The Arab Winter: EU responses to latest developments in Syria
In collaboration with the Department of European Studies and the Department of Politics at the UvA and supported by Jean Monnet Programme and ACCESS Europe
Did the Arab Spring change the role of the EU in the region? Has the EU reacted to the turbulence and transformation in the region quickly and effectively enough?
This is the inaugural event in a five part ‘Practitioner Engagement Series’ supported by the Jean Monnet Programme and co-organised by European Studies (Faculty of Humanities) and Politics (Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences).
The series examines the European Union’s external relations, and focuses on the role of the EU in the broader Mediterranean region. Each event consists of a debate between active practitioners and political leaders, and academic researchers on a specific topic.
The inaugural session focuses on the consequences of the Arab Spring and the impact this wave of conflicts in Europe’s neighbourhood has had on the EU’s external relations machinery. With transformations that began in 2010 still underway in many of the Arab states, and devastating cases of death and destruction reported daily in the media, it is appropriate to reflect on the role that the EU has taken in encouraging peace and stability.
The session will examine the reaction of the EU to the start of the protests in Tunisia, and will cover the EU’s current role in negotiating an end to the ongoing Syrian crisis.
This panel brings together speakers who have firsthand experience in dealing with diplomatic activity in the region with specialists on the topic.
Luis Simón
Luis Simón is a senior researcher at the Institute for European Studies (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), where he specializes on European security. He is also an external advisor to the Office of the Spanish Minister of Defence. He completed his PhD at Royal Holloway (University of London).
Maciej Golubiewski
Maciej Golubiewski is on the Syria team in the Middle East Department of the European External Action Service (EEAS). He deals with political issues and relations with EU MS, UN, and third countries in the context of the situation in Syria. Previously, he has worked, studied and lectured in the United States.
Adrianus Koetsenruijter
Adrianus Koetsenruijter was EU ambassador in Tunisia and Libya from 2008-2012. He has worked since 1989 on EU foreign relations and development policy. He is now Head of Division in the European External Action Service in Brussels responsible for relations with Latin American countries. He studied economics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam.
Polly Pallister-Wilkins
Polly Pallister-Wilkins is a lecturer in the Department of Politics at the University of Amsterdam. An alumna of SOAS, her current research focuses on the politics of walls and fences, migration and technologies of control, the construction of the Mediterranean as a securitised space, and European-Mediterranean/MENA relations.
Michael Wintle
Michael Wintle (Chair) is Professor of Modern European History, Director of the University of Amsterdam’s Institute for Culture and History, and Director of the Huizinga Institute.
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