNO in 2019. A classical musician before entering management, he was principal trumpet with the London Sinfonietta and a professor at The Royal College of Music.

Clare Adamson MSP is Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee. She will talk about the committee’s work and the cross-party parliamentary support for the Face the Music campaign.

What’s On – Events

And more….

The Festival of Europe website contains information on other events being held across Scotland to mark Europe Day. They include Edinburgh performances by award winning singer, Christine Bovill and walking tours in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Fife that will look at Scotland’s historic ties with Europe.

The Pentland Ukrainian Support Group (PUSG) is holding a Europe-themed party. 

The Citizens Rights Project is holding a conference looking at the issues and challenges facing EU citizens in Scotland.

A special relationship?

Prime Minister Theresa May spoke in London at a joint press conference with President of the United States Donald Trump earlier today …

This week we commemorate the extraordinary courage and sacrifice of those who gave their lives for our liberty on D-Day, 75 years ago.

As leaders prepare to gather here from across the world, it is fitting that we begin with a celebration of the special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States – enduring partners who stood side by side on that historic day – and every day since.

For generations, at the heart of the transatlantic alliance has been our shared democratic values, our common interests and our commitment to justice.

It is that unity of purpose that will preserve the deep-rooted ties between our people and underpin our nations’ security and prosperity for the next 75 years and beyond.

So I am very pleased to welcome the President of the United States of America on this State Visit to the United Kingdom.

For the past two and a half years the President and I have had the duty and privilege of being the latest guardians of this precious and profound friendship between our countries.

As with our predecessors, when we have faced threats to the security of our citizens and our allies, we have stood together and acted together.

When Russia used a deadly nerve agent on the streets of our country, alongside the UK’s expulsions the President expelled 60 Russian intelligence officers – the largest contribution towards an unprecedented global response.

And, in Syria, when innocent men, women and children were victims of a barbaric chemical weapons attack, Britain and America, along with France, carried out targeted strikes against the regime.

Since we spoke about NATO during my first visit to the White House we have maintained our support for this crucial alliance.

Thanks in part to your clear message on burden-sharing, Donald, we have seen members pledge another $100 billion, increasing their contributions to our shared security.   And I’m pleased to announce that NATO will soon be able to call on the UK’s Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and F-35 fighter jets to help tackle threats around the world.

Today we have discussed again the new and evolving challenges to our security, our values and our way of life.

We share the same view about their origin and our objectives in meeting them.

But – like Prime Ministers and Presidents before us, and no doubt those that will come after – we can also differ sometimes on how to confront the challenges we face.

I have always talked openly with you, Donald, where we have taken a different approach – and you have done the same with me.

I have always believed that cooperation and compromise are the basis of strong alliances, and nowhere is this more true than in the special relationship.

Today we have discussed again the importance of our two nations working together to address Iran’s destabilising activity in the region and to ensure Tehran cannot acquire a nuclear weapon.

Although we differ on the means of achieving that – as I have said before, the UK continues to stand by the nuclear deal – it is clear we both want to reach the same goal.

It is important that Iran meets its obligations and we do everything to avoid escalation which is in no-one’s interest.

Recognising our nations are safer and more prosperous when we work together on the biggest challenges of our time, I also set out the UK’s approach to tackling climate change, and our continued support for the Paris Agreement.

And we also spoke about China, recognising its economic significance and that we cannot ignore action that threatens our shared interests or values.

As we have deepened our cooperation on security – including our joint military operations, and our unparalleled intelligence-sharing – so our economies too are ever more tightly bound together.

Every morning 1 million Americans get up and go to work for British companies in America. And 1 million Britons do the same for American companies here.

Our trading relationship is worth over £190 billion a year and we are the largest investors in each other’s economies – with mutual investments valued at as much as $1 trillion.

Mr President, you and I agreed the first time we met that we should aim for an ambitious free trade agreement when the UK leaves the EU.

And from our positive discussions today I know that we both remain committed to this.

I am also sure that our economic relationship will only grow broader and deeper, building on the conversations we had and the ideas we heard from UK and US businesses when we met them earlier today.

Tomorrow we will sit down in Portsmouth with our fellow leaders to reaffirm the enduring importance of the western alliance and the shared values that underpin it.

And as we look to the future – in the years and in the generations ahead – we will continue to work together to preserve the alliance that is the bedrock of our shared prosperity and security – just as it was on the beaches of Normandy 75 years ago.