The preparatory meeting of Global Policy Forum 'The Modern State in the Age of Social Diversity' took place in Brussels on June, 23, 2011. The meeting was held in the conference format: ’The EU and Russia: Rethinking social challenges after the global economic crisis’. The organizers of the event were Executive Directorate of Global Policy Forum, the Hanns Seidel Stiftung and the EU Russia Centre.

 

The participants of the preparatory meeting were Fraser Cameron , Director of EU-Russia Centre; Vladislav Inozemtsev , Head of Executive Directorate of Global Policy Forum; Sergei Vakhrukov , Governor of the Yaroslavl region; Valery Tishkov, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences; Elizabeth Collett , Head of the Transatlantic Council on Migration; Sir Tony Brenton, Ambassador of the Great Britain to Russia in 2004-2008; Sinan ?lgen, Chairman of the Centre for Economics and Foreign policy Studies; Richard Youngs, Director General, International Relations and External Dialogue (FRIDE); Vladimir Baranovsky, Deputy Director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations; Grzegorz Gorzelak , Director, Centre for European Regional and Local Studies (EUROREG) and others.

 

Experts from Russia and the European Union discussed important social issues, such as migration, identity, social and economic difficulties and the principles of good neighborliness.

During the discussion on migration issues the experts agreed that there is a gap between the perception of migrants at the household level and the real benefits that migrants bring to each country. The experts also agreed that both in Russia and Europe today it is necessary to clearly explain the value of migrants, to work with citizens to make them understand the benefits and to beware of the electoral populism that impedes the formation of a multicultural society. According to the Governor of the Yaroslavl Region Sergey Vakhrukov, the issues of migration are complex and difficult to solve for any society, but they are a good stimulus for the development of each state. He also stated that there are serious problems related to different levels of life within concrete societies. From his point of view, it is necessary to reach a certain standard that could allow avoiding a great deal of risks and difficulties in the development of states and interstate relations.

 

Fraser Cameron, Director of the Russia–EU Centre, stressed that Global Policy Forum could be an excellent platform for discussing a wide range of economic issues faced by both Russia and Europe. According to him, too much time is spent on difficulties between the European Union and Russia, such as migration and socio-economic changes. “Therefore, it is important to meet together”, he claimed.

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