The meeting of non-executive presidents of eleven EU countries will take place at Wartburg Castle and in Erfurt in the federal state of Thuringia on 21 and 22 September.

The group is named after the Portuguese town of Arraiolos where the first meeting took place in 2003 at the initiative of the then Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio. Slovenia took part for the first time in 2011.

Today, the forum brings together the presidents of Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia. They meet once a year to discuss major political topics.

This year's discussions are dedicated to the future of Europe and the historical influence of the Reformation movement on European values.