Conclave 2026: From European Strengths to EU Power – Three Days to Shape Europe’s Strategic Future
Created by EuropaNova, the Conclave is a high-level strategic forum bringing together public decision-makers, business leaders, European officials, intellectuals and representatives of civil society to reflect—through both closed-door and public sessions—on the continent’s major transformations.
The 2026 edition, held in Brussels from Thursday 15 to Saturday 17 January, took place at the Palace of the Academies and at Bruegel’s headquarters, under the ambitious title “From European Strengths to EU Power.” It gathered leading European figures, including Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank, and Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space, alongside senior policymakers, industrial leaders and academics.
Three strategic pillars structured the discussions:
- Growth,
- Democracy,
- Geopolitics, Defence and Security.
Across three intense days, Conclavers explored a central question: how can Europe transform its economic, technological and political strengths into genuine strategic capacity and collective action?
Thursday 15 January – Opening Europe’s Strategic Conversation
Palace of the Academies
The first day was dedicated to the official opening of the Conclave.
The afternoon began with a dedicated workshop with ASML on Europe’s technological resilience, featuring presentations by Frank Heemskerk, Yanick Treige and Andrew Lloyd, and moderated by Mariya Gabriel, alongside Jeromin Zettelmeyer.
In the early evening, the Opening Public Conference brought together participants and guests for a wide-ranging debate on Europe’s role in a rapidly shifting global order. Welcome remarks by Prof. dr. Godelieve Laureys and Guillaume Klossa set the tone: Europe must take greater responsibility for its future as a geopolitical actor.
This was followed by a presentation by Nicolas Becuwe, Senior Director at Verian, on “European citizens and the EU’s pivotal role in the world”, offering insights into citizens’ perceptions and expectations at a time when Europe’s global responsibility is increasingly scrutinised.
The opening sequence concluded with a “Wake up call from business” delivered by Bahadır Kaleağası, President of the Bosphorus Institute and former Secretary-General of TÜSİAD, highlighting the urgency—felt by the business community—of turning Europe’s assets into strategic action in an era of accelerating competition and power politics.
A first panel, moderated by Peter Grk, explored the challenges facing civil society amid accelerating geostrategic competition, with contributions from Prof. Robbert Dijkgraaf, Dr. Ilham Kadri, Alireza Shojaian, Prof. dr. Godelieve Laureys and Dr. Giovanni Grevi.
The outlook discussion on citizen engagement, chaired by Erika Staël von Holstein, brought together Mariya Gabriel and Nicolas Schmit, before the official cocktail reception and inaugural dinner, where Pietro Benassi animated the strategic exchanges among participants.
Friday 16 January – At the Strategic Core of the Conclave
Bruegel Headquarters
The second day was devoted to closed-door working sessions, structured around the three main pillars.
Growth – Rebuilding Europe’s Economic Power
Moderator: Dr. Malte Zabel – Rapporteur: Guntram Wolff
The keynote by Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank, marked a decisive shift: growth is no longer merely an economic objective but a cornerstone of Europe’s strategic power.
Discussions highlighted several major priorities:
- mobilising Europe’s capital markets at scale,
- using the green transition as an industrial strategy,
- treating defence spending as a driver of innovation,
- retaining talent and responding to growing youth disillusionment.
Conclavers called for a genuine Capital Markets Union, stronger European public procurement in digital technologies, and a renewed narrative linking prosperity, social cohesion and technological sovereignty.
Democracy – Restoring Trust and the Capacity to Deliver
Moderator: Philippe Étienne – Rapporteur: Grégoire Roos
The Democracy session delivered a sobering diagnosis: the relationship between citizens and democratic institutions is eroding, largely because tangible results are lacking.
Three core messages emerged:
- democracy must deliver concrete improvements in everyday life,
- the information battle in the age of AI is decisive,
- citizen participation must be reinvented.
One flagship proposal was the creation of a European sovereign information infrastructure, capable of aggregating trusted journalism across the continent and underpinning a multilingual European public sphere. Participants also emphasised the expansion of local citizens’ assemblies and greater transparency in EU decision-making.
Geopolitics, Defence and Security – Entering a New Era
Moderator: Małgorzata Bonikowska – Rapporteur: Giovanni Grevi
This session opened with a clear diagnosis: Europe has entered a period of structural geopolitical rivalry in which power politics has returned to centre stage.
Debates focused on:
- the gap between Europe’s economic weight and its political agency,
- the fragmentation of defence policies,
- the urgency of technological sovereignty,
- the strategic link between economic growth and security.
Conclavers stressed the need to move beyond unanimity in foreign policy, to strengthen flexible coalitions among Member States, and to articulate a compelling European proposition for partners in the Global South.
The day concluded with an informal dinner fostering further strategic exchanges.
Saturday 17 January – Conclusions and the Way Forward
Bruegel Headquarters
The final morning continued the geopolitical discussion under the moderation of Maria João Rodrigues, with a high-level intervention by Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, introduced by António Vitorino.
The Closing Session, chaired by Aart Jan de Geus, allowed rapporteurs to present the principal “game-changers” identified across the three pillars:
- technological resilience and artificial intelligence,
- capital-market integration,
- democratic innovation,
- Europe’s strategic governance.
In their concluding remarks, Guillaume Klossa and António Vitorino reaffirmed the ambition of the Conclave: to turn Europe’s strengths into lasting collective power and actionable strategy.
A Strategic Community in Motion
Over three days, Conclave 2026 reaffirmed EuropaNova’s mission: to provide a unique forum for strategic reflection capable of shaping a stronger, more sovereign and more democratic Europe.
We warmly thank all the conclavers, as well as our institutional and private partners, without whom this edition would not have been possible.
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