Universiteit Leiden

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Lecture

European Strategic Dialogue lecture series: A New Beginning for UK-EU Relations

Date
Tuesday 30 May 2023
Time
Address
Online
Room
Zoom

Rishi Sunak’s visit to Paris on 10 March marked the culmination of a reconnection process that began after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and then gradually accelerated. It opened the door to closer cooperation with France and a window of opportunity with the EU and beyond it. King Charles had, during his March visit to Germany, alluded to the 'the special bond of friendship' and the 'countless points of connection and common experience in the British-German story, which has unfolded over nearly two millennia'.

But this renewed call for reconnection stretches beyond Germany. The Integrated Review Refresh (IR23), which follows the UK-EU agreement on a Windsor Framework on Northern Ireland, confirmed we have entered a new chapter. It takes stock of the more threatening global security environment and emphasizes on how engaging closely with the EU is crucial for British foreign policy. After years of introspection over its role after Brexit, the UK has now clarified its course in a way that offers great opportunities for both sides.

The next edition of the 'European strategic dialogue', organised by Nikki Ikani from the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, together with the University of Bonn/CASSIS, the SIRICE Sorbonne and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, takes a look at the current UK-EU realignment in the field of security and defense. It will explore the potential opened by the IR23 for productive and sustainable cooperation with the European Union, but also with the rest of 'our continent' (in the words of Rishi Sunak), particularly in the framework of the European Political Community. The discussion will also offer room to discuss the role the partners, all engaged in the Indo-Pacific, could play in the context of China’s increasing assertiveness.

Speakers

- Jana Puglierin, Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and head of its Berlin office

- Georgina Wright, resident senior fellow at the Institut Montaigne and director of the Europe Program 

- Rem Korteweg, senior research fellow at the Clingendael Institute

- Mathieu Droin, visiting fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

Registration

Please register for this online event via this form.

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