State of the Union Conference 2019 Re-uniting Europe? Between Geopolitical Tensions and Domestic Constraints.

Description

The Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’, in cooperation with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Parliament, is organising a “State of the Union Conference” for reflection on the future of the European Union (EU). External and internal pressures continue to destabilize the European project. Changes in the geopolitical environment, ranging from an uncertain transatlantic relationship, great power rivalries, climate change and continuous migration pressure necessitate strategic European action.
Simultaneously, the European capacity to act is seriously weakened by disagreement and diverging capacities among Member States, loss of faith in the European Union project, and fragmented EU policies. The European elections are likely to exacerbate the tensions between these geopolitical challenges and domestic constraints. What are common challenges where European citizens count on EU action, and what are the strategic priorities for the next political cycle of the EU? And how to reform EU governance and better deal with diversity, in order to deliver on the big challenges that Europe faces? This high-level conference brings together Member States and EU officials, civil society representatives, business and opinion leaders as well as academics to critically reflect upon the following topics:
 EU migration policies
 The future of the EMU
 The geopolitics of EU-Asia connectivity
 Hungary: Behind the façade of Orbán
 Climate: the next divisive issue?
 Social Europe
 Listening to the European citizen
 European Strategic Autonomy
 The 2019 European Elections
 The EU’s Rationale in the 21st century

Period	25 Jan 2019
Held at	Clingendael
Degree of Recognition	International