ALDE Party Congress – Brussels 2025

ALDE Party Congress – Brussels 2025

Friday,  24.10.2025
09:00
Opening of registrations
Square lobby
09:00 - 09:30
International Officers Meeting
Studio room 201 A-B
10:00 - 10:30
Welcome Coffee
Magritte Room
10:30 - 11:15
45th ALDE Party Congress - Welcome Session
  • Svenja Hahn, ALDE Party President
  • Kaja Kallas, High Representative/Vice President Foreign Affairs & Security Policy
  • Kristen Michal, Prime Minister (Estonia)
Gold Hall
11:15 - 12:30
ALDE Party Council Meeting
Gold Hall
12:30 - 13:15
Press Conference
Studio room 206
12:30 - 13:30
12:30 - 13:30
A Joint Liberal Vision for the Western Balkans - FNF
  • Sabina Ćudić MP, President of Naša stranka, BiH 
  • Eliza Hoxha MP, Member of Presidency of PDK, Kosovo
  • Pavle Grbović MP, President of PSG, Serbia
  • Markus Kaiser, Project Director of FNF Western Balkans

Moderated by Dr. Helmut Brandstätter MEP, Renew Europe Rapporteur Western Balkans

Studio room 202
12:30 - 13:30
Reclaiming Power: Nuclear Energy for European Autonomy - ELF (by invitation only)

- Romina Pourmokhtari, Minister for Environment, Sweden 
- Jan-Christoph Oetjen, ELF President and MEP, Renew Europe Group
- Manuel Fernández-Ordóñez, author of the ELF policy paper on SMRs
- Constantinos Saravakos, author of the ELF policy paper on SMRs
- Maartje Schulz, Policy and Research Manager, European Liberal Forum
- Emmanuel Brutin, Director General, Nuclear Europe
- Roxana Nicula, President, Fundalib

Studio room 204
14:00 - 15:00
Congress opening ceremony
  • Svenja Hahn, ALDE Party President
  • Georges-Louis Bouchez, President of MR (Belgium)
  • Frédéric De Gucht, President of Open VLD (Belgium)
  • Valérie Hayer, President of Renew Europe Group
  • Micheál Martin, Taoiseach of Ireland (video)

“Europe Rising: The strategy for global leadership”

 

  • Ionuț Moșteanu, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence (USR, Romania)
  • Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs (DP, Luxembourg)
  • Taras Kachka, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration (Sluga Narodu, Ukraine)
  • Marta Kos, European Commissioner for Enlargement (Gibanje Svoboda, Slovenia)
  • Marie Bjerre, Minister for European Affairs (Venstre, Denmark)
  • Thomas Byrne, Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence (Fianna Fáil, Ireland)
Gold Hall
15:00 - 15:30
Networking Pause
15:00 - 17:00
Liberal Mayors Summit (by invitation only)

with David Clarinval, Mayor of Bièvre and Deputy Prime Minister (MR, Belgium)

Studio room 201 A-B
15:30 - 16:30
The Great Debate #1

Superpower Europe – Building a resilient and safe continent

  • Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management (MR, Belgium)
  • Romina Pourmokhtari, Minister for Climate and Environment (Liberalerna, Sweden)
  • Bernard Quintin, Minister of Security and the Interior (Mouvement Réformateur, Belgium)
  • Dominic Fritz, Party Leader, Mayor of Timișoara (USR, Romania)
  • Elene Khoshtaria, Party Leader and former Deputy Minister of the State Ministry for EuroAtlantic Integration (Droa!, Georgia)

Moderated by Helmut Brandstätter MEP (NEOS, Austria)

Gold Hall
16:30 - 17:00
Opening of the ALDE Liberal Village area

Networking Coffee

Grand Hall
17:00 - 18:00
Decarbonisation and Resilience of European Transport

Opening keynote by Diana Buzoianu, Minister of Environment (USR, Romania)

  • Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO, Hydrogen Europe
  • Xavier Noyon, Secretary General, European Biodiesel Board (EBB)
  • Emma Wiesner, MEP & Member of ENVI committee

Moderated by Yoko Alender, ALDE Bureau Member & Chair of the Committee for Environment at the Estonian Parliament 

Studio room 201 A-B
17:00 - 18:00
Breakout Sessions
INSPIRE I - Peer-to-peer contributions
  • The new political dynamics of the European Parliament – How I managed to pass a resolution on Israel/Gaza by Hilde Vautmans MEP (Open VLD, Belgium)
  • How we banned LGBTQ+ conversion therapy in the Netherlands by Lennart Salemink (VVD) and Maartje Jansen (D66)
  • Women’s week initiative by Anikó Paróczai, Deputy Mayor of Budapest’s XIXth District  (Momentum, Hungary)

Click here to register

Location: Studio room 204
INSPIRE II - Peer-to-peer contributions
  • How to Govern Without Losing Your Identity? by Yannick Shetty MP, Parliamentary group leader (NEOS, Austria)
  • How to pass a budget without a majority in Parliament by Party Leader Assen Vassilev (We Continue The Change, Bulgaria)
  • Canvassing and databases - reaching audiences beyond social media advertising by Cristian Seidler and Shere Marinescu (USR, Romania)

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Location: Studio room 206
LEARN - Workshop in Recent Trends in Political Campaiging

Speakers: Martin Burgr & Michal Repa 

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Location: Studio room 203
EXCHANGE – Europe's Life Sciences Future: Competitiveness, Innovation, and the Biotech Act

Roundtable debate

Moderated by Rik Daems, ALDE Party VP
 

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Location: Studio room 202
DEBATE ISLAND - Defending our Democracies from Hybrid and Kinetic Attacks

How to strengthen awareness of the threat from Russia  - and the autocratic axis - and how to mobilise our populations. 

Hosted by FNF Baltic States & Global Security Hub

Speakers:

  • Julius von Freytag-Loringhoven, Head FNF Baltic States 
  • Jeroen Dobber, Head of FNF Security Hub
  • Yevheniia Kravchuk, ALDE Party VP

Click here to register

debate island (Grand Hall)
18:00 - 19:00
The Great debate #2

Superpower Europe –Reforming EU decision-making in a dangerous world

  • Kiril Petkov, Former Prime Minister (We Continue The Change, Bulgaria)
  • Diana Buzoianu, Minister of Environment, Water and Forest (USR, Romania)
  • Georges-Louis Bouchez MP, Party Leader (MR, Belgium)
  • Anna Stürgkh, MEP (NEOS, Austria)

Moderated by Monika Zajkova MP, Party leader (LDP, North Macedonia) and President of LIBSEEN

Gold Hall
19:00 - 23:00
Congress Reception

Hosted by the Renew Europe Group 

Square Lobby
Saturday,  25.10.2025
09:00
Opening of registrations & welcoming coffee
Grand Hall
09:30 - 10:30
Bureau Candidates Debate

Vice-President candidates:

  • Dan Barna (USR, Romania)
  • Malik Azmani (VVD, The Netherlands)
  • Eva Kjer Hansen (Venstre, Denmark)

Treasurer candidate:

  • David Burke (Fianna Fáil, Ireland)

Moderated by Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová MEP (Progresívne Slovensko, Slovakia)

Gold Hall
10:30 - 11:30
Breakout Session
INSPIRE I - Peer-to-peer contributions
  • Serbia – what’s really going on and how can I help support democracy? by Party Leader Pavle Grbović (PSG, Serbia)
  • Fundraising like you’re campaigning – how Laisves Partija collects funds from tax return by Daniel Ilkevič (Laisvės partija, Lithuania)
  • Swiss Civic & Military Service: A Model for Europe’s Security and Social Cohesion? by David Huber, Virginie Cavalli and Pascal Bernhard (GLP/PVL, Switzerland)

Click here to register

Location: Studio room 203
INSPIRE II - Peer-to-peer contributions
  • Building inclusive and accessible political party events – best practices and room to improve by Julie Adnams Hatch (LibDems, United Kingdom)
  • Losing Power, Finding Purpose: The Road to Reinvention for FDP by Helmer Krane, Member of the Federal Executive Board (FDP, Germany)
  • How Progressive Slovakia came to lead the polls by Martin Dubéci MP, Deputy Speaker of the National Council (PS, Slovakia)

Click here to register

Location: Studio room 204
INSPIRE III - Peer-to-peer contributions
  • Learning to Disconnect: The Benefits of Phone-Free Classrooms by Party Leader and Education Minister Anders Adlercreutz (SFP, Finland)
  • Understanding the Irish coalition negotiations and the rotating Taoiseach by Fintan Phelan (Fianna Fáil, Ireland)
  • Bring Ukrainian Kids Back Home by Viktoria Havriushova and Maria Golub (Servant of The People, Ukraine)

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Location: Studio room 206
LEARN - ALDE 2025 Autumn Survey Overview

Speakers: Ian Marquardt and Matej Hruska 

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Studio room 201 A-B
EXCHANGE - AI, Cybersecurity, and Europe's Path to Global Leadership

Roundtable debate

Moderater: Ines Holzegger, LYMEC President, NEOS (Austria).

Click here to register

Studio room 202
DEBATE ISLAND - Charting Europe's Liberal Trade Future in the Age of Trump and Draghi

Hosted by ELF

Click here to register
 

debate island (Grand Hall)
11:30 - 12:30
The Great Debate #3

Superpower Europe – Which economic future for a trading continent? ​

Speakers:

  • Radu Miruță, Minister of Economy and Digitalisation (USR, Romania)
  • Mariana Leitão, Member of Parliament and Party Leader (Iniciativa Liberal, Portugal) 
  • Nicole Büttner, Secretary General of FDP (Germany) and CEO of Merantix Momentum

Moderated by Birgitta Ohlsson, former Minister of European Affairs of Sweden

Gold Hall
11:45 - 12:45
Local Councillors Event
Studio room 201 A-B
12:30 - 13:30
Networking buffet lunch
Grand Hall
13:30 - 16:30
Congress Session

Debate and vote on resolutions

Gold Hall
16:30 - 16:45
Liberal Awards Ceremony
Gold Hall
16:45 - 17:00
Announcement of Bureau Election Results

By Didrik de Schaetzen, ALDE Party Secretary General.

Closing remarks by Svenja Hahn, ALDE Party President