MCC Brussels Opens Battle for the Soul of Europe With Deep Debate on Europe’s Future

In his introduction, Jacob Reynolds, Head of Policy at MCC Brussels framed the event as a battle of ideas, arguing that Brussels’ power has grown because national elites abandoned responsibility. He described the “soul of Europe” as a legacy shaped by generations searching for meaning, and stressed that the conference was meant not as another policy gathering but as an intellectual challenge about Europe’s future. MCC Director General Zoltán Szalai expanded this by warning that European elites speak of democracy while neglecting civilisation’s core pillars — culture, sovereignty, faith, and freedom — at a moment when the continent faces multiplying crises.

The opening keynotes explored competing definitions of Europe itself. Societal security expert Monika Gabriela Bartoszewicz argued that fear is shrinking Europe’s cultural confidence and warned of rapid demographic and cultural pressures that many societies are struggling to absorb. Italian conservative thinker Francesco Giubilei emphasised Europe’s civilisational heritage, while Slovenian essayist Andrej Lokar challenged modern assumptions about reality and identity. British scholar Nicholas Tate called for a new elite capable of defending Europe’s cultural inheritance.

In a major plenary address, MEP Ryszard Legutko accused the European Commission of exceeding its treaty limits and hollowing out the principle of subsidiarity. He argued that Europe suffers from an “identity void” that technocratic institutions are exploiting, and said a civilisation cannot survive once it loses the sense that its people belong to something greater than themselves.

A subsequent panel on democracy and election interference argued that EU institutions increasingly shape electoral environments by supporting aligned media and NGOs. French MEP Virginie Joron warned of shrinking free speech protections, while Jerzy Kwaśniewski, President of the Ordo Iuris Institute said the EU’s selective enforcement of the rule of law has become impossible to ignore. Norman Lewis highlighted new forms of censorship emerging under the banner of the “democracy shield,” and Visegrad24 editor Adam Starzynski cautioned that fact-checking infrastructures often act as political actors rather than neutral referees.

The afternoon resumed with American political theorist Patrick Deneen, who described a “radical moral inversion” in which traditional vices are celebrated and cultural foundations eroded. He said Europe stands at a crossroads: continue down a path shaped by decadence, or rediscover virtues such as fidelity, honour, and responsibility to future generations. 

A transatlantic debate followed, with speakers assessing Europe’s dependence on the United States. European Conservative Editor Mick Hume questioned whether Europe still knows what it wants to defend. German professor Werner Patzelt urged Europe to recover confidence in its own civilisational strength. Portuguese MP Pedro Frazão described a continent economically and militarily dependent on Washington, warning that Europe must mature into an equal partner. Gladden Pappin, President of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs argued that liberal policymaking weakened both sides of the Atlantic and called for a renewed conservative alignment. 

Former Czech president Václav Klaus later criticised the glorification of supranational institutions and said Europe should ground its unity in freedom rather than an artificial common identity. He argued that Europe is a collection of nations, and that conflating the EU with Europe itself is a fundamental error.

Economic discussions returned in the final keynotes, with Center Head Ralph Schoellhammer warning of demographic decline and cultural stagnation amplified by digital monotony. Andreas Svanlund, Chief Commercial Officer of SafeClean argued that globalisation replaced Europe’s productive economy with financialisation, breaking the link between value creation and prosperity. Tomasz Wróblewski, President of the Warsaw Enterprise Institute and journalist said Europe has become the “sick man of the world,” diagnosing an institutional system that, in his view, mimics democratic choice while entrenching EU-level control.  

The day concluded with Melanie Phillips and Spanish MEP Jorge Buxadé examining threats to Western civilisation. Phillips argued that hostility toward Jews and hostility toward the West stem from the same cultural currents. Buxadé warned that rapid demographic change is reshaping public life in ways many citizens no longer recognise, and said Europe cannot defend its nations without defending its identity.

Day 1 closed with a shared sense that Europe is living through a decisive moment and that the future of its culture, sovereignty, and democratic integrity will depend on choices made now.