On 18 September, at a conference hosted by Foreign Minister Westerwelle, European politicians, intellectuals and businesspeople will be discussing “The Value of Europe”.

Europe finds itself in a historic defining phase. What we do now will determine what view the Germans take of Europe, how our European neighbours view Germany, and how the world sees Europe for years to come.

“The Value of Europe”: the conference title speaks for itself. Europe not only has a price; it also, more importantly, has a value. The conference wants to focus attention on the fact that Europe is about so much more than interest rate spreads and rescue packages.

The Bertelsmann Foundation, ARTE and Deutschlandfunk are conference partners.