With some 50-60 senior discussants and 100 observers, this VIP roundtable will focus on the future of the EU amidst the eurozone crisis, addressing topics such as enlargement, trade and the EU’s influence on the world.FEATURING: Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of PolandJose Manuel Barroso, Head of the European CommissionDuncan Niederauer, Chief Executive Officer of NYSE EuronextJoaquín Almunia, Vice-President of the European Commission & Commissioner for CompetitionBaroness Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission9.00-11.00 SESSION I:THE EU’S THREE AGES: RISE, DECLINE AND FALL?In 2032 the European “project” will be 75 years old. The first 25 years or so culminated in the single market and the Maastricht treaty’s birth of the euro, while the EU’s second “age” taking it into the 21st century saw its enlargement and consolidation. Could it be that in spite of all the global pressures for even closer integration the third age will see the EU stagnate and become irrelevant? (...)11.30-13.15 SESSION II:  PROJECT PHOENIX: SETTING OUT A REAL POLITICAL AGENDA FOR EUROPE  In this second decade of the 21st century, Europe must confront global challenges which are very different from those that were the catalyst for the European project in the first place. How can Europe confront such challenges as its waning competitiveness, resource competition, energy insecurity, food scarcities, demographic and labour imbalances and, of course, climate change? (...)14.15-16.00 SESSION III:  RETAINING EUROPE’S “VALUES” LEADERSHIP AND WINNING BACK CITIZENSThe social fabric of many EU countries is disintegrating in alarming ways; failure to absorb immigrant communities is generating right-wing extremism and in some countries the growth of an ill-educated “under-class”. How worthwhile is the European social model and what policies should adapt it to the challenges and reforms of the globalised world? Is an EU-wide consensus on such pressures as ageing and structural labour shortage the way towards a more homogenous society? (...)For more information please visit our event web page.