BEF Lunchtime debate

1. 12:15 - 13:15
   Post-COVID economic and social challenges: presentation of the report of the High-Level Group

   Panel discussion with:
   Paolo Gentiloni (Commissioner for the Economy, European Commission)
   and members of the High-Level Group:
   André Sapir (Professor, Université Libre de Bruxelles)
   Melinda Mills (Director, Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, University of Oxford)
   Daniela Schwarzer (Executive Director for Europe and Eurasia, Open Society Foundations)
   
   Moderated by Sasha Vakulina (Business Editor, Euronews)

   See the summary

Main Session

1. 13:45 - 13:50
   Welcome by moderator

   Sasha Vakulina (Business Editor, Euronews)

2. 13:50 - 14:00
   Opening address

   Ursula von der Leyen (President, European Commission)

   See the summary

3. 14:00 - 14:10
   'Tommaso Padoa Schioppa' lecture

   Angela Merkel (Federal Chancellor of Germany)

   See the summary

4. 14:10 - 15:10
   A green and fair recovery: when the unprecedented becomes the precedent

   Panel discussion with:
   Paolo Gentiloni (Commissioner for the Economy, European Commission)
   Jesper Brodin (President and CEO, Ingka Group)
   Esther Duflo (Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

   Interactive Q&A with the audience online

   See the summary

5. 15:10 - 15:45
   Break
6. 15:45 - 15:55
   Keynote address

   Christine Lagarde (President, European Central Bank)

   See the summary

7. 15:55 - 16:25
   #EUBEF21 debate on the motion: “For a sustainable post-COVID recovery, this forum believes we should replace GDP with an alternative well-being indicator”

   Speaking for: Katherine Trebeck (Advocacy & Influencing Lead, Wellbeing Economy Alliance)
   Speaking against: Charles Wyplosz (Emeritus Professor of International Economics, Graduate Institute Geneva)

   See the summary

8. 16:25 - 17:10
   Strategic autonomy vs protectionism: how to walk the line

   Catherine Nicholson (European Affairs Editor, France 24) in conversation with:
   Valdis Dombrovskis (Executive Vice-President, European Commission) and
   Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Director-General, World Trade Organisation)

   Interactive Q&A with the audience online

   See the summary

9. 17:10 - 17:20
   ‘Broader Horizons’ – a ‘TED-style’ talk

   Francesca Bria (President, Italian National Innovation Fund)

   See the summary

10. 17:20 - 17:25
    Keynote address

    Jacinda Ardern (Prime Minister, New Zealand)

    See the summary

11. 17:25 - 17:30
    Closing by moderator
    Sasha Vakulina (Business Editor, Euronews)

Meet the expert

1. 17:45 - 18:30
   The Sustainable Development Goals: where we stand and where we’re going
   Discussion with:
   Viveka Palm (Director, Eurostat, European Commission)
   Ricardo Rio (Mayor of Braga and Committee of the Regions Rapporteur for the opinion on delivering the SDGs by 2030)
   
   Moderated by Catherine Nicholson (European Affairs Editor, France 24)
   
   See the summary

2. Interactive Q&A with the audience online
   Registered participants only: limited spots available