2014 is a year of commemorations: it marks the 200th anniversary of the Congress of Vienna, the 100th anniversary of the First World War, and the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. We use these events as an opportunity to initiate a future-oriented discourse that takes into account the lessons learned from our past. Now as then, Europe is at a crossroads, and we have to take a series of fundamental decisions on where to go and how to continue. In which direction do we want to develop as a society? What are our ideas for an economically, politically and socially stable future, and how much are we ready to pay for it? Which steps are needed in order to promote the optimal level of development that transcends political and ideological barriers? In order to find answers to these questions, we want to look at a series of prognoses ranging from those that are pragmatically and politically possible to visions and apparently impossible dreams – keeping in mind that a final judgement can only be made in the process of critical analysis. At the European Forum Alpbach 2014, we will draw a sketch of the decisions and possibilities before us, analyse the corresponding opportunities and risks, and discuss ways to put them into practice.
