Welcome to the podcast series of the ‘European Union in International Affairs’ (#EUIA21) conference. It will explore different aspects of the EU’s international role and standing.
Podcast 1: Ten Years of Research on the European External Action Service
On 1st December 2010, the European External Action Service (EEAS) was formally established. It was a landmark event for EU foreign policy-making. Its establishment was also followed with interest and curiosity by the academic community. A bit more than 10 years have now passed. It is a good moment to reflect upon our knowledge on the EEAS and its influence on EU foreign policy. What do we know about this institution and what are still unexplored avenues of research?
#EUIA21 Chair Florian Trauner welcomes a group of four distinguished scholars: Federica Bicchi (London School of Economics); Jozef Batora (Webster Vienna Private University and Comenius University); Ben Tonra (University College Dublin); and Ana Juncos (University of Bristol).
Podcast 2: The Cooperation Between the EU and West Africa on Migration: a Win-Win-Win Scenario?
West Africa has become a priority region for the EU in terms of external migration policy. With instruments such as the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, the EU has sought to proactively address the “root causes” of migration. At the same time, the Union has also called for negative conditionalities in case African governments refrain from cooperating on issues such as the return of irregular migrants. Can the EU’s enhanced engagement bring beneficial outcomes to the African countries of origin, the European countries of destination and the migrants themselves? How have the West African states reacted and adapted to the European migration agenda?
#EUIA21 Chair Florian Trauner welcomes four forthcoming scholars: Melissa Mouthaan (University of Cambridge); Leonie Jegen (University of Amsterdam); Amanda Bisong (Free University of Amsterdam); and Omar N. Cham (Vrije Universiteit Brussel).
Podcast 3: Conflicts of sovereignty in the EU - insights from Brexit and international trade agreements
The concept of sovereignty was initially coined in the Middle Ages in the context of the wars of religion in France. Sovereignty was defined as absolute and perpetual. New developments such as the emergence of polities beyond the state – like the EU – have challenged its meaning. By establishing supranational institutions, EU member states have agreed to limit part of their sovereign rights in order to cope with various transnational problems. In recent years, however, claims to sovereignty have multiplied and seem to become more divisive than ever. Within the EU and beyond, parties and citizens seek “to take back control”.
This EUIA podcast presents the findings of the project “Conflicts of Sovereignty in the EU”. Funded by the Wiener-Anspach Foundation, it is a collaborative project between the University of Cambridge and the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Ramona Coman (President of IEE-ULB, a #EUIA21 co-organising institute) discusses conflicts of sovereignty regarding international trade (notably CETA) and Brexit with Christopher Bickerton (University of Cambridge); Julia Rone (University of Cambridge); Nathalie Brack (ULB); and Amandine Crespy (ULB).
EUIA21 Podcast: Journal Editors’ panel: Research and Publishing in Times of a Pandemic
Academics seek to publish their work in good journals. Yet it is sometimes not easy to understand why a work has been accepted by one journal but not by another. How do journal editors take their decisions? Also, how has their work changed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic? This panel brings together the editors of four academic journals: Olivier Costa (editor of the Journal of European Integration); Knud Erik Jørgensen (Global Affairs), Jocelyn Mawdsley (European Security); Richard Whitman (Journal of Common Market Studies). The Panel is moderated by Ramona Coman (President of the Institute for European Studies of the ULB) and Florian Trauner (Brussels School of Governance of the VUB, #EUIA21 Chair).
EUIA21 Podcast: The Consequences of Brexit
This podcast is based on the EUIA panel of 28 May 2021 bringing together a group of well-known experts to discuss the consequences of Brexit. The moderator is Richard Lewis (Brussels School of Governance of the VUB). He discusses the economic consequences of Brexit with André Sapir (ULB/Breugel); issues relating to EU-UK Trade with Karel de Gucht (Brussels School of Governance of the VUB); the Irish-UK relations with Claire Dupont (Ghent University); the wider international repercussions of Brexit with Shada Islam (College of Europe); and the future relations with Jonathan Faull (Brunswick Group) and Michel Leigh (Bruegel).
