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On June 13, 2018, the experts Volker Beck (Ruhr University Bochum), Dr. Paula Diehl (University of Bielefeld), Prof. Dr. Reinhard Heinisch (University of Salzburg) and Prof. Dr. Harald Welzer (FUTURZWEI Foundation) discussed the topic "Populism! - A threat to democracy in Europe?" at the Center for Applied European Studies (CAES). The panel discussion was moderated by Katja Marx, editor-in-chief of radio and head of hr-info at Hessischer Rundfunk. In addition to the two keynote speakers, the panel discussion also included the scientist Dr. Paula Diehl and the politician Volker Beck. The moderator Katja Marx called on the panel participants to formulate solutions for dealing with populist efforts in Europe. Heinisch emphasized that the development of strategies against right-wing populists first requires a sound understanding of the phenomenon. He appealed to the political parties, which had become "lazy", and criticised the fact that the parties were not able to take up other demands of citizens that counteract the issues of the right-wing populists. Diehl explained the democratic deficit in the EU and the lack of functionality of the party landscape. In her opinion, it is the task of politics to develop visions and answers. Beck critically emphasised that it is not only a question of political will, especially in view of the complexity that comes with changing the EU institutions. However, according to Beck, it is necessary to make the EU institutions capable of taking action. With regard to the critical approach to populism, Welzer referred to the high importance of public debates and thus to the creation of social spaces. "The question of solutions in such volatile transformation processes, where entire societies are changing, leads completely nowhere," said Welzer. The interdisciplinary Center for Applied European Studies (CAES) at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences (Frankfurt UAS), founded in 2016, is dedicated to the scientific and application-focused reflection of the topic of Europe. The interdisciplinary and international positioning of research and teaching at the Frankfurt UAS offers an excellent basis for developing, discussing and proposing solutions to European issues. Find out more about our center at http://www.europe-center.de and on Facebook at / center-for-applied-european-studies-caes-1...