IDEES, revista de temes contemporanis

Architects of sovereignty

The foundational presidents of Lithuania, Slovenia and Moldavia are meeting in Barcelona to speak about their experience in the achievement of independence and the creation of a new state in Europe at the end of the 20th century. Vytautas Landsbergis, Milan Kučan and Mircea Ion Snegur will give details on Wednesday 7 October in the Palau de la Generalitat.

Vytautas Landsbergis was Chairman of the Council of Lithuania in 1990, when he proclaimed the independence of the Baltic State, the first after the fall of the Berlin Wall. He came from a nationalist movement from outside the regime. Milan Kučan was leader of the Slovenian communists until he decided to back democratic reforms and promote secession from Yugoslavia, opening up the path for its neighbours. Mircea Ion Snegur, after developing in the apparatus of the Soviet regime, led the independence of Moldavia from the USSR.

These three politicians have first-person experience, from the upper echelons of political power, of determinant historical processes in the shaping not just of their own countries, but also of Europe as we know it today. They are true architects of sovereignty. Landsbergis, Kučan and Snegur will participate together in the central event of the conference “Architects of the new Europe”, organized by the Centre d’Estudis de Temes Contemporanis. It will be held on Wednesday 7 October at 19h in the Palau de la Generalitat, in a function led by the Vice President of the Catalan government, Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira.