Details

Europe: A New Reform Agenda

A Workshop

28 November 2013 | London

Although comprehensive treaty reform is off the agenda, integrative changes are underway in Europe, sometimes being undertaken outside of the jurisdiction of Brussels. This half day seminar in London will bring together experts from Germany, the UK, and the wider EU to discuss the consequences of this “silent revolution” as it is described by ECFR Policy Fellow Piotr Buras in a recent ECFR publication.

Programme

14.00 Welcome Remarks

Hans Koudnani, ECFR

Hans-Hartwig Blomeier, KAS-London

Panel 1: Europe’s new intergovernmentalism 14.30 – 16.00

Speakers:

Piotr Buras, Head of Warsaw office, ECFR

Josef Janning, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)

Professor Anand Menon, King’s College, London

João Marques de Almeida, Independent Consultant

Chair: Hans-Hartwig Blomeier, KAS-London

Recent events suggest that the supranational dream of a European federation is giving way to a new pragmatic approach based on intergovernmentalism. New eurozone institutions such as the ESM that are emerging are based on new intergovernmental treaties whose relationship to the EU treaties is unclear. Is this new approach sustainable and what does it mean for the future of the EU?

Panel 2: Differentiation by default

16.30 – 18.00 Speakers:

John Peet, Europe Editor, The Economist

Björn Fägersten, Swedish Institute of Internal Affairs (UI) - TBC

Agata Gostyńska, Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM)

Hartmut Mayer, St Peter’s College, Oxford University

Chair: Hans Koudnani, ECFR

The second dimension of the EU’s silent revolution is the relationship of the eurozone to the rest of the EU. The development of new eurozone institutions could lead to a kind of “differentiation by default”. In particular, there are difficult questions about where Poland and the UK fit into an EU that is increasingly centred on the eurozone. How can the EU enable “pre-ins” such as Poland to join a more integrated eurozone as soon as possible and how can the EU keep Britain in without opening a Pandora’s box?

18.00 Closing Remarks followed by a Reception