EUROPE 2026 Europe Forward: Shaping a New Era

17. - 18. März 2026
Berlin | digital

On 17 and 18 March 2026, DIE ZEIT, Handelsblatt, Tagesspiegel and WirtschaftsWoche jointly hosted their sixth major Europe conference, EUROPE 2026.

Global politics underwent a fundamental shift over the past year. Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House and with the new U.S. security strategy, one thing has become clear: the era of transatlantic reliability is over. The United States has significantly distanced itself from Europe.

Europe knows it must act more independently in order to safeguard prosperity, security and stability for its citizens. This transformation is already well underway. Europe is rethinking its approach, exploring new paths and strategically repositioning itself. We can all contribute to this—whether in politics or business, in industry, start-ups or SMEs. Europe’s companies bear responsibility and hold great potential. New alliances, clear positions and reliable strategies are needed. These and many other topics were at the heart of EUROPE 2026.

The event has already ended.

Read the program details afterwards and watch the event recordings.

Program

Highlights 2026 – Conference

Impressions 2026 – Reception at the French Embassy

Sessions of Day 1

Video

Europe Forward: Shaping a New Era Opening & Welcome

Video

A Stronger Europe in an Age of Geopolitics

Video

Europe’s Internal Security: Common Action, Stronger Capabilities

Video

Europe’s Security Horizon: Building a Stronger European Defense for 2026 and Beyond

Video

Sovereignty and Resilience: The Digital Foundations of Critical Infrastructure

Video

Strengthening Europe’s Shield: Industrial Agility for a New Security Era

Video

Healthy Returns: A Catalyst for Economic Growth and Resilience

Video

Made in Europe: Local Content for Strategic Resilience

Video

Unlocking Global Capital: What it Takes to Seize the “Invest in EUROPE” Opportunity

Video

Unlocking Economic Potential: How Digitalization and AI Drive Growth

Video

Scaling Startups Through Industry Collaboration

Video

Europe’s Sovereignty: A Look Toward Kyiv

Video

Europe’s Sovereignty: A Look Toward Washington and Paris

Video

Europe at a Turning Point: A Franco-German View of Europe’s Sovereignty

Sessions of Day 2

Video

Welcome and Morning Briefing

Video

EUROPE 2026 - Economic Insights

Video

Innovation Made in Europe: More Regulation or Becoming an Innovative Powerhouse

Video

Europe’s Chance: Stop Delaying, Start Competing

Video

Europe’s Lifelines: Strengthening Critical Industries for a Sovereign Continent

Video

Can Europe become a Global Leader in Life Sciences?

Video

Rebuilding Europe’s Economic Strength: A Competitiveness Agenda

Video

The Race for Resources: Oil, Gas and Minerals

Video

Turning Climate Risk into Strategic Resilience: Europe’s Role for Blue Innovation

Video

Still a Hot Topic: Navigating Environmental Politics in Heated Times

Speakers

Maria Luís Albuquerque Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union, European Commission
Jean-Noël Barrot Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, France
Magnus Brunner Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, European Commission
Andrius Kubilius Commissioner for Defence and Space, European Commission
Dr. Gonçalo Matias Minister in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister and of State Reform, Portugal
Roberta Metsola President, European Parliament
Carsten Schneider Federal Minister for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
Olivér Várhelyi Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, European Commission
Dr. Johann Wadephul Federal Foreign Minister, Federal Foreign Office

© Dominik Butzmann
Dr. Karsten Wildberger Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation

© Woithe
Prof. Philippe Aghion Nobel Prize Laureate 2025, Economic Sciences
Sonja Alvarez Foreign Correspondent Washington, WirtschaftsWoche
Kevin Berghoff CEO, QuantumDiamonds
Ingeborg R. Borgheim, PhD General Manager, Takeda Germany
Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor, Bertelsmann Stiftung

© Sebastian Pfuetze
Dr. Amit Datta General Counsel, Aleph Alpha
Matthias Ecke MEP Member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
Christoph Glaetzer Chief Global Value and Access Officer, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine
Gunnar Göpel Editor, Tagesspiegel Background Gesundheit & E-Health
Marco Herre CEO DEUTZ Defense, Deutz AG
Christoph Hinrichsen Vice President Public Affairs Enlarged Europe, Stellantis
Friederike Hofmann France correspondent, Handelsblatt
Tom Høyem Former Danish Minister for Greenland

© Toby Binder
Florian Huettl CEO, Opel und Vauxhall; Managing Director, Stellantis Germany
Kerstin Jorna Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Prof. Dr. Martin Keller President, Helmholtz Association
Pavlo Klimkin Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine
Philippe Knoche Chief Operations and Performance Officer, Thales Group
Matthias Krupa Foreign Correspondent France DIE ZEIT
Sandra Krusch Managing Partner EY-Parthenon Germany
Michael Lohscheller Chief Executive Officer, Polestar
Patrick van der Loo Country President Germany, Pfizer
Prof. Dr. Katja Matthes Director, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel

© Barbara Dombrowski
Martin Merz President Sovereign Cloud, SAP SE
Maya Noël CEO, France Digitale
Prof. Dr. Dennis A. Ostwald Founder & CEO, WifOR Institute
Verena Pausder Chairwomen, German Startup Association; Entrepreneur, Investor, Co-Founder of FC Viktoria Berlin
Torsten Riecke Correspondent for the UK and Ireland, Handelsblatt
Milos Rusic CO-FOUNDER & CEO, deepset
Stefan Rouenhoff Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Minsitry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany
Michiel Scheffer President of the Board, European Innovation Council, European Commission
Oliver Schenk Member of the European Parliament
Monika Schnitzer
Prof. Dr. Monika Schnitzer Chair, German Council of Economic Experts
Michael Schrodi Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Germany
Prof. Dr. Moritz Schularick President, Kiel Institute for the World Economy
André Schwämmlein Co-Founder and CEO, Flix
Jens Spahn Member of Parliament, German Bundestag; Leader of the joint CDU/CSU (Union) parliamentary group
Thuy-Ngan Trinh Managing Director, A11
Vincenzo Vedda Chief Investment Officer, Member of the Management Board, DWS Group
Jonatan Vseviov Secretary General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia
Dr. Richard Williams VP of Environmental Health and Safety, Organon

Hosts

Henrike Adamsen Political and Economic Affairs Editor, WirtschaftsWoche
Nicole Bastian Co-Head Podcast, Video and Live Journalism, Handelsblatt
Horst von Buttlar Editor-in-Chief, WirtschaftsWoche
Ruth Ciesinger Verantwortliche Redakteurin Online, Tagesspiegel

© Nassim Rad
Hannah Grünewald Podcast Editor and Host, DIE ZEIT
Lisa Hegemann Head of Digital, DIE ZEIT
Nils von der Kall CEO, ZEIT Media Group
Nicolas Köhn Managing Director, Tagesspiegel
Maria Kotsev Editor Eastern Europe, Tagesspiegel

© Nassim Rad
Sebastian Matthes Editor-in-Chief, Handelsblatt
Anke Myrrhe Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Tagesspiegel

© Nassim Rad
Dr. Anna Sauerbrey Foreign Editor, DIE ZEIT
Mark Schieritz Deputy Editor Politics, DIE ZEIT
Nadine Schimroszik Reporter for Technology & Start-ups, Handelsblatt Media Group
Anja Wehler-Schöck Member of the Editorial Board, Tagesspiegel

© Nassim Rad
Christian Tretbar Editor-in-chief, Tagesspiegel
Andrea Wasmuth CEO, Handelsblatt Media Group
Jochen Wegner Editor-in-chief, DIE ZEIT

© Andreas Chudowski
Zacharias Zacharakis Business Editor, DIE ZEIT

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