This one-day event considers central themes in contemporary EU governance, especially in relation to the consequences of the economic and financial crisis. It does so by focusing on three central cross-cutting themes that allow for a direct conversation between ENLIGHTEN and TransCrisis research that will generate forward-looking insights for the worlds of practice and research.
The policy debate, which will take place on March 20, at Fondation Universitaire, focuses on three central themes:
First, what are the institutional capacities for effective and legitimate crisis management among EU institutions? How has political leadership during crises been exercised and has it been perceived as legitimate? There has been much interest in the rise of the EU as a crisis manager and in the capacities of particular modes of governance to address domains in crisis. However, it is important to investigate more closely the institutional resources available for crisis management.
Programme-Enlighten-TransCrisis-March-20-2018_V8-final-version-web-1Second, what has been the policy trajectory since the economic and financial crisis? Increasingly, there have been concerns about ‘policy dismantling’, namely the reduction in regulatory standards in certain policy domains (particular environmental and social) as concerns about ‘competitiveness’ and austerity have become more prominent. Equally, there has been growing attention towards member state ‘backsliding’ on constitutional conventions associated with EU membership. In view of the central interest in the theme of dismantling and backsliding, this workshop will offer insights into actual patterns and consider to what extent these patterns represent a crisis for the European Union at large.
Third, while there has been a considerable interest in the development of crisis responses by the European Union during the financial crisis (and the migration/refugee crisis), it is now time to take the agenda further by considering the intended and potential unintended consequences of these emerging regimes. After all, any discussion regarding the readiness of EU institutions needs to consider potential ‘blind-spots’ and other unintended consequences that might inhibit effective and legitimate crisis responses.
Each presenter is therefore asked to
- develop the overall theme of the particular roundtable by noting how their own research addresses the theme
- highlight the contribution of their research in theoretical, methodological and/or empirical terms
- establish policy implications arising from the research in view of the roundtable theme.
The sessions will fonction under the Agora Fora © format. They are conceived of as a participative exercise Associating Governmental Organizations, Researchers and Advocacy (AGORA).
Practical Information:
Venue: Fondation universitaire
Registrations: 9:00- 9:30
For more information, or if you wish to participate, please contact ENLIGHTEN’s Outreach Officer