The 2004 Club of Three Plenary Meeting took place at the Axel Springer headquarters in Berlin and focused on an ‘Enlarged Europe in a Difficult World’.
The first session examined the external security threats faced by Europe. These included international terrorism and the appropriate transnational and national responses, challenges stemming from its eastward expansion, and the security implications of an EU that could one day include Turkey. Session II looked at the performance of Europe’s economy against that of the US and emerging economies, including the impact of the Lisbon process and the economic challenges and opportunities of enlargement. Finally, discussions in Session III focused on how Europe’s business, political and academic leaders compared to their international competitors.
Some 54 participants from across politics, business, the media and academia attended. Among those were: Mathias Doepfner (CEO of Axel Springer); Otto Schily (then German Interior Minister); Édouard Michelin (then CEO of Michelin); Dominick Chilcott (then Director for Europe at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office); the Rt Hon The Lord Boateng (then Chief Secretary to the Treasury); and Oriet Gadiesh (Chairman of Bain & Co.).