With recent U.S.-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi yielding prisoner exchanges but little broader progress, the Trump administration's stated goal of achieving a settlement by June 2026, persistent challenges including Russia's demands echoing the 2022 Istanbul framework, and Europe's push for sustainable concessions from Moscow, the stakes could not be higher for ending Europe's largest conflict since World War II. Attendees will gain perspectives on the evolving landscape of peace negotiations, the role of transatlantic alliances in today's multipolar world, potential breakthroughs or obstacles ahead, and Hungary's strategic position amid shifting geopolitical realities.

Program:

15.00 - 16.00    Panel I. Real Peace: Budapest as Europe's Honest Broker

  • Márton Ugrósdy, Head of the Office of the Political Director
  • István Kiss, Executive Director of the Danube Institute
  • Richárd Schenk , Research Fellow at MCC Brussels
  • Moderator: Noémi Pálfalvi, Chief Advisor at the Danube Institute

16.00 - 17.00    Panel II. Ukraine's EU Dream: Who Foots the Bill?

  • Ralph Schoellhammer, Head of the Center for Applied History and IR Theory
  • Sean Nottoli, Visiting Fellow at the Danube Institute 
  • Péter Szitás, Deputy Director of Research at the Danube Institute  
  • Philipp Siegert, Deputy Director of Research at MCC Brussels 
  • Moderator: Krisztián László, International Director of MCC