Political leaders, policymakers, business figures and academics from across Europe and beyond gathered at the Grand Resort Lagonissi in Athens on July 8th–10th, 2026, for The Economist's 30th Annual Government Roundtable, held under the theme "Progress in an age of upheaval: Geopolitics – Growth – Technology." Now in its thirtieth year, the roundtable remains one of the region's most influential fora, convening heads of state and government, ministers, EU officials and international experts to debate the forces reshaping Greece, South-East Europe and the wider world.
Across three days, the agenda tracked the roundtable's three pillars. On geopolitics, sessions examined Europe's pursuit of strategic autonomy and its "coming of age," the future of EU enlargement and accession, defence at the continent's strategic frontiers, the shifting balance of power in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, US–Greece relations, and the evolving dynamics between Greece, Turkey and the EU. On growth, discussions turned to whether Europe is investable, energy security and the region's emergence as a dynamic energy hub, the green transition, the financing of Europe's and Greece's future, fiscal responsibility, and the long-term sustainability of healthcare systems. On technology, the programme explored artificial intelligence and quantum computing, the "perilous age of quantum politics," education from Plato's academy to ChatGPT, and what it means to remain human in an AI-driven world.
The speaker roster reflected the event's stature, featuring the President of the Hellenic Republic Constantine Tassoulas, the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, and a series of Greek ministers, alongside international figures such as Enrico Letta, Anne Applebaum, Robert Habeck, Ahmet Davutoğlu, Abdullah Gül, Charles Michel and Armen Sarkissian, as well as leading voices from business, technology and civil society.
Contributing the academic perspective to the session "Corruption and the limits of democracy," Professor George Batsakis, Professor of International Business at Alba Graduate Business School, The American College of Greece, joined a distinguished panel that included Věra Jourová, former Vice-President for Values and Transparency at the European Commission; Pierre Moscovici, member of the European Court of Auditors; and Greek members of parliament Makis Voridis and Milena Apostolaki, in a discussion chaired by Daniel Franklin, Executive Editor and Senior Editor, Britain, at The Economist. The session examined the point at which corruption becomes a threat to democratic institutions, where primary responsibility lies, and how Europe and Greece compare with the rest of the world in confronting it — bringing rigorous academic insight to one of the roundtable's most pressing debates.
