Is Robert Schuman’s political dream (1950) after WWII of an organised and lively Europe as a force for peace still alive? What is left of his spirit of reconciliation? Western Europe at the time was recovering thanks to Marshall Aid. Central and Eastern Europe were suffering under Soviet totalitarian rule. All are now Members of the European Union.

Today the European Union as an economic global player is a reality. Also positive exchanges in other fields take place. The Cold War is forgotten. At the same time we are experiencing the new insecurity of globalization, marked by intensified economic competitiveness, terrorism, resurgent nationalism, internet and cyberwarfare. What is left of the spirit of 1950 under the predominant stress on economic values?

It is important to examine in which way the original dream can still inspire today’s reality; and to ask those who joined the European Union after the end of the Cold War in 1989, what their dreams had been and still are today.

Dr. Frans Alting von Geusau, professor of international law and relations emeritus at Tilburg and Leiden University (and elsewhere) will open the program with a brief survey of European unification seen from the angle of the founding dream in the Community of the Six, the Nine and the Twelve and the European Union of the fifteen, the twenty five and the twenty eight minus one.

Dr. Jaap de Zwaan will address the challenge of staying the course of European unification in the enlarged European Union as a global player under the predominant stress on economic values.

Dr Marcin Czepalac, Ambassador to the Republic of Poland, The Hague.

What were the dreams in the states joining the European Union in 2004, before and after the Year of the Truth 1989?

An interpretation from Polish perspective.

Dr. Brânduşa Predescu, Ambassador to Romania, The Hague. Romania will have the Presidency of the European Council from 1 February – 1 July 2019. Is it possible for the European Union to play a global role with (28) 27 stubborn, sovereign national leaders from Eastern, Central, Western, Southern and Nordic member states in the European Council?

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Although issues like Brexit and tensions within Europe demand thorough attention, we should not forget that the EU has a crucial role to play within the world at the same time.

The same principles engraved in the European unification project, are meant to be leading principles for Europe as a global player and for each of its citizens. Those principles are: reconciliation, solidarity, subsidiarity and supra-nationality (Schuman Declaration, 1950).

What will be the impact of these principles for Europe as a global player and for each of its citizens?

What do they imply for Europe’s role regarding migration, poverty and climate?

An interdisciplinary forum of speakers will provide food for thought and lively discussions to achieve a clear view on Europe’s mission and vision.   

Organisation
Margriet Krijtenburg, PhD, researcher & lecturer at European Studies Programme (THUAS)

www.soka.nl/Cultuur/Europa%20seminar%202019/174051/