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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180618
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180621
DTSTAMP:20200607T214827Z
CREATED:20180601T124045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200607T214827Z
UID:5578-1529280000-1529539199@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:FRANCE - UNIVERSITY CLERMONT AUVERGNE - Paulo CASACA
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe University organized a round table and conference entitled “Models and Policies for Climate and Energy in Europe”. The conference was addressed to scientific international experts. \nPaulo CASACA\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nMission report: MODELLING DEVELOPMENT \nSome ideas \nFollowing the Rio summit as well as several subsequent international initiatives\, we are now engaged in the ‘Sustainable Development Goals 2030’ (SDG) exercise comprising 17 goals\, 169 targets and 232 indicators (as 2017\, but still growing). \nWe consider this as a more coherent inspiration for development modelling then the ‘climate change’ monomania\, which is so often restricted to atmospheric emissions\, energy and money metrics. Consequently\, we proposed a set of changes we think could enhance considerably the efficiency of the exercise. \nThe first change is to finally integrate the positive value of both natural and constructed environment conservation (and therefore the negative value of its destruction implied in development expenditure). This implies switching from a ‘sustainable’ to an ‘integrated’ developmental vision. Money metrics can be used here so as to evaluate material realisations (such as infrastructures) not directly measured by the market. \nThe second is to “dejargonise” model-making processes. The decay of the language used in international institutions has worsened and reflects \nthe progressive alienation from reality of the actors involved. Pleonastic\, inconsistent and metaphysical constructions have been one manifestation. The promotion of a set of simplistic publicity messages to the general public does not help the main objective of connecting the model to reality. An assessment and evaluation framework of the designed SDG\, controlled by actors fully independent from those directly linked to the main international institutions which produced the plan in the first place\, is central. \nThe third is to integrate essential human values such as freedom and the capacity to influence public policy\, which are at least as precious as material progress itself. This will clash with the existing state majority within the UN\, among whom the popularity of freedom and democracy is decreasing. Democratic nations might have to work here on their own. \nModelling professionals must ensure that their efforts are not transformed into a window-dressing mechanism aimed at hiding relevant facts. Modelling must be fully transparent on its assumptions\, clear in its functioning and frank about its uncertainties. Development actors shall avoid being slaves of communication strategies based on quick ‘emotional shots’ which so often and so severely skew reality while producing no good outcomes in the long-run. \nWhereas the mobilisation of civil society on all its forms is essential to achieve results\, the adequate use of public financial means for the agreed targets is the most crucial element. The priority must be to promote fundamental and applied research as well as development\, dissemination and application of new solutions\, instead of consuming resources ineffectually on bureaucratic workouts which are difficult to define and assess.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/france-university-clermont-auvergne-from-18-to-22-june-2018/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/clermont-2.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180515
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180518
DTSTAMP:20200607T222954Z
CREATED:20180501T124045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200607T222954Z
UID:5582-1526342400-1526601599@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:GERMANY - UNIVERSITAT FLENSBURG    - Robert GOEBBELS
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Europa-Universität Flensburg (EUF) organized a three days event\, which were divided into interdisciplinary round table discussions and workshops on different European Studies related topics\, the award ceremony of the Europe Prize of the university\, as well as interactive student initiatives all over the campus. \nRobert GOEBBELS\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nMission report: THE RIGHT TO SECESSION DOES NOT EXIST \nDuring my visit to the European University of Flensburg\, I took part in a colloquium on the right of peoples to self-determination. \nThe organisers had invited representatives from Catalonia to defend that rich Spanish province’s independence aspirations. \nOne of the underlying issues in the debate was a complaint regarding the European Union: why had the EU institutions failed to support Catalonian separatists? \nMy response went down like a lead balloon. How can the European Union support independence movements when the preamble to the Treaty on European Union sets out that the Member States are ‘resolved to continue the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe’? \nArticle 50 of the Treaty provides that ‘any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with own constitutional requirements’. The United Kingdom is currently going through that bitter experience. \nBut the Treaty does not in any way suggest that part of a Member State has the right to withdraw or dissociate from the Union by means of ‘self-determination’. If a Member State needs to ‘reorganise’\, it can only do so by following the country’s constitutional requirements. \nThe Scottish independence referendum was authorised by the UK Parliament. The dissolution of Czechoslovakia into two countries \n– the Czech Republic and Slovakia \n– took place in a context of political upheaval in Europe. \nThe European Union must defend the integrity of all its Member States. It cannot push for their disintegration. \nAll the more so in the Catalonian case\, as the Spanish Constitutional Court ruled that the Catalonian Government could not unilaterally declare Catalonian independence. Catalonians have their own culture and their own language\, but neither is under threat. Under the Spanish Constitution\, the Catalonians have more than enough means to defend their identity. The Catalonians are not oppressed or being subjected to a dictatorship. Their dream of independence can only come true if they negotiate with Spain’s central powers. What is more\, the electorate’s opinion has been shown on a number of occasions to be completely divided regarding independence: almost half of Catalonians want to remain Spanish. The famous right to self-determination is a dangerous fantasy which could aggravate regional self-interest. More often than not\, independence movements are mostly driven by the desire not to share their region’s ‘riches’ with their fellow citizens from other regions\, whom they label as lazy. Italy’s Lega Nord\, Flemish parties in Belgium and many others have taken that stance. \nThe fact that the UN Charter makes no reference to the right of peoples to self-determination is a perfect illustration of the fact that it is a fantasy. The United Nations calls for the ‘sovereign equality’ of all states. The Charter stipulates that no provisions in it ‘authorise the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state’. \nIt was not until after decolonisation began that a resolution\, from 1952\, referred to the ‘right of peoples to self-determination’. But once a new state has been formed\, the United Nations has always refused to allow unilateral secessions\, as we saw in the attempts by Katanga and Biafra to declare their independence.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/germany-universitat-flensburg-15-17-may-2018/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Europa-universitaet-flensburg-hauptlogo-rgb.svg.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180508
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180510
DTSTAMP:20200607T223512Z
CREATED:20180501T124045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200607T223512Z
UID:5590-1525737600-1525910399@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:TURKEY - IZMIR UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS - Gyula HEGYI
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe event had as its main theme ‘The EU’s Environmental/Energy Policy: Achievements\, Challenges and Implications for EU-Turkey-Relations’. Gyula HEGYI\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nMission report: MEETING YOUNG AND PROGRESSIVE TURKS IN IZMIR \nIzmir is a beautiful city situated along the Aegean Sea\, with 4 million inhabitants. This progressive-minded city has six universities\, and I was invited to the Izmir University of Economics (IUE). IUE is a private university with around 7500 students. My host was Assist. Prof. Dr. Alexander Bürgin\, Head of EURAC\, who has been awarded a Jean Monnet Chair by the European Commission in August 2015. (A Jean Monnet Chair is a title assigned to university professors with a specialization in European Union studies\, including financial support for three years.) \nI participated three different panels with 20-20 minute’s introductions\, and I also tried to answer the many questions of the smart and well informed students. The first topic was The Promotion of Environmental Standards in the EU external relations. I mentioned that EU has some of the world’s highest environmental standards. The EU’s goal is to promote these standards and global sustainable development to their trade partners. The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change is especially crucial for us\, and the EU is driving force of its implementation. \nHowever I also mentioned that in practice there are some contradictions as well\, and in some cases the Third Countries have higher environmental standards. A student immediately mentioned the example of the natural heritage on which the Turkish regulations are tougher than ours. \nThe second topic was Making Cities Sustainable: Achievments and the Changes in the EU and Turkey. In Turkey cities accommodate over 75% of the country’s population\, and the sustainable urban development is crucial for the fast-growing urban population. I spoke about the importance of public transport\, clean air\, renewable energies\, green public procurement\, heat waves and other issues. I also mentioned my own EP report on the thematic strategy on the urban environment. Following my interventions the other panelist\, Mr Ümit Sahin from the Sabunci University Istanbul mentioned that the GDP growths in Turkey is mostly based on construction\, and it is far from being an environmentally sustainable activity. He\, as a green activist\, gave a detailed picture on the environmental problems of Turkey\, harshly opposing a project of a Russian-built nuclear power station. As it normally happens\, some students were against the nuclear energy\, others had more tolerant approach to it. It was interesting to hear that one student even traveled to Chernobyl as a tourist to see the spot. \nThe third topic was The Rise of Nationalism and Populism in the EU. Due to the political situation I refrained from criticizing the Turkish government but I spoke a lot about the nationalist and illiberal tendencies in Hungary and Poland. The students were rather well informed on the problems of these two countries. But I also underlined that to criticize the “Brussels” doesn’t mean automatically euroscepticism\, and the integration to the Common Europe shouldn’t endanger our own national cultures. We had a lively debate on the Hungarian-Turkish relations and the exact meaning of the “nationalism”. Some students came from the EU countries\, which also show the good reputation of the IUE. Professor Bürgin closed all the three sessions with useful conclusions. His whole course on European studies goes in English and we have to keep contact with this progressive university. \nIt has been really heart-warming to meet these talented\, skilled young students\, who share our values in Turkey. Let’s hope that they overcome the troubles of their rich and brave country![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”9821″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/turkey-izmir-university-of-economics-8-9-may-2018/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Izmir-University-of-Economics-IUE-logo-1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180507
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180511
DTSTAMP:20200607T224452Z
CREATED:20180501T124045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200607T224452Z
UID:5586-1525651200-1525996799@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:SLOVENIA - UNIVERSITY OF LJUBLJANA - Per GAHRTON
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe University of Ljubljana organised a lecture for BA students in the introduction to policy analysis led by prof Damjan Lajh\, meetings with student associations and participation in the Europe Week round table on EU’s environmental policy. \nPer GAHRTON\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nMission report: SLOVENIA – DRIFTING TOWARDS POPULISM? \nIn mid-May I visited Ljubljana on assignment for the European Parliament’s former Members’ Association. The idyllic calm of the cafés along the Ljubljanica river was overwhelming – but perhaps deceptive. My visit coincided with the run-up to a snap election on 3 June: the third since 2011 and the ninth general election since the break-up of Yugoslavia. There have also been 20 referendums on everything from EU and NATO membership to the legislation on archiving\, same-sex marriage and railway building. Was it wishful thinking\, then\, when a major Swedish newspaper referred to the country as “Friendly little Slovenia” (Svenska Dagbladet\, 15 July 2011)? When I took part in a panel debate on EU environmental policy at the Faculty of Social Sciences\, I came across an opinion that is often heard in Scandinavia: the EU is needed in order to tackle cross-border environmental issues\, but the action it takes is too weak. I cited Wikipedia\, which commends the EU for the Paris Agreement\, but Panel of Speakers at the event of the University of Ljubljana notes that the EU’s leadership role in the area of environmental policy has been weakened. A briefing note drafted by the European Parliament’s research service lists the social dimension\, migration\, security and defence as issues that are being discussed with an eye to the future of the EU post-Brexit\, but the environment is not mentioned (The Future of Europe – Contours of the current debate\, European Parliamentary Research Service\, April 2018\, PE 620.202). \nI found Uroš Vajgl’s contribution particularly interesting. Mr Vajgl\, who has represented Slovenia in COREPER\, the EU’s ‘secret centre of power’\, maintained that the EU devotes less effort to environmental issues than it does to employment\, for example. At lunch with Mr Vajgl and others after the debate\, I was struck by their criticism of commercialism and general left-wing attitudes. Were these representative of the Slovenian people? According to The New York Times\, the election on 3 June ‘tilted another European country to the right’. And it’s true that a right-wing populist party won with 25% of the vote\, but a new centre-left group\, Marjan Šarec’s list\, came second\, and the social democrats came third. \nDespite the weak position that the Greens are in\, I was asked to give a lecture based on my book\, Green parties\, Green future (Plutobooks\, 2015). As a thank-you\, a member of the audience gave me a book entitled The Slovenian Greens: From early success to long-time failure (Danica Fink-Hafner\, Matej Knep and Meta Novak\, Faculty of Social Sciences\, 2015). Later on I showed the book to Igor Juriši ć\, leader of Slovenia’s Green Party (Stranka Mladih)\, and his response was: ‘I haven’t got round to reading it yet\, but unfortunately the title is spot on!’ In 1990\, Slovenia’s Greens garnered 8.8% of the vote\, 8 seats in Parliament and 5 ministers. In 2018\, however\, they didn’t manage to field any candidates under their own party name\, cooperating instead with Marjan Šarec’s list. Fink-Hafner\, Knep and Novak cite two main reasons for the Greens’ decline: first\, it had been a mistake to go into government with such a new\, weak party\, and second\, there had been too much sectarianism and factionalism\, and too many defections. Slovenia is a good reminder that it is important for small parties to be very careful in choosing the right time to have a go at being in government. It also shows that the curse of sectarianism must be kept in check. \nOur Slovenian hosts told us that it simply wasn’t done to visit Slovenia without going to Lake Bled\, so my wife and I duly went there. To prepare\, I read a French novel about a couple who visit the beauty spot. The blurb on the back promises ‘glimpses of a relationship which\, despite the lovers’ good intentions\, is doomed to fail’ (Clément Bénech\, L’été slovène\, 2013). I hope the novel isn’t predicting the downfall of ‘friendly little Slovenia’\, but shows\, rather\, that the country’s future is in the hands of decent democrats after all. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”9826″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/slovenia-university-of-ljubljana-from-7-to-10-may-2018/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180502
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180505
DTSTAMP:20200607T232859Z
CREATED:20180501T124045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200607T232859Z
UID:5594-1525219200-1525478399@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:HUNGARY - UNIVERSITY OF SZEGED - Herbert BOESCH
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe event is part of a series (Integration Club) organised by the University of Szeged in relation to European integration for students (undergraduate and graduate)\, university staff\, high school students\, young graduates\, press and interested public. \nYou can find a presentation of the project here. \nHerbert Bösch\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nMission report: SZEGED WAS WORTH A VISIT \nAdmittedly it isn’t easy to get to Szeged. If you go by plane\, you land in Budapest\, over 200km from Szeged\, and if you take the train\, the journey from Lake Constance can take some 15 hours. But it’s worth it: a beautiful city with a touch of Mediterranean flair and a neat and tidy centre with lots of space for walking and cycling and time to enjoy yourself. And students from across the globe. \nRight at the start there was an interview with two young ladies from northern Germany\, office apprentices who were spending a month in Szeged as exchange students. Asked why they had chosen that particular place\, their response was refreshingly simple: they wanted to see a part of the EU which was less well known in their own country. They said they were charmed by the city and the people. \nThere followed a discussion in the university’s ‘integration club’ with young people from across the whole of Europe\, with questions which were a million miles from the everyday trivia of the European institutions. Defending and improving human rights\, perspectives for EU enlargement\, and freedom to travel and settle abroad were among the issues raised. As expected\, the role of the Hungarian government in the EU was also discussed\, as was the increasing isolation from the 27 other Member States which the country might face as a result. Participants were unanimous in their view that the EU should place the common values set out in the Treaties above the selfish national interests of individual Member States in the forthcoming negotiations on the future financing of the EU. These values were also stressed in the context of migrants seeking in the EU a safe place from discrimination and persecution. \nThe following day we discussed the limits of European integration and the enlargement potential of the EU. The lecture took place in the Faculty of Law of the University of Szeged. Students from third countries – in particular from the Balkans – voiced their hopes that the EU would increase its efforts to ensure enlargement takes place. \nAt the moment it seems the EU is giving the impression of being overly concerned with itself and its internal conflicts. And we were reminded that the last major enlargement was in some ways still being digested and that there should be an internal consolidation of the EU before any further enlargement. An initiative such as the European Convention might give some impetus both to deepening the EU and to increasing its capacity for enlargement. Expectations in this regard fall on the European Parliament. I have a particular memory of two young women from Serbia and Kosovo who asked what they could do to help their countries join the EU… \nIt is to the credit of the ‘EP to Campus’ programme that events are also held away from national capitals. This is an important difference from most EU events organised by the in-country offices of Parliament and the Commission. It may be that the atmosphere in a university town at Hungary’s southern (EU) border is very different from that of the capital\, for cultural and geographical reasons. \nAnd it was clear that our young interlocutors really appreciated having a (former) Member of the EP to represent Europe rather than ‘Brussels bureaucracy’. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/hungary-university-of-szeged-2-4-may-2018/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/10053606_640x640.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180425
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180427
DTSTAMP:20200607T233934Z
CREATED:20180401T124045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200607T233934Z
UID:5598-1524614400-1524787199@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:ROMANIA - BABES-BOLYAI UNIVERSITY - Robert EVANS
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe Babes-Bolyai University planned an event called: “The EU Foreign Policy and the Global Politics of Human Rights” which aimed at enhancing BA and MA students in International Relations a knowledge in EU’s involvement within the global politics of Human Rights. \nRobert EVANS\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nMission report: COUNT DRACULA AND THE EU FOREIGN POLICY \nA trip to Transylvania in the Spring might send waves of fear through followers of Bram Stoker\, but Cluj in Romania is a delightful place and Count Dracula nowhere to be seen\, although one of his saying could not be more appropriate; “We learn of great things by little experiences.” My “little experience” was to represent former MEPS at the University of Babes-Bolyai in Romania’s third city\, Cluj-Napoca. Cluj could not have been more delightful and my hosts\, Alin\, Mihela and Natalia could hardly have been more welcoming. \nAs an MEP\, I served on the joint parliamentary committee for relations between the European Parliament and the Romanian Parliament for many years. Accession to the EU came in 2007 and I was proud to welcome many friends and colleagues as new Romanian MEPs. Returning to Romania after a break of several years and the changes are stark; the improvements obvious. With many signs showing support from the EU’s Regio fund it’s clear that the country has moved into the twenty first century. \nCluj itself has a proud Hungarian and Romanian history – reflected in the university being named after a celebrated Romanian biologist and a Hungarian mathematician\, the two original universities having merged in 1959. Babes-Bolyai University has 40000 students and runs courses in several languages in addition to Romanian. \nThe subject of the two-day discussions for which I was the guest speaker was\, ‘The EU Foreign Policy and the Global Politics of Human Rights’. My opening contribution was to first year under graduates on the role of the European Parliament and facing up to the challenge of migration. How the EU addresses the migratory pressures on its borders is one of the most important issues today. \nLater my ‘key-note speech’ looked at the way the EUs international role has developed since the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009. Whilst the establishment of the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy may have given new focus\, far from a united response to international crises\, to many the EU has stood by. This seems as true for the Russian interventions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine to the desperate situation in Syria and Palestine; the EU has appeared impotent\, not knowing what to do or say. \nOn the positive side\, the Union has been a force of strength in promoting global democracy by its emphasis on election observation and equally attaching human rights clauses to new trade initiatives. “We are strong\, each in our purpose\, and we are all stronger together\,” to quote Count Dracula again. \nA workshop on possible career opportunities in the EU institutions was demanding yet thought provoking. The talented and enthusiastic students from Babes-Bolyai have much to offer to Romanian MEPs and their government. Many questions were asked about the UK’s current and future position within the EU\, post Brexit. Was the UK always destined to leave the EU or was the referendum campaign just a disaster? Will David Cameron go down as the most arrogant and incompetent British prime minister in history? \nWill the UK live to regret its decision very soon? \nAfter two very packed and eventful days it was time to say “la revedere” to all my new friends in Cluj. I’m sure I won’t be the last former MEP to visit Transylvania and I thoroughly recommend it![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”9847″][vc_column_text] \nRobert Evans with students \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/romania-babes-bolyai-university-25-26-april-2018/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/babes.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180418
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180420
DTSTAMP:20200607T235055Z
CREATED:20180401T124045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200607T235055Z
UID:5602-1524009600-1524182399@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:SPAIN - UNIVERSITY OF DEUSTO - Monica FRASSONI
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe University of Deusto organized some lectures on Economic\, legal and institutional legitimacy of the EU projects\, public integrity\, efficiency. The attendees were university students (Law\, International Relations\, Economics\, Labour Relations…)\, University lecturers\, researchers and civil society representatives. \nMonica FRASSONI\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nMission report: VISITING DEUSTO \nOn April 18/19 I was invited to a two days series of lessons and meetings at the university of Deusto in Bilbao. Already the setting of this very prestigious university\, founded by the Gesuite order in 1886 and located in front of the magnificent Guggenheim museum is an enough inspiring experience. But I was very positively impressed by the intense programme\, which allowed me to deal with different issues\, (environment and climate change\, the future of the EU\, its institutional balance and functioning\, the role of lobbies\, professional opportunities for young students and and young professionals …). Also the audience was quite diverse in age\, interests and nationalities\, as Erasmus students were involved in one of the lessons. They were obviously well prepared and the programme had been well thought through\, in order to match with both their interests and my competences. Among the most interested and informed were the youngest high school students\, eager to learn and well prepared on specific questions. \nI also had the chance to give an open conference in the newly built library on the future challenges facing the EU and I found this opportunity \nworthwhile as we should give our host the chance of “exploit”our presence to the maximum. I also had a great contact with the two main organisers of the visit\, professor Maria Luisa Sanchez-Barrueco and Professor Laura Gomez Urquijo. Prof. Barrueco coordinates the Jean Monnet programme SAPIA (Student Awareness of public integrity and Accountability in the EU) and she seeks through innovating teaching methods to make students aware of the importance of democratic control of EU institutions. Professor Urquijo heads the Jean Monnet module EUCLAP ( EU legal and economic integration for people) and she focuses on how positive economic and legal EU integration can enhance wellbeing and prosperity for EU citizens. I also met the Dean and the deputy dean of the University\, Mrs Gema Tomas and Marta Enciso. \nI was by the way quite amused and glad to note that all my interlocutors and hosts were female academics and that the Bilbao Chapter of the European Law student union took part to the definition of the program. Furthermore\, coming from a country\, Italy\, which is going through a real thunderstorm in terms of public perception of the role and \nimportance of the EU\, I found refreshing and uplifting the very positive attitude\, if not the real passion\, that some students and the host professors expressed for the EU project\, as well as for the need of an active involvement of young generations and academia in ensuring not only its survival in these difficult times\, but also its further development and the strengthening of its capacity to work together and deliver results for its citizens. Among the most frequently asked questions were the possibility of access to a “European”professional and study career\, which common policies could be implemented on jobs and climate change and how to ensure that member states and EU institutions are able to show more cohesion in delivering common economic\, migration and foreign policies. \nAll in all\, I enjoyed this experience very much: it is really fruitful both for us and for our interlocutors. \nI therefore thank the organisers for the invitation and encourage my colleagues to take part to these events.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”9855″][vc_column_text] \nMonica FRASSONI during her intervention \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/spain-university-of-deusto-18-19-april-2018/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/deusto.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180330
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180402
DTSTAMP:20200607T235633Z
CREATED:20180301T124045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200607T235633Z
UID:5606-1522368000-1522627199@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:BULGARIA - AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BULGARIA  - Ivailo KALFIN
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe American University of Bulgaria organized an event that had as its main theme a ‘Model EU Simulation on EU digital market issue’. The event provided the students guidance about the work of the European Parliament and the adoption of EU legislation on EU digital market issues/working of EU/future of EU. \nIvailo KALFIN\, FMA Member\, participated in this event.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/bulgaria-american-university-of-bulgaria-30-march-1-april-2018/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/AUBG-logo-badge-FIN-2.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180327
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180328
DTSTAMP:20200608T001318Z
CREATED:20180301T124045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200608T001318Z
UID:5610-1522108800-1522195199@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:ESTONIA - TALLINN TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY - Michael HINDLEY
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe Tallinn Technology University planned an open high-profile lecture for university students and scholars\, general public\, local NGOs and possibly media. \nMichael HINDLEY\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nMission report: COLD TALLINN \nA cold Tallinn offered a warm welcome from my hosts when I visited Estonia’s lovely capital in March. Through the good offices of FMA\, I was invited by the Tallinn University of Technology (TTU) to talk about EU foreign relations but also to discuss\, with students and faculty\, Brexit. My interlocutors clearly follow the debate on Brexit in the UK with attention; an attention tinged with concern about future relations between Estonia and UK under the auspices of EU Higher Educational Cooperation. Although the UK government has indicated a willingness to contribute financially to such programmes as a way of ensuring participation\, the negative is that as in other spheres\, UK will be “taking and not making rules”. The UK has been a major influence on the shaping of ERASMUS and research cooperation and its knowledge and experience would be missed. Students worry that study in UK could become more difficult and staff are concerned that recruitment from UK as well as their chances of posts in the UK could become problematic. \nI also gave a lecture on China’s ambitious “Belt and Road” programme to Masters students of International Relations. \nOstensibly\, this is a giant infrastructure plan\, initially based on the revival the old Silk Road\, from China\, through Central Asia and on into the Middle East and Europe. As such it conjures up romantic nostalgia for bygone days of explorers and traders\, East to West\, and West to East. However\, it is also much to do with Sino/Russian rivalry for national energy resources in Central Asia. Additionally\, China is worried that though the Coastal strip of China is booming\, there is little evidence of a “trickle down” effect to the distant inland provinces. Lastly and not least\, China now has massive over-capacity in steel\, coal and cement; just the basic materials for a vast transport infrastructure programme envisaged in “Belt and Road.” \nMy hosts kindly arranged to visit some of Tallinn’s much lauded e-centres\, TTU own innovation \nEstonia has invested much energy\, resources in new technology and the results are truly impressive. I well remember taking a portable typewriter for my Strasbourg and Brussels offices in 1984\, only for the typewriters to become quickly redundant. Now you can get an entire communications system on your smart phone. When I expressed my own scepticism about cyber-security I was met with optimism. Estonia has suffered and still fears cyber-attack from Russia\, but the participants in the e-centres enthusiastically pointed out that research and development into cyber-security was in itself a motor for economic activity. \nMembership of the EU has been taken up with gusto in this small Baltic nation. It was refreshing to see such optimism in Estonia.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/estonia-tallinn-technology-university-27-march-2018/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/taltech.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180325
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180329
DTSTAMP:20200618T093535Z
CREATED:20180301T124045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200618T093535Z
UID:5614-1521936000-1522281599@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:UKRAINE - UKRAINIAN ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSORS AND RESEARCHERS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION - Birgit DAIBER
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe Ukrainian Association of Professors and Researchers of European Integration together with the National University of Kiev Taraz Schevchenko organised a conference entitled “European Integration Processes in the 21st Century: Key Trends\, Main Challenges and New Perspectives”. \n Birgit DAIBER\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nMission report: TARAS SHEVHENKO NATIONAL ACADEMY \nThe Kiev based Taras-SevchenkoUniversity in co-operation with Erasmus and their common Jean Monnet-Project organised a two days’ International conference on “European Integration Processes in 21st Century – Key Trends\, main Challenges and new Perspectives” on 26/27 March. Speakers from universities of United Kingdom\, Portugal\, Canada\, Poland and Italy have been invited. I have been invited on behalf of FMA. About 70 students\, mainly involved in European Studies\, took part in the first afternoon debate on March 26th. I was asked to give an introduction into history and relevance to the current situation of European integration. My first challenge was to find some examples avoiding the danger to be too shallow. I choose the following two: “EU’s international trade policy” was the first\, followed by “the rule of European law and common values in democracy”. Since the students have been very aware of EU’s problems with Ukraine’s direct neighbour Poland\, they asked many questions on the rule of European law\, decision making processes and European understanding of democracy. I explained that one of the basic experiences in European Policy is to accept the necessity to compromise (even in one’s own political family). Here the students ask the grave question\, hanging like a black cloud above all debates in Ukraine: How to find solutions for the war in East-Ukraine and for Crimea. \nI couldn’t give an answer to this 1-Million-Euro question\, but at least there has been no negative reaction when I mentioned that in the end there would be the need to find compromises. Another issue raised by the students was nationalism. Since EU-law rules above national law\, the students felt inclined to ask if there is not the danger that citizens may loose their national identity? This led to discuss the principle of subsidiarity and the chance to develop a genuine European identity – not dominating national identity but changing it and adding a new dimension of common values and goals. The difference between national identity and aggressive or even violent nationalism was underlined. All in all the more than three hours discussion showed the deep desire of the students to become part of the European Union. At the international conference on 27th participated a lower number of Ukrainian students and more CEOs from EU related organisations and professors from universities. \nThe conference concentrated on different fields of European Politics\, especially Environmental Policy\, Law-making processes and questioning the Competence of Europe in actual conflicts. A specific part of the session was dedicated to the presentation of results of an inquiry in UK on letters in shaping the mass media before the referendum on Brexit. The inquiry shows 97% yes to Brexit in populist media while only 46% could be found in more neutral papers. Unfortunately this inquiry was carried only after the referendum. Two young researchers from the Ukrainian “Content Analysis Centre” gave a lecture on “the role of EU in the events highlighted by the major Ukrainian press”. My role in this part of the conference was to talk about the heavy storms which are threatening the Union since the outbreak of the Financial crisis in 2008. I referred to the refugee crisis\, the deep internal conflicts with some member-countries not willing to accept European rule of law and the upcoming international trade conflicts proving so far the rather robust survival capacity of the Union. My closing remarks emphasized some aspects of new ideas actually developed by the EU-Commission and also by the French President Emanuel Macron.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”9528″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/ukraine-ukrainian-association-of-professors-and-researchers-of-european-integration-25-28-march-2018/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/aprei.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180322
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180324
DTSTAMP:20200608T002115Z
CREATED:20180301T124045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200608T002115Z
UID:5618-1521676800-1521849599@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:CROATIA - UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB - Ignasi GUARDANS
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe University of Zagreb organized guest lectures for students that are attending the course in Law of International Trade as well as guest lectures for the Bachelor Degree in Business Programme students that are attending the course in Commercial Law. Beside the lectures\, the University organised an interview for the student’s newspaper and a meeting with faculty management. \nIgnasi GUARDANS\, FMA Member\, participated in the event.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/croatia-university-of-zagreb-22-23-march-2018/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/uni_profile_93789zagg.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180301
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180303
DTSTAMP:20200618T092941Z
CREATED:20180301T124045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200618T092941Z
UID:5622-1519862400-1520035199@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:CYPRUS - UNIVERSITY OF LANCASHIRE - Barbara WEILER
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe University of Lancashire organized a series of activities with students and a workshop\, with the judiciary and academics. \nBarbara WEILER\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nMission report: LECTURE AT UCLAN UNIVERSITY \nUclan – the University of Central Lancashire in Larnaca – provides a unique and innovative model of university education which is both Cypriot and British at the same time. There are close links with Europe through Jean Monnet modules and the Erasmus+ programme. Not surprisingly\, many students and teachers are of international origin. It is quite possible that an island on the extreme geographical periphery of Europe may be the ideal place to conduct such an experiment\, and I consider it a great success. There was an open atmosphere\, with a willingness to engage in debate\, and a high standard of innovative new approaches. Impressive! \nOn the first day\, the main event was debates with students on the campus. Various lectures were given in the course of the day\, all of them very well attended. The main subject was European social and employment policy\, including Juncker’s European Pillar of Social Rights initiative; Parliament’s working methods and the possible consequences of Brexit were also mentioned. The students were committed and well prepared. \nOn the second day in Nicosia\, a round table with national and international judges was the main event. It was opened by the President of Cyprus’s Supreme Court. The European Court of Justice was represented by judge Anna Marcoulli. Here too\, similar subjects were discussed: how can socioeconomic rights be promoted and protected in the current financial crisis? In the ensuing debate\, the students called for the European Courts (in Luxembourg and Strasbourg) to protect citizens against the pressures imposed by the ‘trio’ and for a different political course. It was a lively debate\, in which conflicting opinions were expressed. \nIn addition to the official subjects on the programme\, a topic repeatedly raised was relations between the EU and Turkey (and more specifically the naval blockade prompted by the gas dispute\, which was taking place at that very time). \nI took the opportunity to go for a short walk in the Turkish part of Nicosia. I had already once visited the city some 30 years ago\, when the UN was everywhere and it was virtually impossible to visit the north. Since then\, much has changed\, but it seemed to me that distrust and prejudice persist. This makes it all the more important for the EU to support projects such as Erasmus+.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”9872″][vc_column_text] \nUCLAN students \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/cyprus-university-of-lancashire-1-2-march-2018/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/uclqn.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180123
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180226
DTSTAMP:20200608T004514Z
CREATED:20200326T134300Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200608T004514Z
UID:9875-1516665600-1519603199@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:United Kingdom - De Montfort University - Doris PACK
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]De Montfort University organised seminars and courses for undergraduate and postgraduate students followed by open debates. On Europe Day there was a meeting with local schoolchildren. Mr John Bowis\, Mr Ben Patterson and Mrs Doris Pack\, former Members of the European Parliament\, participated in this programme. \nDoris PACK\, FMA Member\, participated in the event.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/royaume-uni-universite-de-de-montfort-23-25-janvier-2018/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/de-monfort1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180123
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180226
DTSTAMP:20200608T003631Z
CREATED:20180101T124045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200608T003631Z
UID:5630-1516665600-1519603199@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:UNITED KINGDOM - UNIVERSITY OF MONTFORT - Ben PATTERSON
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]De Montfort University organized seminars and classes for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Followed by open debates. The day of Europe involved a meeting with local school children. Mr John Bowis\, Mr Ben Patterson and Ms Doris Pack\, former MEPs\, participated in this programme. \nBen PATTERSON\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nReport mission: EP TO CAMPUS VISIT TO DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY \nWithin ten minutes of my arrival at de Montfort\, the clock went back over fifty years: I found myself sitting in the front row at a lecture on the mathematics of fiscal stabilisers. Was I −oh\, Lord! – having to prepare for an economics exam again? And then I was up myself to answer questions on the subject. \nContacts between students studying a topic academically and those who have had to apply what they have learnt in the practical world are useful to both sides. The problems of the Euro Area in combing a centralised monetary policy with devolved fiscal policies were clearly relevant to the fiscal policy class; and also to the next one on monetary policy. Attending academic lectures can also remind ex-MEPs of fundamentals which may have been forgotten over the years. \nI had\, as requested by the Former Members Association office in Brussels\, prepared a written paper on the history and problems of the Euro. But it was not needed. Unsurprisingly\, the focus of all the discussions\, and in particular the general question-and-answer sessions\, was Brexit. What was going to happen if and when the UK left the EU? Doris Pack and I struggled to find satisfactory answers. Almost all the students and staff appeared to be Remainers\, and it was difficult to deny that no arrangement outside the EU could possibly be as good as not leaving in the first place. \nBut then there was a bewildering array of options\, ranging from EEA membership plus Customs Union (probably\, in due course\, leading to an EU return)\, to a cliff-edge crashout next year. It was necessary to explain that nearly everyone else\, and almost certainly the UK government\, were as much in the dark as we were. \nThe university had issued us with an envelope-full of vouchers for use in the various canteens on campus\, which I mostly spent on coffee. But we were also entertained to two excellent dinners in town\, after the first of which we went to the site of Richard III’s burial and saw something of the old\, now partly pedestrianised city. The de Montfort campus itself extends over quite a large area; and if there is one complaint we had it is that the local taxis seemed at a loss when trying to drop us off at the right building. \nMy visit ended\, as it had begun\, with attendance at two classes on special policy fields\, both under the supervision of Professor Alasdair Blair\, the university’s Jean Monnet Professor of International Relations\, and overall organiser of the event. The first was on the CAP\, a subject that has been endlessly debated and reformed over the years. I was able to recall the days of butter mountains and wine lakes\, and even\, before that\, of the UK’s expensive deficiency payments system. Now we have the Basic (formerly Single) Payment Scheme\, based on how much land you own. What\, we wondered\, was coming next? \nFinally\, after a short session on the British political situation – a subject for three days’ discussion in itself – I headed off back down the M1 to London.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/united-kingdom-university-of-montfort-23-25-january-2018/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/de-monfort1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171203
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171211
DTSTAMP:20200608T005751Z
CREATED:20171201T065141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200608T005751Z
UID:5634-1512259200-1512950399@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:CZECH REPUBLIC - MENDEL UNIVERSITY - Mariela BAEVA
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Mendel University in Brno organized conferences and seminars for students specializing in European Studies\, activities of the Think Tank – “Mendel European Center” and round tables for the public. \nA creative project was inspired by Ms. Baeva’s participation in a series of conferences and seminars organised by the University of Brno: a group of students from Syria\, Ghana\, Croatia\, Ukraine\, Czech Republic came together to create a song titled Race to Freedom\, dedicated to 18 December\, International Migrants Day and 20 June\, World Refugee Day.  You can listen to the song here. \nMariela BAEVA \, FMA Member\, participated in this event.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/czech-republic-mendel-university-3-10-decembre-2017/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/mendel_university_logo-eng_cmyk_0.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171129
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171203
DTSTAMP:20200608T010138Z
CREATED:20171101T065141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200608T010138Z
UID:5638-1511913600-1512259199@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:FRANCE - UNIVERSITY OF CLERMONT AUVERGNE - Ilona GRAENITZ
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The University of Clermont Auvergne organized a conference on “Sustainable Cities and Industries (Michelin Network)”. Mrs. Ilona Graenitz and Mrs. Zofija Macej Kukovic\, former MEP’s\, delivered a keynote on sustainable development\, sustainable cities\, urbanization and demography\, to Mayors of European cities\, European researches\, civil society and large institutions. \nIlona GRAENITZ \, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nMission report: EUROPE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT \nThe Programme encompassed two components: \n1) Lectures and discussions at the University \n2) Participation in the first meeting of the international network of Michelin cities. \nThis was a clever combination of academic work and a big public event and the organiser Arnaund Diemer did a great work. \n• The participants at the lectures at Clermont University were mostly students (often on Erasmus or other EU programmes and from various European countries) involved in projects or writing their thesis\, thus providing an opportunity to present some of their work and discuss it with peers. \nThe fact that all presentations and discussions at the university were in English added to the international atmosphere of the seminar. \nThe issue of circular economy and which methods and tools could be used to develop a fair and encompassing system\, providing for a growing world population without abusing resources and generating waste and pollution\, was in the centre of the presentations. In particular interesting was the concept of ‘Circles of Sustainability’ presented by Professor Paul James from Sydney University. In this framework the sustainable development of cities is assessed in four domains: ecology\, economics\, politics and culture ; each domain being sub-dived into 7 fields\, such as materials & energy\, water & air; production & resourcing\, labour& welfare; organisation & governance\, communication & movement; engagement & identity\, gender & generations. Assessment is made on a nine-step scale starting with critical sustainability to vibrant sustainability. Part of the seminar was dedicated to the future development of cities\, showing scenarios of towers with vertical gardens and forest-like buildings\, giving as well a chance to discuss the philosophical background of sustainble development of cities. My colleague Zofija Mazek Kukovič and I took part in the discussions and there were two special sessions dedicated to EU issues. \nOne was a presentation of ourselves and our work in the E.P. and one was an interview conducted by a retired scientist. \nWe were able to talk about programmes\, budgets and in particular about legislation and how we see the future development. \nAs the participants came from different countries (Spain\, Belgium\, Ukraine) there was particular interest in questions of autonomy of regions and participation of regions in policies of the EU\, and questions of accession and geopolitics; of course Brexit was an important issue. \nI believe\, that still after so many years it is important and necessary to explain the development and functioning of European legislation even to participants with very high levels of education. \n• As part of the seminar was the first day of the 1st meeting of the international network of Michelin Cities ‘Sustainable City’\, all participants and speakers were invited to the Polydome congress centre. Zofija Mazej Kukovič and I were taking part in the programme as experts. This gave the chance to speak about supportive European legislation and projects/programmes for sustainable cities and underline the importance of working together in Europe. \nIt has to be noted that there were representatives from all around the world\, though I would suggest that the EP and the Former Members Association keep in touch as to encourage further co-operation.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/france-university-of-clermont-auvergne-29-november-2-december-2017/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/clermont-2.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171129
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171203
DTSTAMP:20200608T011125Z
CREATED:20171101T065141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200608T011125Z
UID:9900-1511913600-1512259199@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:FRANCE - UNIVERSITY OF CLERMONT AUVERGNE - Zofja MACEJ KUKOVIC
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The University of Clermont Auvergne organized a conference on “Sustainable Cities and Industries (Michelin Network)”. Mrs. Ilona Graenitz and Mrs. Zofija Macej Kukovic\, former MEP’s\, delivered a keynote on sustainable development\, sustainable cities\, urbanization and demography\, to Mayors of European cities\, European researches\, civil society and large institutions. \nZofja MACEJ KUKOVIC\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nMission report: DO WE CARE ABOUT FUTURE GENERATIONS? \nIt was with great pleasure that I took part in the University of Clermont-Ferrand Jean Monnet Programme and in the International Symposium ‘Michelin Network of sustainable cities’. There we looked at what steps would be needed to achieve a sustainable city\, and a sustainable EU. Former MEP Ilona Graenitz from the European Parliament Former Members Association (FMA) also took part. \nMore than three years ago I wrote in my book ‘Start up Europe’: ‘Sustainable economic growth\, where we use fewer resources and produce more products\, is more realistically achievable in times of crisis than in times of plenty. History has taught us that times of plenty in themselves limit creativity. \nThe most important areas that will require major changes are mobility\, food\, health and housing.’ \nThese points were still pertinent in the discussions that took place at the two events at Clermont-Ferrand\, which focused on mobility and sustainable use of world resources. The conference with PhD students examined the issue of sustainability in cities. Given that there is no clear answer to the problem of population growth in cities\, with some experts predicting that by 2040 some 70% of the world’s population will be living in cities\, my talk focused on the need for further research into how to motivate people and create the conditions necessary for people to choose to stay in rural areas. A connection to the land and an intimate relationship with nature foster within us a sense of inner happiness. \nResearchers and professors presented challenges for sustainable cities on issues ranging from culture and the environment to energy and impact on our economy and society. In two roundtables\, we discussed European legislation pertaining to these matters and future trends. The students asked about this unique ‘sense of belonging to the EU’. For them\, as students from all over the world\, that was the most impressive fact about the EU. Their criticisms concerned issues such as Brexit and the migration crisis. \nAt the conference organised by the Michelin Network\, I gave a presentation on mobility. \n‘As a former health minister and a former member of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment\, Public Health and Food Safety\, my activities have focused on the health of people and of our planet. \nThe European Parliament’s work has also focused on the legislation needed as a basis for mobility\, which is a key aspect for sustainable cities. Digital Europe\, the internal digital market and big data also present new technological opportunities to connect people whose needs are met by advances in mobility. \nWe should be thinking not only about people’s needs\, but also about people’s feelings. All of us would like to feel safe\, while still having privacy. Mobility could improve people’s safety\, especially in cases of accidents\, natural catastrophes or health emergencies. Mobility and accessibility are important for sustainability and for business development.’ World-renowned photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand used photography and film to present the world’s nature and people to the participants. His new film ‘WOMAN’ shows the misery of women in poverty and calls for political action. \nCécile Coulon\, a young and very successful writer\, also presented her latest award-winning book ‘Trois saisons d’orage’. She spent her childhood in a village and today writes and encourages young people to live more in harmony with nature. As a participant in the FMA Campus programme\, I must say that the organisation by the University of Clermont-Ferrand and Professor Arnaud Diemer was excellent. It was also clear that the students were really engaged and keen to participate in our discussion. I would therefore like to thank all participants.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/france-university-of-clermont-auvergne-29-november-2-december-2017-2/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171113
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171117
DTSTAMP:20200326T144251Z
CREATED:20200326T144251Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200326T144251Z
UID:6733-1510531200-1510876799@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:ALLEMAGNE - Université de Göttingen - 13 - 16 NOVEMBRE 2017
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The University of Göttingen organized a conference on “Law-making in the EU and the consequences of the Brexit on the EU and GB”. Mr. Michael Hindley\, former MEP’s\, delivered a keynote on the challenges to and of the EU and the EU as an International actor and the changing role of the EU post-Brexit\, to Eurocultures students\, international students of the University\, scholars and staff members. \n> Michael HINDLEY \, FMA Member[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/allemagne-universite-de-gottingen-13-16-novembre-2017/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Uni_Aula_Aussen_2_Frank_Stefan_Kimmel.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171113
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171117
DTSTAMP:20200608T012110Z
CREATED:20171101T065141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200608T012110Z
UID:5642-1510531200-1510876799@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:GERMANY - UNIVERSITY OF GÖTTINGEN - Michael HINDLEY
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The University of Göttingen organized a conference on “Law-making in the EU and the consequences of the Brexit on the EU and GB”. Mr. Michael Hindley\, former MEP’s\, delivered a keynote on the challenges to and of the EU and the EU as an International actor and the changing role of the EU post-Brexit\, to Eurocultures students\, international students of the University\, scholars and staff members. \nMichael HINDLEY \, FMA Member\, participated in these events. \nMission report: CAN THE EU SURVIVRE BREXIT? \nI was extremely pleased to receive a second invitation to the Euroculture Centre at the University of Göttingen which I first visited in November 2016. I suggested an update on my last year’s title ‘Can the EU survive Brexit?’ Not simply an example of English ‘tongue-in-cheek’ humour\, but a warning that Brexit is not only an existential question for the UK\, but also one for the EU. \nCertainly the mood among the Masters Students in the three seminars I participated in was puzzlement and sadness about the UK leaving. There was some anxiety among a couple of UK students about their future status and questions from other EU students about their potential status post Brexit. \nMy last year’s visit coincided with the news that Donald Trump had won the Presidential race in the USA. That news was met by the same sadness and puzzlement as the Brexit decision. \nThis year’s visit came in the wake of the German general election which saw a sharp decline in the popularity of the two major parties (CDU/ CSU and SPD) and the rise of the anti-EU nationalists\, AfD. The fate \nA group of students from the Georg-August-University of Chancellor Angela Merkel\, widely seen as a stabilising force in the EU\, has become an anxious question. We are entering an increasingly uncertain period. The eastern EU states are increasingly sceptical\, even hostile to EU policy made in Brussels; witness the widening resentment against EU asylum policy. ‘Europe’ is increasingly seen as the problem for nation states\, not the solution to national problems – a point the ‘More Europe’ advocates from Brussels fail to grasp. \nThe gap in perceptions of ‘Europe’ looms large. In my experience of young people\, like the students I met in Göttingen and others I have met at home and on FMA guest lectureships don’t share this pessimism. So many of them have benefited from European wide programmes\, they travel with ease and confidence. They are prepared to rise to the challenge of competition and opportunity offered by the EU. \nHowever\, doubts remain and indeed grow as to whether the EU is there for the benefit of all and not just for the quick\, mobile\, talented elite. Serious work ahead for the EU which demands less self-congratulatory propaganda and more applied reasoned persuasion. \n \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/germany-university-of-gottingen-13-16-november-2017/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/goettingon-logo.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171019
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171022
DTSTAMP:20200616T200754Z
CREATED:20171001T065141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200616T200754Z
UID:5646-1508371200-1508630399@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:UKRAINE - UNIVERSITY OF UKRAINE - Per GAHRTON
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe University of Ukraine organized a conference on “’Conflict  Transformation and Peacebuilding in Ukraine”. Mr. Per Gahrton; former MEP\, delivered a keynote on “foreign and security conflict transformation and peacebuilding”\, to University students\, experts\, academics and civil servants. \nPer GAHRTON\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nMission report: CAN UKRAINE LEARN ABOUT CONFLICT RESOLUTION? \nOn 20 and 21 October I spoke at the Ukrainian European Studies Association in Kharkiv on the EU’s tools for conflict resolution. Kharkiv was proposed as the capital of the separatists’ ‘New Russia’\, but although Russian is the language spoken by residents of Kharkiv in their day-to-day lives\, they did not approve of the secession. \nIn Kiev\, too\, Russian is the language you are most likely to hear on the streets. The students at Vernadsky University breathe a sigh of relief when their lecturers allow them to switch from Ukrainian to Russian. History professor Mikhail Stanchev is one person who has continued to lecture in Russian\, in spite of the new language law\, which stipulates that all teaching should be done in Ukrainian (on 12 October 2017\, the Council of Europe criticised the new law as ‘an infringement of the rights of national minorities’). Professor Stanchev gave me a copy of his Russian-language book\, World War Three – the Battle for Ukraine\, in which he accuses Putin of being a carbon copy of Hitler. In a private conversation with me\, Professor Stanchev acknowledged that Ukraine did bear some responsibility for the conflict\, owing to its failure to establish democracy at local level. He also agreed that it is a problem that the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine forced Ukraine to leave the former Soviet republics’ free trade area. \nReports from Kiev suggest that the Baltic and Scandinavian countries are the hawks when it comes to the Ukraine/Russia situation\, whereas a number of countries in southern Europe are calling the sanctions into question. They are supported in their view by the UN rapporteur Idriss Jazairy\, who has pointed out that the sanctions are costing EU countries USD 3.2 billion per month\, and are having more of an impact on innocent Russian citizens than they are on the country’s leaders. \nThe audience at the conference listened with interest as I spoke about the EU’s peacemaking tools\, from association agreements to sanctions. And they nodded in recognition when I spoke about Nordic conflicts and the peaceful ways in which they had been resolved\, such as in 1658 when Sweden took over Skåneland\, which Denmark had held for 300 years. Some 150 years later\, in 1809\, Sweden accepted the loss of Finland to Russia\, following the Swedish poet Esais Tegnér’s exhortation for ‘Finland to be won back from within Sweden’s borders’. Norway’s secession from the union in 1905 was also agreed to by Sweden\, and Finland was allowed to retain Åland on the basis of an international decision taken in the 1920s\, despite the population’s wish to stay with Sweden. In the 1990s\, Boris Yeltsin offered Finland the chance to buy Karelia back\, but President Koivisto declined. I pointed out that that list of instances of Nordic countries accepting the loss of parts of their territories could be used to illustrate the EU principle that\, rather than be altered\, borders should be made unimportant. At that point someone asked\, rather indignantly: ‘Are you advising us to give up Crimea and the Donbass\, then?’ I said I was not. Of course regions have a democratic right to go their own way: look at Scotland\, Quebec and Catalonia\, for example. But the democratic rules have to be followed. That has not been the case in Crimea and the Donbass. \nAnd Ukraine is not without blame: the language law shows a level of insensitivity that could make Russian-speaking Ukrainians doubt their Ukrainian identity. If Finland – where around five percent of the population are Swedish speakers – can have Swedish as an official language alongside Finnish\, why can’t Ukraine give Russian official status alongside Ukrainian? \nAt a demonstration in front of the parliament building in Kiev I was given a little booklet of poetry entitled ‘Our fears went up in smoke on the Maidan’\, apparently written in Russian by a Moscow-born poet. The first poem\, ‘Ode to Ukraine’ is the only one written in Ukrainian. \nIt features the refrain: ‘We shed our blood for our freedom\, and it showed that we are of Cossack nationality’. That booklet is the Ukrainian identity dilemma in a nutshell.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/ukraine-university-of-ukraine-19-21-october-2017/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20171002
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171003
DTSTAMP:20200608T090049Z
CREATED:20171001T065141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200608T090049Z
UID:5650-1506902400-1506988799@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:UNITED STATES - NEW YORK UNIVERSITY - Enrique BARÓN CRESPO
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe New York University organized a conference on “The European Union: Cradle of Civilization or Super-Regulatory State?” for students and professors. It has been held by the Former President of the European Parliament\, Enrique Barón Crespo. \nEnrique BARÓN CRESPO \, Former FMA President\, participated in this event.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/united-states-new-york-university-2-october-2017/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/uni_profile_85161.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20170714
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20170715
DTSTAMP:20200608T091029Z
CREATED:20170701T065141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200608T091029Z
UID:5654-1499990400-1500076799@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:ITALY - UNIVERSITY OF LUISS SUMMER SCHOOL - Enrique BARÓN CRESPO
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe 2017 edition of the Summer School was devoted to Parliaments\, democratic accountability and budgetary powers. The first week (10th-14th July) focused on national budgets and parliaments in relation to the EU and the new economic governance and the second week (17th-21st July) on the EU budget and the role of the European Parliament. \nAt the end of the first week of the course\, on Friday 14 July\, h. 15.00-16.30\, the University organized a Roundtable on What has been implemented of the Five Presidents’ Report of 2015: the democratic commitments. \nEnrique BARÓN CRESPO \, Former FMA President\, participated in this event. \nMission report: ROUND TABLE AT LUISS UNIVERSITY \nIn the framework of the programme\, EP to Campus\, the School of Government of the LUISS Guido Carli University of Rome organised\, in co-operation with Sciences Po\, a Closing Round Table on ‘Parliaments\, Democratic accountability and Budgetary Powers’ discussing thePresidents’ Report on ‘Completing Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union in 2025’. The speakers were Roberto Gualtieri\, current Chairman of the Economic and Monetary Committee of the European Parlement\, Marcelo Messori\, LUISS Director of the School and Enrique Barón Crespo\, President of the EP Former Members Association. Roberto Gualtieri MEP made an in depth analysis of the ongoing work of the EP Committee as well as of the implementation and follow-up of the main targets of the Report. Marcelo Messori concentrated his remarks on the governance dimension and the economic recovery in Europe. Enrique Barón Crespo focused his speech on the main challenges for completing a genuine Economic and Monetary Union as a process of building Europe with stronger democratic participation and accountability at both national and European levels. The main challenges are: integrating the Eurogroup in the EU institutional framework with parliamentary accountability; the transformation of the current ESM in a European Monetary Fund with the creation of a European Treasury\, and the implementation of risk sharing through systems like Eurobonds that would reinforce the Euro in a decisive way. \n  \nThis process involves both the EP and national parliaments. Enrique Barón Crespo recalled and highlighted how the creation of the Monetary Union had received a definitive boost from the first Conference of the Parliaments of the EC that took place in the Camera dei Deputati in November 1990 in Rome. The result paved the way for preparation of the European Monitory Union (EMU) in the Maastricht Treaty with President Guido Carli as representative of the Italian Government. Now he felt was the moment to renew this task\, giving a key role to both the European and national parliaments. The other major step in democratic accountability\, not elaborated in the report\, would be the implementation of the principle of “no taxation without political representation” at European level in a clear and transparent way to the EU citizens. Enrique Barón Crespo believes that there are matters directly related to the EU single market and the environment that would easily help the citizenship to establish a direct link with the EU. This happens already with the Euro and it would help reinforce the democratic legitimacy of the whole European project. \n \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/italy-university-of-luiss-summer-school-14-july-2017/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20170522
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20170524
DTSTAMP:20200616T195852Z
CREATED:20200608T112851Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200616T195852Z
UID:10000-1495411200-1495583999@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:PORTUGAL - UNIVERSITY OF AVEIRO - Gyula HEGYI
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nGyula HEGYI\, FMA Member\, was invited to participate in a conference organized by the University of Aveiro. \nMission report: PROGRAMME \nAveiro is an ancient Portuguese city south of Porto. The University of Aveiro has been founded in 1973\, and nowadays more than 13000 students and hundreds of professors study and teach there. My host\, Professor Luis Mota keeps a semina on international studies in English. On the first day of my visit I was invited to participate an afternoon session of his seminar. Instead of the originally planned one hour it took two and half hours\, as the students raised dozens of questions. All of them spoke good English\, and one of them was an Erasmus student\, coming from Lithuania. \nThey were rather well informed on the structure and problems of the European Union. We spoke among other subjects on the different role of the Parliament\, the Council and the Commission\, on the Brexit\, on the importance of the Erasmus program and on the concept of the ‘multispeed EU’. They raised some ‘uncomfortable’ questions on the political situation of my homeland\nHungary as well\, but I tried to answer them. I talked about the many possibilities to get a scholarship at the Parliament\, at the Commission (where I also worked) and at the European HQs of the political parties. The next day I visited the ‘Europe Direct’ information centre\, where I met some students who just dropped in\, as the information centre has an active contact with the University. The relatively small but well equipped centre provides many facilities for those who are interested in EU affairs. And it seemed to me that there are many people in Aveiro who are really interested in… \nIn the afternoon I participated in the event which was the main program of my visit. The social and political department held a conference on ‘The reflection paper on the social dimension of Europe’\, and generally on the social policy of the EU. The ‘Reflection Paper’ of the Commisson was released on 26th of April\, so it was one of the first occasions to discuss it on a public event. My fellow panellists were Ms Sofia Colares Alves\, Head of the EU representation in Portugal and Ms. Mafalda Guerreiro\, Member of the Central Committee of the Portuguese Communist Party. It seemed to be a well chosen trio. Ms Alves performed the official Commission line\, with informative details. The Communist Ms Guerreiro strongly criticised the ‘Big Businessoriented’ EU policies\, as her party is rather Euro sceptic. (Unlike the very pro-Europe Hungarian Left.) I tried to underline that one of the three options suggested by the Commission is rather a progressive idea. While the other two options\,  limiting the social dimension to free movement or let the Member States to choose certain elements of their social policies ‘a la carte’ are rather dangerous ideas. The lack of a strong common social policy destroys the public support of our common European project\, and strengthens the extreme and populist movements. The audience was very active\, and besides our different backgrounds the three of us agreed to improve the social commitments of the EU. \nI must mention the important role of Gil Martins dos Reis organizing my and the forthcoming visits of other colleagues to Aveiro. As a student of the University and a trainee of the EP Former Members Association\, Gil contacted his ‘Alma mater’ and our Association. As the University of Aveiro runs good and important courses on European studies\, we should help them with our experiences.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/portugal-university-of-aveiro-gyula-hegyi/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AVEIRO-LOGo-rewined.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20170508
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20170512
DTSTAMP:20200616T195610Z
CREATED:20170501T065141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200616T195610Z
UID:5658-1494201600-1494547199@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:HUNGARY - UNIVERSITY OF SZEGED - Robert GOEBBELS
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe University invited  Robert GOEBBELS \, FMA Member\, to the University to deliver a conference. The event consisted on lectures for undergraduate students attending course of international economics and international relations. \nThe area of specialisation was expertise in Schengen area and all the relevant topics. \nThe event offered the chance to discuss economic and political consequences of the current situation\, and tried to find innovative answers concerning the refugee / migrant crisis. Restoring the Schengen area\, without controls at internal borders\, the system has in recent months been shaken to its core by the challenge of facing the largest refugee crisis since World War Two.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/hungary-university-of-szeged-8-11-may-2017/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Seal_of_the_University_of_Szeged_bw.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20170407
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20170410
DTSTAMP:20200609T141915Z
CREATED:20170401T065141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200609T141915Z
UID:5665-1491523200-1491782399@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:ESTONIA - UNIVERSITY OF TARTU - Henrik LAX
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe University of Tartu organized a conference to which it invited Henrik LAX\, former MEP. The keynote speech was entitled ‘The Future of Europe: Challenges & Perspectives’ within the framework of the 3rd Eastern Platform – Tartu Seminar ‘A divided continent in times of crisis: In search for a common language’; lecture about EU’s foreign affairs and global role in the framework of the course ‘Theories of European Integration’\, taught in spring semester 2017. \nHenrik LAX\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/estonia-university-of-tartu-7-9-april-2017/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Univ-Tartu-Q2Au_N1jDHposeFB9zaSZJonmV3_e9N5.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20170331
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20170408
DTSTAMP:20200616T194935Z
CREATED:20200608T101750Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200616T194935Z
UID:9965-1490918400-1491609599@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:BULGARIA - AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BULGARIA - Jan DHAENE
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nJan DHAENE was invited to participate in a conference on circular economy at the American University of Bulgaria. \nMission report: PE TO CAMPUS IN BULGARIA \nI saw the invitation of the American University in Bulgaria and I was interested in the subject: The circular economy. As former green politician but also as civil servant working on sustainable development\, my attention was drawn. I was also intrigued by the fact that an American university was working in Europe\, and the fact that I never visited Bulgaria before. I got the selection by the university only two weeks before the event and I had by coincidence my first week ever in the United States the week before. So I arrived in an American mood. \nFirst I had to look up where the city of Blagoevgrad was situated. I never heard of the place before. The contact person was professor Jean Crombois and it turned out that he was also a Belgian citizen. So in the middle of the night a driver picked me up at Sofia-airport and brought me to the hotel where I arrived at 3 a.m. The first day in the afternoon we met the rector of the University and the provost. In the evening the opening ceremony of the Model European Union (MEU) was held\, and I was keynote speaker on the subject : Circular Economy. The idea was that the students would play a simulation of the EP\, the Commission and the Council\, and discuss theCircular Economy Package (amended Directives launched by the real Commission in 2016 on waste\, reuse and landfill etc.). The next they discussed the text in several Committees and I preceded the ENVI Committee. \nThe students played the role of MEPs of all the political groups; there where lobbyists in the building and the media was all around. It all ended in a triologue with Commission and Council and a final vote. In the debate the Brexit lead to heavy discussions. The students played their role very well and got emotionally and intellectually involved. You can find all this on facebook : Model European Union Blagoevgrad and on mine. It was the third time the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) organized this model event\, with the support of the Jean Monnet Fund. This is a model for all universities in Europe. On Sunday the professor took me to the Rila Monastery (UNESCO). The weather and food were excellent. I can highly recommend a visit to Bulgaria\, the best kept secret of Europe.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”9975″][vc_column_text] \nJan DHAENE during his intervention \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”9977″][vc_column_text] \nAUB students \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/bulgaria-american-university-of-bulgaria-jan-dhaene/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20170329
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20170401
DTSTAMP:20200616T194327Z
CREATED:20170301T065141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200616T194327Z
UID:5669-1490745600-1491004799@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:MOROCCO - MOHAMMED VI POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY - Alexandra THEIN
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe University invited Alexandra THEIN \, FMA Member\, to the University to participate in a “Round Table”\, and the title of the event was “Geopolitics of the Mediterranean” and the subject will be “Violence and conflicts in the Middle-East\, external relations of the Union and security policy of the European Union”.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/morocco-mohammed-vi-polytechnic-university-29-31-march-2017/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.formermembers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/8O7jObTU_400x400.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20170329
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20170331
DTSTAMP:20200608T094310Z
CREATED:20170301T065141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200608T094310Z
UID:5673-1490745600-1490918399@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:CROATIA - UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB - Alessandro BATTILOCCHIO
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe University of Zagreb organized in March an event which consisted on lectures for undergraduate students attending course Commercial Law within the BDIB (Bachelor Degree in Business) Programme in English and Commercial Law and Law of International Trade in Croatian. \nAlessandro BATTILOCCHIO\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nMission report: UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB \nThey are citizens of the last country\, in chronological order\, to join the great family of the European Union. And yet the interest\, enthusiasm and preparation I found in the days of meetings with students and lecturers at the oldest\, most prestigious university of Croatia\, are a sign that integration is already a reality. The world-renowned University of Zagreb\, with its 28 faculties and an impressive range of courses\, has always been very active in promoting synergies and activities with international universities and institutions. Against this particularly positive and dynamic background came my visit as part of the ‘EP to Campus’ programme which\, moreover\, took place within a few days of the celebrations in Rome for the 60th anniversary of the EU Founding Treaties. This was an important time for the leaders of the 27 EU states to take stock and\, working together\, to take on some new joint challenges. \nThe meeting with the students\, in a packed chamber\, was truly stimulating; together with the lecturers Zvonimir Šafranko and Kosjenka Dumančić\, we spoke about the role of the European Union as an autonomous entity in the international arena\, in a debate which was obviously influenced by current EU political events that are changing and redefining some aspects. We discussed\, with students of the Faculty of Law\, the legal framework for the European Union’s action as an autonomous entity and the difficult balance between the foreign policy requirements of each Member State and common requirements. At another meeting\, at the Faculty’s ‘Europe Point’\, we addressed issues that were more closely related to the events of recent months\, in particular the challenges we face in relation to the new international situation: Trump\, Brexit\, populism and immigration were some of the issues touched upon in a debate in which the students interacted and participated. We also had an interesting chat with the editorial staff of the Faculty newspaper: we discussed the function of the European Parliament in the light of recent regulatory innovations and\, more generally\, the role and daily activities of a Member of the European Parliament during his or her term of office in Brussels and Strasbourg. \nIt was really a wonderful experience for me\, in a Zagreb that is particularly beautiful in this season. My hope\, also in view of the atmosphere I found among the students in Zagreb\, is that on this basis of sharing and participation there may be a new spring for our European Union. 60 years ago it was an ambitious and far-sighted dream of the founding fathers; today it is a tangible reality that needs to be strengthened and improved\, but which has ensured decades of peace\, prosperity and development. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/croatia-university-of-zagreb-29-30-march-2017/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20170126
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20170128
DTSTAMP:20200609T233106Z
CREATED:20170101T065141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200609T233106Z
UID:5681-1485388800-1485561599@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:ITALY - EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE - Enrique BARÓN CRESPO and Monica BALDI
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The European University Institute organized a Workshop with the title ‘How National Referendums are Challenging the EU’. The Roundtable Workshop explored what we know and what we need to know about the way in which the recent round of national referendums from Greece and Switzerland to the UK are beginning to challenge the institutions and policies of the European Union. \nEnrique BARÓN CRESPO\, Former FMA President & Monica BALDI\, FMA Board Member and responsible for relations with the EUI participated in this event.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/italy-university-of-eui-26-27-january-2017/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20161207
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20161209
DTSTAMP:20200608T100933Z
CREATED:20160101T065141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200608T100933Z
UID:5994-1481068800-1481241599@www.formermembers.eu
SUMMARY:ESTONIA - TALLINN UNIVERSITY - Gary TITLEY
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \nThe Tallinn University organized a lecture and discussions between a former MEP and students on a current issue : The Brexit and the European Union. \nGary TITLEY\, FMA Member\, participated in this event. \nMission report: VISIT TO ESTONIA \nOn behalf of the FMA I lectured at the Tallinn University of Technology on 7th and 8th of December 2016. This was a welcome opportunity to reacquaint myself with Estonia. I was first there as part of a special EP delegation to the Baltic States in 1991 immediately after independence. That was a strange time. Barricades were still around the Parliaments\, Russian troops still roamed the streets trying to sell off bits of their equipment and the rouble remained the currency. Infrastructure was basic\, particularly in telecommunications. Crucially both Sweden and Finland provided mobile phones as part of their initial aid mainly to Latvia and Estonia which greatly aided their transition. Estonia has embraced new technology with enthusiasm. It has the world’s fastest broadband and free wifi is widely available. The Government and Parliament are digital by default. In contrast to 1991\, I felt that I was in a very \nmodern and dynamic country. Public transport in Tallinn is free to all residents with new trams acquired from Spain in a deal which enabled the Spanish to offset some of their carbon emissions. Cheap pre-school education is widespread and there is a good health system. Government support seems to go to young families to ensure a healthy birthrate\, but pensioners suffer from low incomes. There are still some issues with Russian minorities\, especially the older population who have not been able or not been willing to integrate\, or who lack the skills the modern economy demands. \nMy prime purpose was to lecture on Brexit on the 7th. The following day I led two seminars\, one on the EU in general and the other on Security policy. I had assumedthat I would be addressing mainly Estonian students\, but I was wrong. The audience was multinational\, although dominated by Finns. Apparently\, it is a lot cheaper to study at an Estonian university than many other places. Courses are taught in English\, so attracting students from all over the world. My lecture on Brexit was at 8.15 in the morning! Despite this\, I had an audience of over 100. Brexit was not an easy subject for me\, given that it represents the shattering of my lifetime dreams and hopes. I highlighted opinion polling on values\, which showed that the more people held what we might call “traditional” values\, such as believing in strong discipline in schools\, anti multiculturalism\, anti feminism\, anti gay rights\, the more likely they were to vote for Brexit. This is also a phenomenon witnessed in the Trump election in the USA. This backlash against the modern world is probably the greatest challenge facing us all. I outlined many possible scenarios for the UK’s future\, all of which are complicated and none of which\, in my view will make the UK better off. I remain to be convinced that the British government really knows what it is doing or knows what it wants. Elsewhere\, I was struck by how focussed students were on the balance between ensuring democratic legitimacy and accountability in the EU on the one hand\, and the need for effective EU action to confront the challenges it faces on the other. The future of the EU lies in getting that balance right.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://www.formermembers.eu/event/estonia-tallinn-university-7-8-december-2016%e2%80%8b/
CATEGORIES:EP to campus
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