„Central Europe – a constant in a changing world” is the title of an international academic conference that took place on 15 and 16 September 2025 in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. The event was attended by Adam Chmielecki Ph. D., Director of the Solidarity Promotion Foundation and member of the Programme Council of the Intermarium Institute, who gave a presentation on the identity and values of Central Europe in the teachings and legacy of St. John Paul II. He emphasised, among other things, the Holy Father’s influence on the overthrow of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, but also the importance of his teachings and pilgrimages to individual countries for the spiritual and social transformation of the nations of the region. He also presented the activities of the Holy See in the 1990s, which strengthened the independence processes of the countries that emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union and the break-up of Yugoslavia.

 

„Central Europe, according to the vision of the Polish Pope, is a Christian Europe, where ’reliable and honest patriotism’, love for one’s own nation, culture and identity, does not conflict with peaceful coexistence and cooperation with representatives of other nations, cultures and religious denominations,” emphasised Adam Chmielecki.

 

Individual conference panels were devoted to the history, cultural heritage and identity of the region, but also to security and geopolitical issues, which are coming to the fore in the current international situation.

 

Many participants emphasised that Central Europe – as a region belonging to Western (Christian) civilisation – stands out on the continent for its attachment to Christian values and common sense, as well as its greater resistance to ideological fads. „In Western Europe, direct experience of war and communism ended in 1945, while in Central Europe we continued to fight communism for a long time. This is one of the reasons why we are more resistant to various ideological fads,” emphasised Roman Joch from the Civic Institute in the Czech Republic.

 

Miro Kovač, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia, said that in many respects, such as infrastructure and the pace of economic development, the countries of Central Europe have overtaken the western part of the continent and have become the „new Old Europe”, a place where life is good and which may become the new engine of Europe’s development.

 

The two-day conference in Ljubljana brought together representatives of the worlds of science, politics and culture from Central Europe – Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary – as well as Italy. They were mainly representatives of conservative and Christian-democratic circles. The group included, among others, Alojz Peterle, the first prime minister of independent Slovenia in the early 1990s, Miro Kovač, former Croatian foreign minister, Ján Figeľ, long-time leader of the Slovak Christian Democrats, Roman Joch, director of the Civic Institute in Prague, Werner Fasslabend, president of the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES), and Andrej Lokar, Slovenian journalist and social activist. The event was organised by the KUD KDO Culture and Arts Association, the Catholic weekly Družina, the Zbor za Republiko Association and the Association for the Values of Slovenian Independence (VSO).