Shaping the Zeitenwende: Towards a Shared Social Democratic Approach to Eastern Europe

On 18 June, the roundtable discussion "Shaping the Zeitenwende: Towards a Shared Social Democratic Approach to Eastern Europe" took place at the Ateneo de Madrid, conducted in English and held under the Chatham House Rule. The event was organized by FES Madrid and brought together experts, politicians, policy makers, former diplomats and media representatives.

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine has fundamentally altered Europe's understanding of security. The three-year war has provoked a unanimous response from EU and NATO member states. While they are firmly on Ukraine's side and willing to continue supporting it, there are differences in perception of the challenges. Since Donald Trump's re-election, however, US support has become uncertain, and NATO's unity has been called into question.

In response to the attack on Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared an ‘epochal change’ (Zeitenwende) in a speech in the Bundestag on 27 February 2022. In doing so, the Social Democrat sparked an intense debate on key aspects of future European security. For decades, security policy has not been a central issue for Europe's social democrats. It needs to be defined jointly to ensure the security, in a broad sense, of Europe's citizens.

To contribute to these discussions, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung initiated a reflection process, first with partners from Central and Eastern European countries, to exchange views on the new situation and its challenges. Based on a series of workshops held between 2023 and 2024, a document entitled 'Shaping the Zeitenwende. Towards a Shared Social Democratic Approach to Eastern Europe' was produced and presented in various places in Europe and the United States. We would now like to invite you to join us in discussing these new challenges from a Southwestern European perspective.

What should a long-term social democratic security policy in Europe look like? How can this epochal change be translated into concrete and consolidated policies? Are there shared ideas for a new ‘Ostpolitik’ that are also supported by social democrats across the continent? How can the concerns and interests of southern Europeans be incorporated?

We were delighted to welcome four authors and organisers of the FES-led reflection process to Madrid, where they presented and discussed the perspectives and debates from Northern, Central and Eastern Europe.