International Conference on the European Union: “Building a European demos”
The lack of European identity and public support are the main difficulties faced by the European Union (EU) in moving forward legitimately as a political union project. The Lisbon Treaty (2009) introduced new instruments of participatory democracy and citizen involvement. The simultaneous entry into force of the Charter of Fundamental Rights broadened the catalogue of recognised rights of nationals, both of Member States and third countries.
However, a substantial reform of the Treaties will be required to strengthen EU as a democratic political community and lay the foundations of a Europe of true solidarity and social welfare, in the short and long term. This conference aims to examine all these processes and perspectives to assess the extent to which they contribute to reconnecting citizens with the EU and, in turn, serve as a model for other international organisations.
The Dean of the Faculty of Law, Gema Tomás, will open this Conference next 2 November, at 18:00. The first keynote speaker will be Markus Thiel, Associate Professor at Florida International University, Jean Monnet Center of Excellence Director, who will give a talk entitled: “European civil society and ‘participatory’ governance tools: the impact of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency & Platform”.
Then, at 18:40, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Member of the European Parliament, Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, will give a lecture entitled: “European Integration: post-sovereign democracy and constitutionalism”. This will be followed, at 19:05, by a talk by Peter Gjortler, Senior Lecturer and Researcher at Riga Graduate School of Law on: “Democratic legitimacy. Recent developments in the jurisprudence of the CJEU”.
This session will end at 19:30 with a talk on “Opciones supranacionales para reforzar la legitimidad política de la UE” by Ainhoa Lasa, Associate Researcher of the European Integration Research Team at Deusto’s Faculty of Law.
Programme: 3 November
Mª Luz Suárez, Coordinator of the BA in International Relations and the Double Degree in International Relations and Law, will present the talks for this session at 18:00: “Defending democracy in the Americas: rules and cases”, which will be given at 18:10 by Jean Michel Arrighi, Secretary for Legal Affairs, Organization of American States; The African Union and the protection of human and peoples’ fundamental rights, at 18.40, by Rafâa Ben Achour, Judge at the African Court on Human and People’s Rights; and “The participatory and representative dimensions of EU policy-making: Does Brussels listen to citizens and their parliaments?”, at 19:10, by Karolina Boronska-Hryniewiecka, Lecturer and Researcher at Polish Institute of International Affairs.
At 20:00, this Conference will be closed by Santiago Gutiérrez, Jean Monnet Project Manager, European Commission, Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency.
Registration: derecho3@deusto.es
