We just launched our European Tour. 18 months. 18 cities. One journey at the heart of Europe’s future.
Europe’s future cannot be imagined from a single capital, conference room or corner of the continent. It must be built by bringing together the experiences, ambitions and anxieties of Europeans living in very different places. That is why we are taking the conversation on the road.
The European Tour has begun. We started in Alpbach (Austria) and Bled (Slovenia) on a journey that will take us across Europe. A journey of 18 months and 18 cities and one shared ambition: to build Europe’s future around new ideas..
The conversations we begin in one city will continue in the next. Each stop will bring new people, perspectives and ideas into the debate, turning individual encounters into collective momentum. We will ask difficult questions, challenge assumptions and test ideas. Together these conversations will take us to the heart of the matter: what future do we imagine for Europe?
And we are traveling with company. The European Tour is powered by a growing community of young people, policymakers, activists, journalists, business leaders, researchers and everyone who cares about Europe’s future.
The European Tour is underway, be part of it!
Next stops: Zagreb (1 October), Helsinki (7 October), Athens (8 October) and Łódź (24 October).
First stop: European Forum Alpbach – Networking for Pragmatic Idealists
We spent the end of August proving that taking Europe seriously and having a good time are not mutually exclusive.
The European Tour started in Alpbach, Austria where we did what pragmatic idealists do best – argue in public. Inviting a mixed crowd of pro-Europeans to our Networking for Pragmatic Idealists, we put three of our members on the spot for them to pitch ideas for the future of Europe. Alberto Alemanno, Hanna Shelest, and Oksana Forostyna chose ideas connected to innovating European democracy and supporting Ukraine. All participants could express their support for one or several of their pitches. The audience ended up showing great interest in building Europeans’ capabilities to participate in European policy-making via established tools, such as the European Citizens’ Initiative.
Move Faster, Hope Louder!
Then we turned up the volume in Alpbach: We invited to a concert open to all, and everyone loved it. On stage: the Balkans brass band Trubači Munich and Austrian-Mexican singer and flutist Tamara Flores, with DJ Anna Ullrich. People danced until 1 a.m. under the motto: “Move Faster, Hope Louder!” Because it is important to keep your spirits up when you are fighting a difficult fight.
Second Stop: Bled Strategic Forum
The tour continued in Bled, Slovenia, where EFI joined the 2026 Bled Strategic Forum as an institutional partner. EFI president Alexander Schallenberg joined a panel titled “The New Frontlines of Power: Europe’s Security in an Age of Dependence and Coercion,” while EFI member, and former Foreign Minister of North Macedonia, Nikola Dimitrov spoke on “Counting the Cost: Demography, Power, and Europe’s Strategic Choices” – two panels asking the same underlying question: What kind of continent Europe is choosing to become?
Together with our partners Think Europe, we also convened a closed-door working lunch on Western Balkans EU enlargement. The discussion explored gradual integration as both a pathway towards reform and a possible response to unanimity constraints in the Council; the EU’s growing focus on Albania and Montenegro as accession frontrunners; Iceland’s prospective referendum on resuming accession talks; and the changing US posture that is reshaping the region’s strategic environment.
