EFNI – Europejskie Forum Nowych Idei

Sopot, 14-16 October 2026

One of the most prestigious business events in Poland - a space for dialogue on global trends, new ideas, and the future of Europe.

October 14–16, 2026 — Sopot, Radisson Blu Hotel

editions so far

attendees

panellists

Panelists

Donald Tusk

Prime Minister of Poland

Wojciech Balczun

Minister of State Assets

Waldemar Żurek

Minister, Attorney General, Ministry of Justice

Grzegorz Ryś

Cardinal, Metropolitan of Kraków

Marta Cienkowska

Minister of Culture and National Heritage

Paulina Henning-Kloska

Minister of Climate and Environment

Kerstin Jorna

Dyrektor Generalna ds. Rynku Wewnętrznego, Przemysłu, Przedsiębiorczości i MŚP

Alexander Schallenberg

Former Chancellor of Austria

Erik Angner

Professor of Economics, Stockholm University

Rasha Al Jundy

Senior fellow, Dubai public policy and Research Centre, UAE

Robin Alexander

Former editor-in-chief, Die Welt

Fredo Arias-King

Prezes zarządu, Casla Institute

Dalia Bankauskaite

University of Vilnius

Tomasz Bardziłowski

Chairman of the Board, Warsaw Stock Exchange

Alan Beroud

Chairman of the Board, PKP S.A.

Edwin Bendyk

The Batory Foundation

Katarzyna Błażejewska-Stuhr

Clinical Dietitian and Psychodietitian

Henryka Bochniarz

Chairwoman, EFNI Program Council

Joanna Bochniarz

President, Center for Innovative Education; expert in outdoor learning; well-being coach

Marcin Bosacki

State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Małgorzata Bonikowska

President, Center for International Relations

Vittorio Bianco

Chairperson, European Network of Cultural Centers

Katarzyna Bilewska

Professor, Partner, BLSK Law Firm

Thais Bilenky

A reporter for the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper

Pierre Buhler

A long-time French diplomat who has served in the U.S., Poland, and Russia, among other countries

Adam Burakowski

Professor, former Polish ambassador to South Africa and India, Polish Academy of Sciences

Piotr Buras

Director, ECFR Office in Poland

Andrzej Buła

MEP, EPP

Michał Byliniak

CEO, INFARMA—Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Companies

Aaro Cantell

Chairman, Confederation of Finnish Enterprises

Janusz Cichoń

Member of Parliament, Chair of the Public Finance Committee, Sejm of the Republic of Poland

Helen Clark

Former Prime Minister of New Zealand

Magdalena Czarzyńska-Jachim

Mayor of Sopot

Filip Czernicki

CEO, Central Transport Hub Company, Port Polska

Alicja Defratyka

Economist

Jacek Dubois

Attorney, vice-chairman of the State Tribunal

Antoni Dudek

Historian, political scientist, UKSW

Aleksandra Dulkiewicz

Mayor, City of Gdańsk

Jurand Drop

Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Finance

Witold Drożdż

Member of the Management Board for Strategy and Corporate Affairs, Orange Polska

Joanna Dyduch

Proffessor, Uniwersytet Jagielloński

Rania Ekaterinari

President, SEV – Hellenic Federation of Enterprises

Ewa Ewart

Journalist and director

Constantinos Filis

Director, Institute for Global Affairs, American College of Greece

Sven Franck

Chairman, the pan-European VOLT Party

Zygmunt Frankiewicz

Chair of the Committee on Local Government and Public Administration, Member of the Committee on Budget and Public Finance, Senate of the Republic of Poland

Mariusz Frankowski

Provincial Governor, Mazovia Provincial Office

Aleksandra Gajewska

State Secretary, Ministry of Family, Labor, and Social Policy

Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz

Member of the European Parliament

Konstanty Gebert

Journalist, university professor

Juliusz Gojło

Former Polish Ambassador to Iran

Anna Gołębicka

Economist, management and communications strategist, Warsaw University of Technology Business School

Kuba Giedrojć

Konfederacja Lewiatan

Jorge Gimeno Pawłowski

Founder and Director, Atland Consulting

Wojciech Grabowski

Professor and Head of the Department of International Relations, University of Gdańsk

Michał Gramatyka

State Secretary, Ministry of Digital Affairs

Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram

Co-founder and Board Member, Free Courts Foundation

Andrzej Grzyb

Member of Parliament, Chair of the National Defense Committee, Sejm of the Republic of Poland

Jerzy Hausner

Professor, former Deputy Prime Minister, Chair of the Program Council of the Open Eyes Economy Summit, GAP Foundation

Krzysztof Hetman

MEP, former Minister for Development and Technology

Ola Hnatiuk

Ukrainian studies scholar, Polish studies scholar

Jacek Jastrzębski

Professor, Chairman of the Financial Supervision Authority

Kang Jeong-Sik

President, Jeju Peace Institute, South Korea

Dariusz Joński

EEP, EPL

Ewa Monika Kaliszuk

Senator, Senate of the Republic of Poland

Katarzyna Kasia

Philosopher and columnist

Krzysztof Kopeć

President, National Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers/PZPPF

Grzegorz Kołodko

Professor, former Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and Minister of Finance

Paweł Kowal

Professor, Member of Parliament, Chair of the Council for Cooperation with Ukraine, Sejm of the Republic of Poland

Svitlana Kovalchuk

Director, Yalta European Strategy

Jacek Kunicki

Chief Financial Officer, Orange Polska

Jarosław Kuisz

Editor-in-Chief, Kultura Liberalna, University of Warsaw, LibMod

Krystyna Kurczab-Redlich

Jurnalist

Piotr Kraśko

TV reporter

Krzysztof Kwiatkowski

Senator, Chair, Legislative Committee, Senate of the Republic of Poland

Nico Lange

Former Chief of Staff at the German Federal Ministry of Defense

Karel Lannoo

CEPS, Belgia

Bożena Leśniewska

Vice President of the Executive Board for the Business Market, Orange Polska

Janusz Lewandowski

MEP, EPP

Katarzyna Leder Salgueiro

Attorney, Leder Law Firm

Andrzej Leder

Professor of Philosophy of Culture

Peter Leibinger

President, BDI - Federation of German Industries

Fabrice Le Saché

Vice President, MEDEF - French Business Confederation

Katarzyna Anna Lubnauer

Member of Parliament, Secretary of State, Sejm of the Republic of Poland

Elżbieta Łukacjewska

MEP, EPP

AdrianaŁukaszewicz

Professor, Department of Economics, Kozminski University

Bogusława Łuka

President, Children's University Foundation

Radosław Maćkiewicz

Director, Central Information Technology Center

Marek Magierowski

Former Polish Ambassador to the United States and Israel

Piotr Matczuk

Chairman of the Board, Warsaw Stock Exchange

Erwan Marteil

Head of the Capacity Building and Preparedness Unit, European Commission

Radosław Markowski

Professor, Polish Academy of Sciences, SWPS University

Mateusz Mazzini

Gazeta Wyborcza, Kultura Liberalna

Anna Masłoń-Oracz

School of Management and Finance, Warsaw School of Economics

Agnieszka Majewska

Ombudsman for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Marek Matusiak

Coordinator of the “Israel–Europe” Project, OSW

Piotr Mazurek

Konfederacja Lewiatan

Jacek Męcina

Konfederacja Lewiatan

Yascha Mounk

Professor of Political Science

Henryka Mościcka-Dendys

State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Katarzyna Michniewska

Chairman of the Board, Eko Cykl Packaging Recovery Organization, S.A.

Szymon Midera

Chairman of the Board, PKO Bank Polski

Aleksandra Mirosław

Olympic champion, three-time world champion in sport climbing

Barbara Mróz-Gorgoń

Professor and President

Zbigniew Muszyński

Director, Government Security Center

Magdalena Namysłowska

M.D., Ph.D. Co-founder of WOPP. Psychiatrist, psychotherapist, supervisor

Maciej Nowicki

President of the Board, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights

Radosław Nielek

Director, NASK

Kacper Olejniczak

Konfederacja Lewiatan

Grzegorz Onichimowski

President, PSE

Remigiusz Paszkiewicz

Chairman of the Board, KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.

Marta Petka

Director of the Macroeconomic Analysis Office, PKO Bank Polski

Normunds Popens

Deputy Director-General for Education, Youth, Sports, and Culture

Robert Piaskowski

Director, National Center for Culture

Jerney Pikalo

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education of Slovenia

Maciej Piskorski

PharmaNET Association of Pharmacy Employers

Krzysztof Płomiński

Former Polish Ambassador to Iraq and Saudi Arabia

Janusz Reiter

Former Polish Ambassador to Germany, Chairman of the Board of the Center for International Relations Foundation

Michał Romanowski

Professor, attorney

Ewa Rumińska-Zimny

Vice President of the Board, Women's Congress Association

Michał Rusinek

Professor, writer, literary scholar

Andrzej Rzońca

Professor and Vice Chair of the OEES Program Council, Warsaw School of Economics

Patrycja Sasnal

Senior professorial fellow, European Neighbourhood Chair, Kolegium Europejskie, Natolin

Jakub Safijański

Konfederacja Lewiatan

Grzegorz Schetyna

Senator, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Senate of the Republic of Poland

Adrian Schout

Cligendael Institute

Maciej Siembieda

Author, jurnalist

Andrzej Silczuk

Professor and Head of the Department of Community Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw

Magdalena Skajewska

Polskie Radio

Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka

Secretary of State, Ministry of National Defense

Radosław Stępień

Chairman of the Board, Polska Grupa Lotnicza S.A.

Mieczysław Struk

Marshal, Pomeranian Voivodeship

Eugeniusz Smolar

Expert, Center for International Relations

Dan Şucu

President, Konfederacja Pracodawców Concordia

Michał Szczerba

Member of the European Parliament

Aleksandra Szymańska

Director, Institute of Creative Industries

Karolina Szymańska

Autor

Konrad Szymański

Former Minister for European Union Affairs

Reka Szemerkenyi

Equilibrium Institute, Hungary

Adrianna Śniadowska

CEO, CSM

Magdalena Środa

Professor of philosophy, affiliated with the Department of Philosophy at the University of Warsaw

Jim Tankerslay

The head of The New York Times' Berlin bureau

Eliza Turkiewicz

Konfederacja Lewiatan

Agnieszka Turska-Kawa

Professor and Vice Rector for Research, University of Silesia

Michał Wawrykiewicz

Member of the European Parliament

Christian Welzel

Prof. Dr., Vice Chair, World Values Survey Association

Alicja Wejdner-Cichy

Konfederacja Lewiatan

Zofia Wetmańska

Vice President, Institute for Reforms

Maciej Witucki

Pesident, BusinessEurope

Nadia Winiarska

Konfederacja Lewiatan

Karolina Wigura

Professor of Sociology, Kultura Liberalna, University of Oxford

Jakub Wiśniewski

Director, Wacław Felczak Institute for Polish-Hungarian Cooperation

Beata Wojna

Former Polish Ambassador to Mexico, Tec de Monterrey University

Leszek Wroński

Partner, THINKTANK

Miroslav Wlachovský

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, GLOBSEC, Slovakia

Mariusz Zielonka

Konfederacja Lewiatan

Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski

Member of the European Parliament

Li Zhiqiang

Professor and Director of Sichuan University, China

Krzysztof Żuk

Mayor, City of Lublin

Vołodymyr Yermolenko

Head of the Ukrainian PEN Club

Meet more of our panelists

What is the European Forum for New Ideas

The European Forum for New Ideas is one of the largest conferences in this part of the continent, dedicated to global trends, new ideas and the future of Europe.

Business representatives, charismatic speakers, leaders and policy-makers as well as authorities from the world of culture and science discuss the most important challenges for business and societies in a changing world, global trends and the future shape of the European Union during dozens of events, panel discussions, open meetings, counterpoints or night owl discussions.

Every year, the Forum gathers over a thousand participants – representatives of the world of business, science, culture and administration, Polish and European alike.

The European Forum for New Ideas has been organised since 2011 by the Polish Confederation Lewiatan in cooperation with BusinessEurope and the city of Sopot.