Assessing the EU’s Capacity to Act

The ‘European Union in International Affairs’ (EUIA) Conference will once again provide a major forum for academics and policy-makers to debate the role of the EU in the turbulent realm of international affairs. After a postponement due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the seventh edition of this event will take place from 26 to 28 May 2021 and focus on the theme ‘Assessing the EU’s Capacity to Act’. 

#EUIA21 will be held virtually.

The event will feature a keynote address of Margrethe Vestager, the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission and an editors’ debate of leading academic journals in European studies. The Institut d’études européennes of the ULB will be represented in both by its President, professor Ramona Coman. #EUIA21 will also feature more than 60 academic panels in which scholars present their state-of-the-art research on EU foreign policy-making as well as several high-level policy link panels. 

The EUIA21 Conference is jointly organized by the Brussels School of Governance at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BSoG-VUB), the Institut d’études européennes at the Université libre de Bruxelles (IEE-ULB), the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS), Egmont – the Royal Institute for International Relations and the Politics and Internationals Studies (PAIS) of the University of Warwick.

EUIA21 Best Paper Award

The organising partners of #EUIA21 and the Journal of European Integration will jointly organise the #EUIA21 Best Paper Award. It will be co-chaired by IEE President, professor Ramona Coman and Professor Florian Trauner from the Brussels School of Governance of the VUB. 

A joint review panel composed of members of the EUIA21 organising partners and the editorial advisory board of the Journal of European Integration will select the best paper from the #EUIA21 conference. The #EUIA21 Best Paper will get a fast-track publication in the Journal of European Integration.

Nearly 30 ULB and IEE affiliates participate in the conference

The Université libre de Bruxelles will have a strong interdisciplinary representation at the EUIA21 conference this year. Academics and researchers, for the most part affiliated to the Institut d’études européennes, will  chair panels, present papers, moderate debates throughout the conference.

To see the full programme:

Conference programme

EUIA21 Podcast series 

A new feature is the podcast series of the ‘European Union in International Affairs’ (EUIA21) conference. It explores different aspects of the EU’s international role and standing. The Institut d’études européennes contributed to the series with the episode “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 EUIA21 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 Registrations

Please note that the Call for Papers and registration as a presenter have been closed. However you can join the conference as a non-presenting participant! More info here https://www.euia.eu/registration/