Europe in an increasingly challenging world

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Europe’s role in the world is one of the most frequently discussed topics among foreign policy affiliated experts in Brussels and the national capitals. While Europe seems to be stuck in a process of self-reflection, actors like Russia and China take action and challenge the US dominance in the world as well as the values that are equally shared on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In order to play a substantial role in the future, the EU needs to be positioned as a decisive actor between the great powers and bring own initiatives to the table. In order to do so, internal dynamics of the EU need to work and should be focused on in greater detail. In previous years, the axis between Berlin and Paris was most essential and initiated a number of endeavors, which later were agreed on by the EU as a whole. However, one also should keep in mind the 25 other member states and constantly re-evaluate how as many member states as possible can be involved in decision-making processes. It remains to be seen if the Berlin-Paris connection remains the most important bilateral exchange format or if other member states team up to establish something like an internal counterweight. Such thoughts are particularly timely right now, as the European Union seems to see the light at the end of the tunnel of what has been referred to as the biggest crisis since its foundation. As soon as the pandemic is under control, decision-makers should put some thought into the take aways from the crisis in order to follow a lessons learned approach for potential new challenges in the future. The pandemic has shown solidarity but also limits of European cooperation. The latter should be avoided in the years to come.

The European Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in cooperation with University College Maastricht (UCM) cordially invites you to join our hybrid seminar “Europe in an increasingly challenging world”, which will focus on the above-mentioned topics in an interactive and digital manner. Besides input from Brussels- based speakers and experts, the participants will have the chance discuss these topics in working groups and present their suggestions to the other groups and the organizers afterwards. The event takes place on Thursday, 10 February 2022 (10:00-15:15).

We are looking forward to your participation!

Hier finden Sie das Programm zum Download: Programme 22-02-10 Europe in an increasingly challenging world.pdf