The Crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic spread from health to economics and finance at warp speed and in multifaceted ways. Attempting to adjust to the unprecedented public health requirements, as well as trying to mitigate the economic consequences and to prevent the Crisis from becoming another financial nightmare, is a daunting task for European Union Member States and for EU institutions. Adjusting and adapting their policies led to ambitious decisions.

This is the hour for increased European solidarity. Without more and better cooperation and coordination European economies would suffer greatly, the functioning of the European Single Market would be challenged and the deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union could be in jeopardy.

Thus, many key questions arise, amongst which: What will be the impact of the new European economic landscape on cohesion and convergence? How will Portugal and the Czech Republic face the economic and financial challenges stemming from the Crisis?

Program: 

13:00 – 13:05 Welcome Speech Luís de Almeida Sampaio, Ambassador of Portugal in the Czech Republic

13:05 -14:30 I. Panel

Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, European Commission

Mário Centeno, Governor, Bank of Portugal

Jiří Rusnok, Governor, Czech National Bank

Ricardo Mourinho Félix, Vice-President and Member of the Management Committee, European Investment Bank

Lenka Dupáková, Deputy Minister of Finance for International Relations and Financial Regulation, Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic

José Carlos de Azevedo Pereira, Director-General of the Planning, Strategy, Evaluation an International Relations Office (GPEARI) of the Ministry of Finance

The moderator is Pavlína Žáková, Economic Advisor, European Commission.

14:25 – 14:30 „Wrap-up“ by Luís de Almeida Sampaio, Ambassador of Portugal in the Czech Republic

14:30 – 16:00 II. Panel

Welcome Speech by Luís de Almeida Sampaio, Ambassador of Portugal in the Czech Republic

Josef Kotrba, Chairman, Deloitte

Vazil Hudak, Member of the National Investment Council, Czech National Development Fund

Michal Skořepa, Economist, Česká spořitelna

Ricardo Ferreira Reis, Director, Center for Studies and Opinion Surveys of the Católica-Lisbon

Manuel Rodrigues, Former Portuguese Secretary of State for Finance and expert on public and private finance

The moderator of the II. panel is Helena Horská, Chief Economist of the Raiffeisenbank.

16:00 – 16:15 Closing Remarks by Luís de Almeida Sampaio, Ambassador of Portugal in the Czech Republic

The conference will be held in English and you can watch it live on our Facebook.