Programme

European Public Diplomacy Week (EPDW)

European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) – Multi-layered public diplomacy

25 June 2025  •  11h00 – 12h30 
From trade to water: civil society’s soft diplomacies

  • Moderator: Mr. Laurenţiu PLOSCEANU, Vice-President of the EESC

11.00-11.10 - Keynote speech

  • Ms. Vesna KOS, EU Ambassador to the Council of Europe

11.10-11.40 - TRADE: Rediscovering multilateralism as an antidote to trade wars

  • Ms. Tanja BUZEK, EESC Member, Vice-President of the EESC’s International Trade Follow-up Committee
  • Ms. Sofia BOURNOU, Senior Adviser at Business Europe
  • Ms. Colette VAN DER VEN, Founder and Director at TULIP Consulting
  • Discussion

11.40-12.05 - ENLARGEMENT: Civil society dialogue with the candidate countries

  • Mr. Ionuţ SIBIAN, EESC Member, Vice-President of the Western Balkans Follow-up Committee
  • Ms Elena CRASTA, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
  • Mr Johann SATTLER, EU Ambassador in Montenegro
  • Discussion

12.05-12.30 - WATER: Tackling water scarcity together with the Global South

  • Ms. Milena ANGELOVA, EESC Member, rapporteur on Blue diplomacy and water cooperation
  • Mr. Thomas REBERMARK, Director of the Swedish Water House at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)
  • Mr. Louis Cheick SISSOKO, Presiding Officer of the African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council
  • Discussion