Free Market Road Show 2022: “The Freedom Variant” − Analysis of the New World Disorder and Proposed Solutions

Date: April 27, 2022 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Venue: Lónyay-Hatvany Villa
1015 Budapest, Csónak utca 1.
Budapest, Hungary
(Entrance: Aranybástya - The Golden Bastion Restaurant)

In an era of war in Ukraine and the terrible toll in lives lost and injured, there are serious economic impacts that will result: reduced wheat harvest, delay in fertilizer exports, sanctions against Russia including the removal from SWIFT, concerns of food shortages, food and fuel inflation and more, a distinguished gathering will address the challenges of our time and examine what solutions can be offered to meet them. 

Among others, the following topics will be discussed at the 2022 Budapest turn of the Free Market Road Show, a joint event of the Danube Institute and Austrian Economic Centre: 

• Europe’s Energy Crisis: Impact, Outlook and Possible Solutions and the Geopolitical and Macroeconomic Implications for EU relations with the rest of the world.

• Is the V4 Still Europe’s ‘New Economic Heart’? The V4 countries were fast becoming the key second engine. With the energy crisis further complicated by the differing political responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, what is needed to get the V4 “economic engine” back on track?

• From Globally Synchronized Growth to Globally Synced Inflation or Deflation? The trend towards de-globalization that started when COVID showed the world’s dependency on China for personal protective equipment (PPE) has increased dramatically as energy prices spiked with the sanctions on Russia. Europe is more vulnerable than the U.S. and while both are suffering from globally synchronized inflation the U.S. Federal Reserve is about to tighten interest rates and possibly put its economy into recession. Speakers will discuss the implications of this divergence and the outlook for EU and US monetary and fiscal policy.

• China’s support of Russia has been cautious so far. How do the experts see its role in the post-Ukraine/post-Covid world and how will it impact EU relations?

Programme:

9:20: Registration

10:00-10:15: Welcome and Introduction 

10:15- 11:15: V4: New Economic heart of Europe?

Moderator: Anton Bendarzsevszkij, Director of Research, Danube Institute
Participants:
-Szabolcs Pásztor, a leading researcher at Oeconomus and Associate Professor at the National University of Public Service
-Dr. Géza Sebestyén – head of Economic Policy Department at Mathias Corvinus Collegium and Associate Professor at Corvinus University
-György Kerekes – professional expert of the Makronóm Institute 

11:20- 1:00:  Europe’s Energy Crisis: The Crisis was Here Before the Sanctions
Impact, Outlook and Possible Solutions and the Geopolitical and Macroeconomic Implications for EU relations with the rest of the world

Moderator: John O’Sullivan, President of Danube Institute
Participants:
-János Csák, former Chairman of MOL Group and former Ambassador of Hungary to the UK
-Professor Dr. Werner J. Patzelt, MCC, a leading authority on German political science and key issues of the German political system
-Alexandr Vondra, MEP, Czech politician, former Defense Minister, Member of the Civic Democratic Party and former dissident and signatory of Charter 77.
-Alex Cranberg, Chairman of Aspect Holdings -a leading oil, gas and
geothermal explorer in Central Europe (on Zoom)

1:00-2:00: Lunch Break

2:00- 3:00: The Global Outlook for Inflation, Growth and Debt in a Post-Covid / Post-Sanctions World

Moderator: John Prout, Investor and formerly head of trading for bank dealing rooms in New York, London and Paris
 Participants:
-Dr. Dan Mitchell, Libertarian economist and founder of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity
-Dr. Alberto Mingardi, Director General Instituto Bruno Leoni think tank, Milano, Italy
-John Fund, National Affairs Columnist for National Review magazine and a contributor to Fox News (on Zoom)
-Craig Biddle, Editor of The Objective Standard and author of “Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support It”, Board Member of Prometheus Foundation
-Michael Anton, Hillsdale Kirby Center of Government, Lecturer and Research Fellow, Graduate School of Government, U. S.

3:00-3:15 Coffee Break

3:15- 4:15: What will be China’s role in the post-war/post-Covid world and how will it impact the EU’s place in the world politically and economically?

Moderator: Dr Gergely Salát, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary
 Participants:
-Ádám Kerényi, Hungarian Economist, Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre of Excellence
-Li Zhao Schoolland, Founder of TFT events, and representing the Acton Institute in Asia and Pacific countries

4:20-5:00: The Problem With Experts: Science And Scientism In The ‘Post-Truth' Age

Participant:
-Dr. Calum TM Nicholson, a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge and St. Antony’s College, Oxford, Danube Institute Visiting Fellow

Participation in the event is free, but registration is required, which can be done by clicking on the R.S.V.P. button: