Paris, 13 June 2018 – Whither European integration – Addressing EU internal and external challenges
Enrico Letta, President of the Jacques Delors Institute, intervenes for a conference co-organised by Sciences Po. and the European Consortium for Political Research. This event aims at addressing contemporary issues the EU has to deal with, from the socioeconomic disparities between Member States to external challenges such growing trade tensions and the migration crisis.
Since Aesop’s fable “the Four Oxens and the Lion,” the idea that there is strength in numbers is common sense. This is also a leitmotiv in many discourses on European integration, notably in idea that the European states needs to “speak with one voice” in global settings, that some issues such as the environment are best dealt through cross-state cooperation to avoid a “tragedy of the commons”, or that de jure “unity in diversity” is a positive sum game.
EU scholars have long exposed a much more complex reality. Legally. Differentiated political integration is a historical fact: “à la carte” Schengen, euro opt-outs, multi-speed Europe after enlargement. Socioeconomically, disparities among member states and their populations remain high despite common policy frameworks and anti-EU parties exploit the notion that only some Europeans benefit from integration processes. Diplomatically. Member states sometimes sing different tunes just as in the Eurovision contest. We have observed it in 2018 with the debate on the GAFAM and proposals to tax the US IT giants. Concomitantly, there has been resistance from EU subnational and/or civil society actors to EU agreements with third states with the CETA or with Turkey regarding migration. The question is thus how to best address external challenges given tensions and contradictions within the EU.
This roundtable brings together three prominent speakers whose diagnostic of the situation will help us assess what is both desirable and feasible :
- Enrico Letta, President of the Jacques Delors Institute and Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) at Sciences Po.
- Heather Grabbe, Director of the Open Society European Policy Institute and Director of EU Affairs.
- Renaud Dehousse, President of the European University Institute in Florence
The roundtable is introduced by Frédéric Mion, Director of Sciences Po, and chaired by Virginie Guiraudon, Sciences Po, CEE, CNRS, the conference academic convenor.
Since Aesop’s fable “the Four Oxens and the Lion,” the idea that there is strength in numbers is common sense. This is also a leitmotiv in many discourses on European integration, notably in idea that the European states needs to “speak with one voice” in global settings, that some issues such as the environment are best dealt through cross-state cooperation to avoid a “tragedy of the commons”, or that de jure “unity in diversity” is a positive sum game.
EU scholars have long exposed a much more complex reality. Legally. Differentiated political integration is a historical fact: “à la carte” Schengen, euro opt-outs, multi-speed Europe after enlargement. Socioeconomically, disparities among member states and their populations remain high despite common policy frameworks and anti-EU parties exploit the notion that only some Europeans benefit from integration processes. Diplomatically. Member states sometimes sing different tunes just as in the Eurovision contest. We have observed it in 2018 with the debate on the GAFAM and proposals to tax the US IT giants. Concomitantly, there has been resistance from EU subnational and/or civil society actors to EU agreements with third states with the CETA or with Turkey regarding migration. The question is thus how to best address external challenges given tensions and contradictions within the EU.
This roundtable brings together three prominent speakers whose diagnostic of the situation will help us assess what is both desirable and feasible :
- Enrico Letta, President of the Jacques Delors Institute and Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) at Sciences Po.
- Heather Grabbe, Director of the Open Society European Policy Institute and Director of EU Affairs.
- Renaud Dehousse, President of the European University Institute in Florence
The roundtable is introduced by Frédéric Mion, Director of Sciences Po, and chaired by Virginie Guiraudon, Sciences Po, CEE, CNRS, the conference academic convenor.
France
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SUR LE MÊME THÈME
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San Sebastian, 12th September 2019 – The process of the UK withdrawing from the EU
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Saint-Prix, 24 May 2019 – Discover the European Union
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Dijon, 17 May 2019 – The European project against populism and the illiberal temptation
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Paris, 13 May 2019 – Europe of culture
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Paris, 29 January 2019 – Find the taste of European adventure
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Paris, 29 January 2019 – Find the taste of European adventure
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Amiens, 16 January 2019 – “Amiens plus grand” in Europe
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Brussels, 7 December 2018 – Pays de la Loire in Europe
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26 November 2018 – Round-table on Europe
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Lourdes, 5 November 2018 – Identity and democracy, the future of Europe
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Tournai, 27 October 2018 – Europe, I love you, me neither
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Paris, 13 October 2018 – Citizen consultation: Is the EU condemned to powerlessness?
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Brussels, 11 October 2018 – State of Europe 2018
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Paris, 10 October 2018 – What is Europe for? Myths and realities
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Paris, 4 October 2018 – Enrico Letta presents his book “Faire l’Europe dans un monde de brutes”
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Paris, 2 October 2018 – Towards A New Capitalism: Fostering Inclusiveness
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Paris, 18 September 2018 – A bike against Nazi barbarity
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Neuilly-sur-Seine, 31 August 2018 – What Europe could bring to education and what education could bring to Europe?
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Paris, 25 July 2018 – Salient European issues for 2019-2024
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Bruges, 12 July 2018 – Negotiating the Energy Union
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Paris, 11 July 2018 – Citizen consultation : what is Europe purpose?
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Bruges, 3 July 2018 – Negotiating the Energy Union
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Luxembourg, 20 June 2018 – The reform of the EMU: which social dimension?
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Paris, 20 June 2018 – Future Europe
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Montreal, 11 June 2018 – Europe at the Crossroads
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Strasbourg, 1st June 2018 – Europe on trial: Who’s to blame for the break-up?
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Geneva, 1st June 2018 – The European Union future: challenges and prospects
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Brussels, 20 April 2018 – White Paper on the Future of Europe
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Angers, 29 March 2018 – From the Treaty of Rome to today
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Bordeaux, 25 January 2018 – 12th Franco-german dialogue
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Athens, 8 February 2018 – Athens’ days: Greece, paths for hope
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Paris, 7 February 2018 – 59th Europartenaires Club
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Paris, 2 February 2018 – How to deal with the populist phenomenon?
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Brussels, 16 January 2018 – Europe’s challenges in 2018
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Blois, 22 November 2017 – Where is Europe heading toward?
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Rome, 27-29 October 2017 – (Re)thinking Europe
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Madrid, 22 September 2017 – Relaunching the European Union: A moment for action
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Boulogne-Billancourt, 25 April 2017 – Europe: where do we go now?
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Paris, 22 March 2017 – Where is Europe heading to?
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Berlin, 21 March 2017 – More capability to act through flexibility?
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Paris, 9 February 2017 – The Future of the Union
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