22nd Salzburg Europe Summit
Europe: A global player?
PROGRAM
The 22nd Salzburg Europe Summit, taking place from September 27th to 29th, 2026, will bring together international experts to discuss current European issues.
22nd Salzburg Europe Summit, September 27th - 29th, 2026
The program is updated regularly.
Sonntag, 27. September 2026
11.00 >>> Opening of Art Exhibition
12.00 >>> General Assembly
13.00 >>> 40 Years Spain in EU
14.30 >>> IRE Forum
16.30 >>> Colloquium
Montag, 28. September 2026
09.00 >>> Opening
09.30 >>> Dialogue I
12.00 >>> Dialogue II
15.00 >>> Dialogue III
17.00 >>> Workshop KAS
17.00 >>> Workshop UNECE
19.30 >>> Evening Event
Dienstag, 29. September 2026
10.00 >>> Dialogue IV
11.30 >>> Workshop
ART EXHIBITION
art exhibition European regional culture
Guest 2026: TBC
Sunday, September 27, 2026
11:00 AM
Salzburg Congress,
Mozart Hall, Ground Floor
Art exhibition featuring artists from a European region.
The Institute of the Regions of Europe (IRE) is presenting regional European art and culture, the connection between history and modernity, and the regional cultural diversity of Europe as part of the "Salzburg Europe Summit." Zoran Šijakovic, IRE Special Advisor for Regional Culture, curated the exhibition. It was opened in the presence of political and diplomatic representatives.
GREETING
Franz Schausberger
Chairman of the Institute of the Regions of Europe (IRE)
OPENING SPEECH
Stefan Schnöll
Deputy Governor of Salzburg, responsible for cultural affairs
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Edita Imamovic (tbc)
Artist from Umag, Croatia
INSTITUTE OF THE REGIONS OF EUROPE (IRE)
General Assembly 2026
Sunday, September 27, 2026
12:00
Salzburg Congress
Herbert von Karajan Hall, 1st floor
Members of the Institute of the Regions of Europe (IRE) are entitled to vote at the General Assembly.
Guests are very welcome.
GENERAL MEETING
Stefan Eder
Lawyer and chairman of the IRE support association
Helmut Falschlehner
Member of the IRE Board
Joachim Fritz
Secretary General of the IRE
Aisa Henseke
Member of the Board
Franz Schausberger
Chairman of the IRE
Josef Schöchl
Member of the IRE Board
TALK
Maria Aurora Mejia Errasquín
Ambassador of Spain to Austria
STEFAN VEIGL
Foreign Policy Editor, Salzburger Nachrichten
SOLEMNITY
Spain: 40 years of EU membership
Sunday, September 27, 2027
1 PM
Salzburg Congress
1st floor
To mark 40 years of Spain's membership in the EU, the Embassy of Spain, the Embassy of Portugal and the Representation of the Regional Government of Catalonia present delicacies from Spain, Portugal and the Autonomous Community of Catalonia.
GREETINGS
Maria Aurora Mejia Errasquín
Ambassador of Spain to Austria
Krystyna Schreiber
Delegates of the Government of Catalonia for Central Europe
IRE-FORUM
Is Europe dying out?
Demographic change as a challenge
Sunday, September 27, 2026
2.30 PM
Salzburg Congress
Herbert von Karajan Hall, 1st floor
LIVESTREAM
MODERATION
HEIDI HUBER
journalist
KEYNOTE
Sebastian Klüsener
Research Director of the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB), Professor at the University of Cologne, Germany
PANEL
Martin Fieder
Anthropologist at the University of Vienna
Gudrun Kugler
Member of the National Council, Rapporteur of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Austria
Stephan Marik-Lebeck
Head of Department "Demography and Health" at Statistics Austria
ERICH STRIESSNIG
Head of Institute for Demography, University of Vienna & Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Humal Global Capital
COLLOQUIUM
ARE values good(s)?
Economics and finance caught between responsibility and refusal
Sunday, September 27, 2026
4.30 PM
Salzburg Congress,
Herbert von Karajan Hall, 1st floor
LIVESTREAM
MODERATION
Claudia Reiterer
Journalist & presenter
KEYNOTE
Vinzenz Stimpfl-Abele
Procurator of the Order of St. George
DISCUSSION
David Dekorsi
Managing Director Association of Catholic Entrepreneurs, Germany
Martin Kocher
Governor of the Austrian National Bank
Martin Rhonheimer (tbc)
Philosopher and ethicist, President of the Austrian Institute of Economics and Social Philosophy
JUDITH SIMON
Dep. Chairwoman of German Ethics Council, Professor for Ethics in IT, University of Hamburg
Verica Trstenjak
Lawyer, Member of the Administrative Review Board of the European Central Bank, former Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union, Vice-President European Academy of Science and Arts, Slovenia
In cooperation with:
Order of St. George
OPENING
Opening of the 22nd Salzburg Europe Summit
Monday, September 28, 2026
9 AM
Salzburg Congress,
Europa Hall, 2nd floor
LIVESTREAM
EUROPEAN ANTHEM
Music classes at the New Middle School Maxglan
Greeting
Franz Schausberger
Chairman of the Institute of the Regions of Europe (IRE)
OPENING
Bernhard Auinger
Mayor of the city of Salzburg
Karoline Edtstadler
Governor of Salzburg
DIALOGUE I
Is Europe (still) a global player?
Monday, September 28, 2026
9 AM
Salzburg Congress
Europa Hall, 2nd floor
LIVESTREAM
MODERATION
Christian Ultsch
Head of Foreign Policy and Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Die Presse
FESTIVE SPEECHES
H.E. BAJRAM BEGAJ (tbc)
State President of Albania
H.E. Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova
State President of North Macedonia
KEYNOTE
Christian Stocker (tbc)
Chancellor of the Republic of Austria
SPEECH
Anita Orbán (tbc)
Foreign Minister, Hungary
TALK - EUROPE: TO BECOME A GLOBAL PLAYER IN THE WORLD?
Lisbeth Bech-Nielsen (tbc)
Minister for Resilience and Readiness, Denmark
Cristina Gherasimov
Deputy Prime Minister, Republic of Moldova
Florian Hahn (tbc)
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Germany
Oana Toiu (tbc)
Foreign Minister, Romania
SPEECH – “EuropE – ECONIMICAL Global Player?“
Frank Niederländer
Vice President Government Affairs Europe, BMW Group
TALK - WHEN IN DOUBT, EUROPE
Jens-Frederik Nielsen (tbc)
Prime Minister of Greenland
Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir (tbc)
Foreign Minister of Iceland
DISCUSSION - EUROPE: BETWEEN TRUMP AND CHINA?
Andreas Fulda
Expert on EU-China relations, University of Nottingham
Reinhard Heinisch
Expert for the USA, University of Salzburg
DIALOGUE II
Enlargement as a geopolitical success for Europe?
Monday, September 28, 2026
12.00
Salzburg Congress
Europa Hall, 2nd floor
LIVESTREAM
MODERATION
Michael Martens
Correspondent for Southeast Europe, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)
MPULS & INTERVIEW
Claudia Bauer
Minister for Europe, Austria
Maida Gorčević (tbc)
Minister for the EU, Montenegro
DISCUSSION
KRISTOF BENDER
Deputy Chairman & Senior Analyst European Stability Initiative (ESI), Austria
Mathieu Bousquet
Director in the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission
CHRISTOPH RATH
Member of the Board of Directors, responsible for the Western Balkans, Vienna Insurance Group VIG
Nina Vujanović
EU enlargement expert, Affiliate Fellow Bruegel in Brussels, Montenegro
DIALOG III
Blackouts, sabotage & co. - how safe is Europe?
Monday, September 28, 2026
3 PM
Salzburg Congress
Europa Hall, 2nd floor
LIVESTREAM
MODERATION
Gundula Geiginger
Journalist, Puls4
PULSE - "Ukraine: Infrastructure as a lifeline"
Representative of ukraine (tbc)
INTERVIEW - "RAILWAY - A critical infrastructure that connects Europe"
Representative of the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) (tbc)
CONVERSATION
MICHAEL BAMINGER
Chairman of the Board of Salzburg AG
Michael Strugl
CEO of VERBUND AG
DISCUSSION
Cornelius Granig
Management consultant, Austria
Verena Jackson
Expert for the protection of critical infrastructure, Center for Intelligence & Security Studies, University of the German Federal Armed Forces Munich
Dimitris Simos
Joint Professor of Cybersecurity, University of Salzburg & Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Greece
Teija Tiilikainen (tbc)
Director of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, Finland
INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP
TOPIC: TBC
In cooperation with the Multilateral Dialogue of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Vienna.
Monday, September 28, 2026
5 PM
Salzburg Congress
4th floor
MODERATION
Michael Stellwag
Political Advisor, Multilateral Dialogue of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Vienna
SPEAKER
TBC
WORKSHOP
STRONG COMMUNITIES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS OF THE UNITED NATIONS (SDGs)
In cooperation with UNECE - United Nations Economic Committee for Europe
Monday, September 28, 2026
5 PM
Salzburg Congress
Trakl Hall, 3rd floor
MODERATION
Andreas Kiefer
Member of the IRE Board of Trustees, former Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (2010 - 2022)
IMPULSE
ELISABETH TÜRK
Director of the Economic Cooperation and Trade Division (ECTD) at UNECE
SPEAKER
Elisabeth ELLISON-KRAMER
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Austria
johannes Pressl
President of the Austrian Association of Municipalites
Jelena Tadić
PPP Investment, Serbia
Representative from Barcelona
(tbc)
EVENING EVENT
Salzburg Evening
Monday, September 28, 2026
7.30 PM
Augustiner Bräu Kloster Mülln
Lindhofstraße 7, 5020 Salzburg
The "Bräustübl," Austria's largest beer hall, has been in operation since 1621 – for over 400 years. The beer is served from wooden barrels in stoneware mugs, accompanied by traditional dishes. In a convivial atmosphere, participants of the Salzburg Europe Summit have the opportunity for interesting, informal conversations and networking. The Bräustübl is a place of encounter, of tradition – a piece of living history in the heart of Salzburg's World Heritage Site.
Greeting
Helmut Falschlehner
Member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of the Regions of Europe (IRE)
MUSICAL FRAMEWORK
Ensemble DANICA
Director: Zoran Šijaković
DIALOGUE IV
Youth. Europe. Democracy.
How valuable are democracy and freedom?
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
9.30 AM
Salzburg Congress,
Herbert von Karajan Hall, 1st floor
LIVESTREAM
OPENING
Josef Schöchl
Member of the Salzburg State Parliament and member of the IRE board
MODERATION
Stephan Schweighofer
University of Salzburg
PANEL
Maximilian Aigner
Member of the Salzburg state government, youngest state councillor in Austria
Karina Radschenko
Youth delegate to the Council of Europe, Ukraine
Shiva Shabanian (tbc)
Iranian-Austrian scientist and activist (IRANO), Iran/Austria
Veronika Tsepkalo (tbc)
Civil rights activist, recipient of the Sakharov Prize, Belarus (exile)
WORKSHOP
Topic: tbc
In cooperation with AVE EUROPA and Global Shapers Salzburg
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
11.30 AM
Salzburg Congress,
MODERATION
TBC
SPEAKER
TBC
