Bucharest Forum is an annual high-level event organized by the Aspen Institute Romania and the German Marshall Fund of the US, Bucharest office. Since its inception in 2012, the mission of the Bucharest Forum has been to create a regional platform for forward thinking on economic and security policies, and for promoting political dialogue between governments and civil society. Bucharest Forum offers a unique opportunity for high level East-West conversation in a global transformative context. Specifically it facilitates an in-depth understanding of how the developments on the Eurasian nexus shape decisions for Europe and the Trans-Atlantic link.

Bucharest Forum 2019 aimed to explore three silver linings:

  • Citizens in Europe continue to cherish the European Union (EU) and believe in the values it was founded on, as revealed by opinion polls throughout the continent;
  • On both sides of the Atlantic, but especially in Europe, businesses integrate and use technology to the benefit of both economy and citizenry, without major disruptions to the workforce. Governments follow suit, albeit at a slower pace.
  • Europeans started taking their security seriously, in all its dimensions (cyber, informational, economic and military).

Bucharest Forum 2019 offered a platform for reflection on the challenges of the present, and on possible paths for the future, as seen from the Eastern border of the Western world.