News letter Vol. 8 • Issue 44 • October - December 2013
European Foreign & Defence Policy
Economic Governance
Environment & Devt
Migration & Justice
Education
3 Defence in 4 The State of . Europe: State of Emergency?
Report of the Autumn Lecture Series: “The EU has lost some of its competitiveness”
“Regulation is here to stay - and for Good Reasons”
Two New Research Projects - King Boudewijn Foundation
Launch event of EUmodules
European Leadership towards a 2015 Global Climate Agreement
Charles Ullens Prize for Research on Migration awarded to Dr. Goeman
IES co-organises high-level conference providing recommendations for the 19-20 December European Council on defence
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EU Budget 2014-2020: Major Reform or Status Quo? Upcoming EP Elections: Policy Forum - 5 March
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Warsaw Climate Conference
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EU in Close-up brought together various sectors Report of IES Mission to Japan and Korea
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The First Economics PhD at the IES: Globalisation - a Force for Good?
The first IES PhD within the discipline of economics is a fact. On 31 October 2013 Cem Tintin successfully defended his thesis entitled “Essays on Foreign Direct Investment and International Trade”. Another first at the IES: Cem completed his PhD in three years, instead of the usual four. On the last day of October of 2013, many interested people arrived at the IES premises to listen to Cem deliver his findings in the field of foreign direct investment (FDI). The jury consisted of Professor Bruno Heyndels (Chair of the Jury, VUB), Professor Luc Hens (PhD promoter, VUB), Professor Leo van Hove (Jury Member, VUB), Professor
Ludo Cuyvers (Jury Member, Universiteit Antwerpen), and Assistant-Professor Annabel Sels (Jury Member, Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel). Cem’s PhD dissertation consists of four essays on the causes and the effects of globalisation. Since the 1980s the world economy has become increasingly integrated, known as globalisation. This integration process in the world economy has been triggered by foreign direct investment and international trade. By using statistical analysis and panel data regression methods, the essays in the PhD dissertation investigate: the determinants of foreign direct investment inflows in the Central and
Eastern European Countries (CEEC); whether and to what extent foreign direct investment affects labour income in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries; the effects of foreign direct investment and international trade on economic growth and development in developed, developing, and least developed countries. In essay 1, the findings show that higher GDP size, more trade openness, EU membership, and high quality institutions associate with higher FDI inflows to the CEEC. In essay 2, the results reveal that FDI increases labour income in the OECD countries. In essays 3 and 4, the
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PhD
Cem Tintin
results confirm that higher stocks of inward FDI, higher trade orientation and stronger institutions affect growth and development positively and significantly.
Policy Implications The essays in the PhD dissertation reveal the following common policy implications: • Pro-growth policies would enhance FDI inflows to host countries that a larger market size is preferred by foreign investors. • Pro-FDI policies would lead to an increase in economic growth and development. All countries including least developed ones benefit from economic growth and development effects of FDI. From a labour income perspective, workers also benefit from the existence of more FDI that higher inward stocks of FDI associate with higher labour income.
Overall Findings The overall findings of Cem’s PhD dissertation reveal the following: • Globalisation is not an evil. More integration with the world economy via FDI and international trade has brought more prosperity that has allowed millions of people to reach higher levels of income and better standards of living.
• Pro-trade policies would lead to an increase in economic growth and development. Any reforms towards having a more international trade friendly environment (e.g. removing quotas, decreasing tariffs and facilitating trade bureaucracy) would enhance development. Additionally, as shown in Essay 1, more trade openness may also be helpful to attract more FDI inflows.
enhance economic growth and development. It is also confirmed in Essay 2 that having high-quality labour market institutions (e.g. stricter employment protection legislation) would be beneficial for development by improving labour income.
The Man Behind the PhD: Plenty of Ambition So who is Cem Tintin? Was it destiny that a young man with the surname ‘Tintin’ should come to find his future in Belgium? Cem was born and grew up in Manisa, Turkey. After obtaining his Bachelor degree in economics from Ege University in Izmir, he began his postgraduate studies in Ankara. He decided to move abroad (first to Sweden and consequently to Belgium) to complete his graduate education. This decision enabled Cem to better understand the world, to learn about different cultures and to benefit from different international educational institutions in several respects.
• However, the benefits of globalisation are not evenly distributed across different groups of countries. For instance, developing countries seem to benefit more from the growth effect of FDI than developed and least developed countries.
In his spare time Cem likes reading books on politics, the Ottoman history and self–development. He also enjoys hiking and cycling in nature. During his time in Brussels, the forest on the outskirts of Brussels has allowed Cem to regularly practise his favourite sports. Contrary to common wisdom, he does not like talking about football nor shopping. His understanding of life was well formulated by George Bernard Shaw who once said: “the reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man”.
• Institutions would play a dual role in the development process. A higher level of institutions would associate with more FDI inflows. In addition, a better institutional quality would lead to a higher per capita income and development level since it allows economic activities to become less time-consuming, less-costly and more productive (amongst other benefits).
After the completion of his PhD in economics at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Cem plans to stay in research in the short- and medium-term. Meanwhile, Cem would also like to contribute to the IES as an Associate Researcher. In the long-run, Cem has ambitions to enter the world of politics in order to serve his community, and indeed humanity, from a different channel.
Road to the PhD Cem wrote his PhD dissertation under the supervision of Professor Luc Hens of the VUB. Selen Sarisoy Guerin (a former IES researcher) and Professor Leo van Hove, VUB, also contributed to the PhD dissertation by kindly providing their comments and feedback on the earlier drafts of the dissertation. During his PhD, two IES research colloquiums and eleven international conferences and workshops also helped Cem to collect vast amounts of feedback from professionals both in economics and in other fields. During the PhD defence process, the final remarks and comments of Professor Bruno Heyndels (VUB), Professor Ludo Cuyvers (Universiteit Antwerpen), Assistant Professor Annabel Sels (HogeschoolUniversiteit Brussel) helped Cem’s PhD dissertation to get its final shape.
• Policies to upgrade the institutional quality should be prioritized since the institutional quality has positive effects on growth and development. By using the economic freedoms index, the direct positive effects of having a higher institutional quality are confirmed in Essays 3 and 4. As shown in Essay 1, having sound institutions would also associate with more FDI inflows that would further
European Economic Governance Autumn Lecture Series “The EU has lost some of its competitiveness ... Social and environmental problems have not been sufficiently tackled at union level.”
The sessions on different fields of economic law in the time of crisis revealed interesting patterns and commonalities between the different fields. First of all, the crisis has forced Member states to cooperate more closely as regards economic policies. This development will require solidarity as we move toward a banking union. Another pattern that could be detected was the challenges developing for EU in a global environment. The EU has lost some of its competitiveness. In addition, value clashes have escalated and in the fields of trade and public procurement third countries are criticizing the EU for protectionism. As a third and final observation, the emphasis has been very much on the economy and economic recovery. However, a related trend has been the downplaying of social challenges. Social and environmental problems have not been sufficiently tackled at union level.
Upcoming Parliamentary Elections As the 2014 European Parliament elections are fast approaching, Elzbieta Kuzelewska (Uni Białystok, Poland) and Dariusz Kloza (IES) edited a collection of essays about these elections as a challenge for democracy. The recently published book focuses on democratic deficit, legitimacy crisis, low turnout, European public space as well as uniform electoral procedure. The book will be launched during a joint Policy Forum on 5 March 2014 in Brussels and on 15 April in Białystok, Poland.
eCoherence workshop with Prof. Bill Kovacic On 12 December a research workshop took place with the former U.S. FTC chairman and Commissioner, Professor Bill Kovacic of the George Washington University. The discussion was part of the eCoherence project in collaboration with the University of Turku, that focuses on the reconciliation of economic and non-economic (or non-efficiency) values in a multipolar society. In the session, Prof. Kovacic shared his view that
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there are indeed no simple solutions for this task. In the field of competition law in particular, the solution for solving value conflicts is often to leave the agency wide discretion both in terms of the means and the substantive outcome. The agencies tend to react by either simply quietly ignoring the non-efficiency agenda, by more vocally noting that such an agenda is not applied, or by pushing the decision to another (politically more legitimate) body. The big problem is, however, that the agency is rarely transparent in its choice. Fuzzy labels such as “consumer welfare” can be used to obscure the decisions, or the process can be named as “only a technical analysis”, artificially isolating it from the value choice at hand. On the rare occasion that a specific social clause exists in the law – Prof. Kovacic used the example of South Africa – it tends to remain a dead letter. The Canadian “total welfare statute” could be the furthest advanced in integrating non-efficiency considerations into the decision-making rationale. The general problem that ensues is the multiplicity of the variables, because it requires prioritisation, yet there is no guidance available on how exactly. Overall, Prof. Kovacic found the value reconciliation research of the eCoherence project intriguing, because the “current, global indirection is a shabby way of doing business”. The agencies should aim to clearly spell out their decision-making rationales for reasons of monitoring and oversight, predictability as well as legitimacy.
The EU Budget for 2014-2020: Major Reform or Status Quo? One of the hardest challenges for the EU in 2013 was to agree on a Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the years 2014-2020. The negotiations, which started officially in 2011, seemed to have no end and were full of deadlocks and twists. The adoption of the MFF by the EP was postponed time and again, finally taking place in the month of November, only several weeks before the start of the budgeting period. Soon after this pivotal decision, the IES organised a Policy Forum on the topic. For answers to this timely question, Dr Magdalena Sapala invited expert representatives of the three EU budgetary arms: Patrizio Fiorilli (the European Commission), Antoine Kasel (the Permanent Representation of Luxembourg to the EU) and Ivailo Kalfin (the European Parliament, S&D). The discussion focused on the role of the EU institutions in the negotiation process, the outcomes of the negotiations and the future reforms of the EU financing system. It proved yet again that although the EU budget may seem small in economic terms, it is politically very controversial, carrying in itself all the strengths and weaknesses that also characterise the European construction.
“the EU budget may seem small in economic terms, it is politically very controversial, carrying in itself all the strengths and weaknesses that also characterise the European construction. “
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Environment Sustainable Development “Regulation is here to Stay – and for Good Reasons”
“Both the US and the EU have the right to protect their citizens from environmental risks and should not be limited in their democratic choices.”
Report by Johanna Kentala-Lehtonen The IES Policy Forum on the EU and US Environmental Policy: Convergence, Divergence and Cooperation took place on 23 October 2013 with two distinguished speakers: Professor David Vogel from the University of California at Berkeley and Dr. Patrick Ravillard from the European Commission, DG Environment. While Professor Vogel lectured about the findings of his award winning book, The Politics of Precaution: Regulating Health, Safety, and Environmental Risks in Europe and the United States, Dr. Ravillard presented a practitioner’s view on the current transatlantic trade negotiations from the perspective of environmental regulation. Dr. Ravillard recognised many good opportunities in transatlantic trade negotiations, where environmental and labour issues have been named as among the high level topics in the negotiations. “Regulation is here to stay and for good reasons” Dr. Ravillard argued. Both the US and the EU have the right to protect their citizens from environmental risks and should not be limited in their democratic choices. Prof. Vogel, however, was ready to claim, relying on his years of research and experience, that the transatlantic trade agreement would most probably not happen due to unresolvable disagreements on the issues of food and safety. The Policy Forum concluded with a lively debate between the speakers and with the audience.
From Warsaw to Lima to Paris: European Leadership towards a 2015 Global Climate Agreement
outcomes of the 19th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-19), which took place in November 2013 in Warsaw, Poland, and its impact on the negotiations towards a new international legal instrument to be adopted in 2015. The challenges for the negotiations and the potential leadership role to be played by the EU were also discussed. Jacob Werksman presented the EU stepwise approach to climate negotiations and shared his impressions on what was achieved by the EU and by the international community as a whole. Sebastian Oberthür and Lisanne Groen presented their analysis of the EU’s performance at COP-19 and its impact in the future negotiations. They found that EU performance was mixed, with partially successful results, although it was actively engaged in climate diplomacy. They also argued that the EU needs to advance its domestic climate policies towards 2030 and there is a need to form a ‘leadership alliance’ including the EU and other progressive states. The Policy Forum ended with a debate with the audience. The analysis by Sebastian and Lisanne has since become available as IES Policy Brief 1/2014 “EU Performance in the International Climate Negotiations in 2013: Scope for Improvement”. See Publications page for more info.
Warsaw Climate Conference Lisanne Groen and Sebastian Oberthür attended the 19th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 9th Conference of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The Conference
Report by Ernesto Roessing Neto
took place in the National Stadium in Warsaw (Poland)
On 11 December 2013, the IES convened a Policy Forum on EU leadership towards a 2015 Global Climate Agreement. The Forum was chaired by Claire Dupont, who welcomed Jacob Werksman (EU Commission, DG Climate Action), Sebastian Oberthür and Lisanne Groen on the panel of speakers. The debate focused on the
from 11 to 23 November 2013.
“the EU needs to advance its domestic climate policies towards 2030 and there is a need to form a ‘leadership alliance’ including the EU and other progressive states.“
Lisanne attended these negotiations for the first time in her life to observe the European Union’s role and performance, the major focus of her PhD research. As a member of the Belgian delegation, she took the opportunity to conduct several interviews. Sebastian Oberthür attended the conference as a member of the German delegation and outgoing member of the Compliance Committee of the Kyoto Protocol. His major focus of attention was on the possible structure of a 2015 global climate agreement. He also attended a meeting of the project team on “Agreement on Climate Transformation 2015” (ACT 2015).
Migration Diversity & Justice Two New Research Projects Awarded with funding from the Belgian King Boudewijn Foundation The ‘Migration, Diversity and Justice’ research cluster was awarded two new research projects funded by the Belgian King Boudewijn Foundation. Both projects will run in 2014 and will be run by Prof. Dr. Ilke Adam (promotor) and Mathijs van Dijk (researcher).
The first project will inquire into the multi-level governance mechanisms for immigrant integration in Belgium and other multinational and/or federal states (Canada, United Kingdom, Spain and Germany). For a few years now, the European Council has asked elgium to better stimulate the participation of immigrants in the labour market. The differences in employment rates amongst immigrants and natives are among the largest in the EU. While several causes can be hypothesized to explain the poor labour market outcomes of Belgium’s immigrants, the Belgian authorities often point to the complex multi-level governance structure on integration and labour, wherein competencies are divided amongst the federal and regional authorities. IES researchers Ilke Adam and Mathijs van Dijk will inquire into the strengths and the weaknesses of intergovernmental cooperation to try to partially answer the question, if indeed, the complex multi-level governance structure can be held responsible for poor labour market outcomes of immigrants. They will also propose recommendations to improve multi-level cooperation. To do so, the researchers will investigate best practices in other multinational/federal states. Results are to be expected in June 2014. The second project awarded to the IES migration and diversity research cluster is a joint project with Université Libre de Bruxelles (in particular the research groups GERME and Diver-city). The study is a reply to a call for proposals of the King Boudewijn Foundation to acquire better knowledge of the integration patterns of two important immigrant communities in Belgium: the Belgo-Turcs and the Belgo-Moroccans. The objective of the study is to better understand the socio-economic profile of these groups and the link between their socio-economic profile and their political attitudes, identity, patterns of political participation and religious practices. The ULB team is primarily responsible for the quantitative part of the study (design and analysis of the questionnaires), while the IES-VUB team will head the qualitative work package wherein the results of the quantitative analysis will be discussed, in focus groups and interviews, with Belgo-Turkish and BelgoMoroccan elites. Results are to be expected at the end of 2014.
Second Charles Ullens Prize for Research on Migration and Immigrant Integration goes to IES Researcher On 3 October 2013, former IES doctoral researcher Hannelore Goeman was awarded the Charles Ullens Prize for research on migration and immigrant integration for her PhD thesis ‘Integrating integration: the constitution of a EU policy domain on migrant integration’. She defended her thesis in December 2012 at IESVUB. The prize was given by the King Boudewijn Foundation (Fondation Roi Baudouin) which manages the Ullens
Fund. Named after its generous donor Charles Ullens, this Fund aims to contribute to deepening knowledge on migration and immigrant integration with the objective of stimulating a knowledge-based policy debate. Dr. Goeman is the second IES researcher in a row to receive this prize. Last year the same prize was attributed to IES researcher Prof. dr. Ilke Adam.
PhDs on the road Several PhD researchers within the cluster have been (staying) on the road during the last months of 2013. In November and December, Irene Wieczorek spent time at both the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg and at the University of Cambridge. Neepa Acharya headed to Chicago where she presented a theoretical paper on Cosmopolitanism in a doublepanel session on Keywords of Mobility at the American Anthropological Association annual conference. The aim of the panel was to craft an anthropology of mobility through several keywords. Cosmopolitanism, Neepa argued, should not be regularly cast off as
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being eurocentric and elitist and thereby ‘re-claimed’ through a multiplicity of modifiers such as rooted, diasporic, vernacular to apply to those not fitting its commonly-associated ‘privileged’ definition. Instead, she suggests that if we engage in a genealogy of the term, cosmopolitanism is entirely cosmopolitan, going back to its worldly values expressed by the Ashokan empire and Tan dynasties, and its association with learning about the local from Hadramawat traders along the silk road in the 15th century. After Chicago, more Chicago awaited Neepa in Paris, where she presented her work at a conference for the University of Chicago campus workshop hosted at Sciences Po. French and American academics asked very different questions, which provided great feedback.
Conference contributions
Alison Woodward served as rapporteur for the conference Structural Change Promoting Gender Equality in Research Organisations organided by the Lithuanian Presidency in Vilnius 20-21 November. She participated in a European Research Council Executive Board conference ‘On the way to the top: Providing equal opportunities for men and women in science and technology: Concluding remarks.’ She represented the European Science Foundation during the ESF Exploratory Workshop, University of Warwick 9-11 December 2013 ‘The Crisis of European Cosmopolitanism in the age of austerity: Multiculturalism and Colonial Legacies’ and she was workshop and lecture- co-organiser for the conference ‘Intersectionality’ at the University of Antwerp and the Universitaire Stichting. Mathijs van Dijk presented his paper Tussen migratie en mobiliteit: een begrippenpaar met uiteenlopende vooronderstellingen during the a workshop for the conference ‘Intra-Europese migratie of mobiliteit Andere tijden nieuwe wegen?’ organised by het Centrum voor Migratie en Interculturele Studies (CeMIS) of the University of Antwerp. The conference dealt with the increasingly scrutinized question of EU migration for Europe and Belgium in particular. During plenary discussions with representatives of public organisations, the freedom of movement of people in Europe was discussed as a raison d’être for the Union, yet at the same time the tension with abuses of the (Belgian) welfare state were stressed. All workshop papers will be published as a collected volume in spring 2014.
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EDU Educational Development Unit Launch Event: EU-Modules Take off in Style
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On 1 November the new EU Modules went online, welcoming students from all over the world interested to find out more about various aspects of the European Union.”
Anthony Antoine, IES Executive Director, addresses the audience at the EU-Modules launch event, joined by Magdalena Sapala, Alexandra Mihai and Silviu Piros
This past autumn the EDU finalised the year-long platform migration for the EU Modules. To celebrate and showcase this achievement the launch event was organised on 22 October. The inaugural five beefed-up EU Modules were presented to the interested public together with the general scope and aims of the e-learning and blended learning methods on EU matters. On this occasion, Mr Ricardo Ferreira from DG Education and Culture of the European Commission gave the keynote address, emphasising the challenges and benefits of opening up education in the European Union with the help of new technologies. The discussion was followed by a hands-on workshop where participants could test the new Chamilo platform. On 1 November the new EU Modules went online, welcoming students from all over the world interested to find out more about various aspects of the European Union.
“T
he three-day intensive training brought together participants from various sectors (public, private, non-profit) that work on EU affairs and are interested in learning how the EU policymaking mechanism works in practice.”
EU in Close-up 28-30 October In October 2013 the EDU organised the second “EU in Close-up” session of the year. The three-day intensive training brought together participants from various sectors (public, private, nonprofit) that work on EU affairs and are interested in learning how the EU policy-making mechanism works in practice. For this session a few changes were introduced to the programme, in order to provide the participants with a more complete and detailed picture of the EU decision-making process. The new lectures on EU law and its relation with national legislation as well as EU lobbying were considered an added value to the overall programme, facilitating a deeper understanding of how the EU legislation impacts the everyday life of EU citizens and how various organiations can try to influence EU policies to promote their interest. Moreover, son the third day, the participants were given the option to choose from two panels that went into more depth explaining two policy areas: EU environmental policy and EU foreign policy. Aimed to customize the programme and adjust it to the participants’ interests, the panels brought together academics and policy makers from the respective fields and concluded with lively debates.
The next EU in Close-up session will take place on 26-28 March 2014.
A New PhD in the Making: Alexandra Mihai Building on previous research endeavours, Alexandra Mihai has started her PhD in Educational Science on “Teaching politics and international relations with technology? An analysis of teaching practices in Higher Education in the field of politics and IR.” The main research questions are: how and why do teachers in politics/IR use technology enhanced teaching methods, what tools do they use and at what stage in their teaching process these prove to be the most efficient. Her PhD research is closely connected to the work of the EDU and the empirical part will draw on the IES experience of teaching using the e-learning and blended learning methods.
TEMPUS project - Innovating Teaching and Learning of European Studies The EDU will take part in a project financed by the TEMPUS funding stream starting January 2014. IES is one of nine partners of the consortium led by the University of Maastricht, involving universities from the UK, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The ‘Innovating Teaching and Learning of European Studies’ (INOTLES) projects aims to promote the convergence of European Studies core curricula between the EU and neighbouring countries and to provide teacher training in innovative teaching methods such as e-learning and blended learning. The EDU will be involved in various ways including organising a teacher training session in Brussels, conducting a literature review on teaching methods in European Studies and offering a course on the EU institutional setup via the online platform.
IES
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Educational Programmes
Mission to Tokyo and Seoul
students naturally grow as global leaders, equipped with both professional knowledge and language proficiency.
18-22 November 2013
Sogang University
Prof. Dr. Luis Simon, Senior Researcher in the EFSP cluster and Lynn Tytgat, Manager, IES Educational Programmes, travelled to Japan and Korea this past November. The main objective of the mission was to enhance academic ties with universities in Tokyo and Seoul and identify concrete possibilities for collaboration in the areas of research and educational exchanges.
On 22 November, Lynn and Luis met with Prof. Kyu Young LEE (Professor, Graduate School of International Studies) and Ms. Kangyong CHUNG (Manager, Office of International Affairs) from Sogang University.
In the context of his research on ‘European-Asian security cooperation’, Luis also visited the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Institute for Defense Studies (Japanese Ministry of Defense) and the Royal United Services Institute Japan branch. Luis and Lynn visited the following universities in Tokyo, Japan: Tokyo University (Todai), United Nations University (UNU) and Waseda University (WU). In Seoul, Korea they visited: Yonsei University (YU), Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) and Sogang University (SU). Furthermore, they also visited: the Belgian Embassy in Korea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan, the National Institute for Defense Studies, Japan, and the Royal United Services Institute, Japan. It was therefore a jam-packed trip. The following offers a flavour of their visits.
University of Tokyo
On Monday, 18 November, Lynn and Luis visited the University of Tokyo and met with Prof. Yuichi MORII (Associate Professor, Department of Areas Studies, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences) and Dr. Yoko AKIYAMA, (Assistant Professor, Center for German and European Studies and Institute for Advanced Global Studies, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences). The University of Tokyo (Shanghai 21 /Times Higher 23), also known as “Todai” was established in 1877 as the first national university in Japan. Todai offers courses in essentially all academic disciplines at both undergraduate and graduate levels and conducts research across the full spectrum of academic activity. The Department Area Studies has a number of students with an EU interest and one course taught in English: ‘Japan in East Asia: Cultural Studies’.
Waseda University Lynn met Prof. Hidetoshi NAKAMURA (Deputy Director, EU Institute in Japan at WU and Assistant Professor, Faculty of Political Science and Economics) of Waseda University on 20 November. Waseda University (QS Asia
University Rankings 44) was founded in 1882 with the aim of fostering contemporary Japanese leaders. Today it is a comprehensive university with more than 50,000 students and staff, comprising 13 Undergraduate Schools, 23 Graduate Schools, and other Research and Affiliated Institutes. It has working agreements with another 400 institutions abroad and receives more international students than any other Japanese university.
Yonsei University
Sogang University was founded in 1960 and is one of the leading research and liberal arts universities in Seoul. The university was established by the Society of Jesus and has 266 institutional collaborations in 55 countries. Over 400 students study abroad every year and around 2,500 international students study annually in various academic programs. Sogang University was also a partner in the IEKC project. In cooperation with the EU ISS, and the Korean Society of Contemporary EU Studies, Sogang University organised a conference in Brussels on ‘Bilateral cooperation and security challenges in North East Asia’. In 2014, a follow up conference will be held in Seoul.
On 21 November, Lynn and Luis visited Yonsei University and met Prof. Yeonho LEE (Director, Institute of East and West Studies; Director, Yonsei-SERI EU Centre; and Professor, Political Science and International Studies), Dr. Yoojin Lim (Post-Doctoral Researcher (interest: welfare), and Mr. Jihoon JEONG, Associate Researcher and Financial Officer. Founded in 1885, it is a private institution and is the oldest university in Korea, with a total of 4,000 faculty members and 35,000 students. The Yonsei-SERI EU Centre (partnership between Yonsei University and the Samsung Economic Research Institute) aims to energise the dialogue between the EU and Asia, by focusing on academic exchanges, teaching and collaboration with other EU Centres. The EU Centre focuses primarily on environment, energy and corporate social responsibility.
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
On 21 November, Prof. Dr. Luis Simon gave a lecture on ‘The US and the Future of Europe’ at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), founded in 1954, is currently teaching 45 foreign languages, and stands as the number one international university in Korea. Combining studies in the humanities, law, social sciences, business, and computer science,
Embassy of Belgium in Korea Lynn and Luis were invited to the Belgian Embassy in Korea by the Ambassador Mr. François BONTEMPS and Consul Mr. Pierre STEVERLYNCK on 22 November. In order to contribute to the visibility of the VUB and its activities, the Embassy kindly requested to be informed about the different agreements signed between the VUB and its Korean partners. It would also like to offer its assistance in the follow up of IEKC by keeping the alumni, the ambassadors of the exchange project, informed about future (Belgian) activities in Korea. He also underlined the importance of current and future Belgian exchange students in Korea contacting the Embassy before or during their stay. Overall, the mission was successful in identifying possible future partnerships and areas of collaboration. For more detailed information on any aspects of the mission please contact Luis or Lynn: Luis.Simon@vub.ac.be Lynn.Tytgat@vub.ac.be
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European Foreign & Security Policy ‘State of Defence in Europe’ CONFERENCE On 16 December, Alexander Mattelaer, Luis Simón and Daniel Fiott co-organised and spoke at a well-attended and thought-provoking event entitled “The State of Defence in Europe: State of Emergency?”. The conference was co-organised with the Egmont Institute, and was based on a collection of essays published by the IES and the Egmont Institute. The conference provided input and recommendations for the 19-20 December European Council on defence. Alexander’s essays focused on modern European operations and capability development, Luis’ essay analysed the United States’ (US) rebalancing to Asia and its impact on Europe and Daniel’s contribution centered on the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base. Additionally, the three researchers featured alongside the Belgian, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish defence ministers as well as a host of other high-level policy-makers via an op-ed piece on the European Council published by the Security and Defence Agenda (SDA) and Europe’s World.
Alexander Mattelaer On 8 October, the IES hosted a Policy Forum at which Prof. Dr. Alexander Mattelaer presented his recent book – The Politico-Military Dynamics of European Crisis Response Operations – alongside thoughtful commentaries on his ideas by General Yves de Kermabon, Special Counsellor to the European External Action Service (EEAS) Secretary General, and NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General Jamie Shea. In his presentation Alexander outlined the three principal storylines of the book, pertaining to the strategic instrumentality of crisis response operations, the designing of modern military campaigns and the state of civil-military relations in Europe. A summary of Alexander’s presentation was subsequently published on European Geostrategy. In November, Alexander travelled to Madrid for the second module of this year’s High Level Course organised by the European Security and Defence College and hosted by the Escuela de altos estudios de la defensa. His panel appearance focused on the EU’s indirect approach to crisis management. The presentation offered a sneak preview of a forthcoming book chapter Alexander prepared together with Esther Marijnen.
Luis Simón In late November, Prof. Dr. Luis Simón’s new book entitled Geopolitical Change, Grand Strategy and European Security was published with Palgrave Macmillan. In the book Luis examines the interplay between geopolitical
analysed how EU support impacted the political and social “Esther situation on the ground. “
Esther Marijnen in the DRC During November-December Esther Marijnen went to the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to conduct field research for her doctoral dissertation. She went together with Stephan Hochleithner, a PhD researcher from the University of Zurich. They worked together on a common research project concerning the EU’s support to the National Virunga Park, the oldest park in Africa that is situated within the province North-Kivu, a region tainted by conflict for over more than two decades. The EU is the main institutional donor to the Park. During the field research they interviewed multiple stakeholders in the region to assess the socio-political consequences of the EU’s support to the park, especially for the communities living around the park. Conflicts have existed between the guards of the park and the people that were dependent on the park for their livelihoods ever since the creation of the park by the Belgium colonial administration in 1925. Since the EU supports the park by equipping, training and financing the guards of the park from the Congolese state authority the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), Esther and Stephan analysed how this impacted the political and social situation on the ground. While conducting field research in the DRC raises certain challenges, the trip went very well. Esther is planning her next field research for a longer period of three months later on this year.
change, British, French and German grand strategy and the evolution of NATO and the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) between 2001 and 2010. The book sheds light on the nature and evolution of European security. He argues that throughout the 2001–2010 period, NATO and CSDP remained the best thermometers of the powerful tension between conflict and cooperation that defines European security. In November, Luis spoke at a seminar organised by the Belgian Royal High Institute for Defence, the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and the Egmont Institute on America’s evolving force posture and defence strategy in Europe. On 13 November he took part in a roundtable at the University of Amsterdam on the EU’s responses to the latest developments in Syria.
marketing trip to South Korea and Japan, where on 21 November he delivered a lecture on “The US and the Future of Europe” at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. On the basis of the trip he published a Long Post with European Geostrategy on 18 December on Japan’s renewed foreign policy and Europe. On 3 December Luis was invited to be a discussant at the ‘Transatlantic Security Symposium’ by the Italian Institute for International Affairs, Rome.
Anna Stahl At the beginning of December Anna participated in an Executive Training Seminar on “The EU and Global Governance”, organised by the Academy of Global Governance of the European University Institute, Florence. Following her participation at the Second China-Africa Think Tank Forum last year, Anna’s paper presentation was published in the book China-Africa Relations: Governance, Peace and Security, edited by the Institute for Peace and Security Studies, Addis Ababa University, and the Institute of African Studies, Zhejiang Normal University.
From 15-23 November Luis conducted a research and Contd. on p. 9
9
IES Publications Books
Policy Reports, Working and Occasional Papers
Kuzelewska, E., Kloza, D. 2013. Elections to the European Parliament as a Challenge for Democracy. European Integration and Democracy Series, Vol. 2. Warsaw: Aspra Simon, L. 2013. Geopolitical Change, Grand Strategy and European Security- The EU-NATO Conundrum in Perspective. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Book Chapters
Biscop, S. Fiott, D. 2013. The State of Defence in Europe: State of Emergency? Egmont Paper, 62. Biscop, S., Fiott, D. 2013. The European Defence Technological and Industrial Base: Five Suggestions. In The State of Defence in Europe: State of Emergency? Egmont Paper, 62, 73-78. Fiott, D. 2013. China and the Common Security and Defence Policy. European Geostrategy, November 2013.
Devuyst, Y. 2013. The European Parliament and International Trade Agreements: Practice after the Lisbon Treaty. In The European Union in the World: Essays in Honour of Marc Maresceau, edited by Govaere, I., Lannon, E., van Elsuwege, P., Adam, S., Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers:171-189. Gouritin, A. 2013. L’impact de l’adhésion de l’UE à la Convention européenne des droits de l’Homme sur le lien entre droits de l’homme et politiques climatiques de l’UE. In Changements Climatiques et Droits de l’Homme: les options politiques de l’Union Européenne, edited by Cournil, C.,Tabau, A.-S, Brussels: Bruylant. 243-270. Stahl, A.K. 2013. Fostering African Development, Governance and Security through Multilateral Cooperation between China and Western Donors: The Case of the China-DAC Study Group, edited by Berhe, M.G., Hongwu, L., Addis Ababe: Institute for Peace and Security Studies. 74-96.
Fiott, D. 2013. The European Commission and the EDA: A Question of Bureaucratic Rivalry? Conference Paper EAEPE Annual Conference. November 2013. Mattelaer, A. 2013. The Empty Promise of Comprehensive Planning in EU Crisis Management. In European Foreign Affairs Review, 18(4).125-145. Mattelaer, A., Coelmont, J. 2013. Capability Development: The Times They Are A-Changin. In The State of Defence in Europe: State of Emergency? Edited by Fiott. D., Biscop, S. Egmont Paper 62. Brussels: Egmont Institute, Egmont Paper 62, November 2013, pp. 67-71. Mattelear, A., Coelmont, J. 2013. Modern European Operations: From Phoney Wars to Sickle Cuts. In The State of Defence in Europe: State of Emergency? Edited by Fiott, D., Biscop, S. Brussels: Egmont Institute, Egmont Paper 62, November 2013, 33-37.
Vink, M., Bonjour, S. & Adam, I. (2013, in press), ‘European Integration, Consensus Politics and Family Migration Policy in Belgium and the Netherlands’, in Vollaard, H., Beyers, J. and Dumont, P. , Europeanization and Consensus Politics in the Low Countries, London: Routledge.
IES Policy Briefs
Academic Articles Adam, I. 2013. Immigrant Integration Policies of the Belgian Regions: Sub-state Nationalism and Policy Divergence after Devolution. In Regional and Federal Studies, 23 (5), 547-569. Adam, I., Martiniello, M. 2013. Convergences et divergences dans les politiques d’intégration dans la Belgique multinationale. Le cas des parcours d’intégration pour immigrés. In Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, 29 (2), 77-93. Gehring, T., Oberthür, S. and Mühleck, M. 2013. European Union actorness in international institutions: why the EU is recognised as an actor in some international institutions, but not in others. In Journal of Common Market Studies, 51(5), 849-865. Gouritin, A. 2013. OMS, la pollution de l’air extérieur est un agent cancérigène. Quelles incidences juridiques au-delà du symbole? In Sentinelle, 362. Groen, L., Niemann, A. 2013. European Union at the Copenhagen Climate Negotiations: A Case of Contested EU Actorness and Effectiveness. In International Relations, 27(3), 308-324. Oberthür, S. , Poarowska, J. 2013. Managing Institutional Complexity and Fragmentation: The Nagoya Protocol and the Global Governance of Genetic Resources. In Global Environmental Politics, 13(3), 100-118. Simón, L . 2013. Setting the Tone: The 2013 French White Paper and the Future of European Defense. In The RUSI Journal 158(4), 38-44. Simón, L. 2013. Reaching Beyond the Indo-Pacific. In Comparative Strategy, 32 (4), 331-353. Tolksdorf, D. 2013. EU Special Representatives: An Intergovernmental Tool in the Post-Lisbon Foreign Policy System? In European Foreign Affairs Review, 4, 471-486.
Daniel Fiott Daniel made a television appearance on 19 November for the European Council TV Newsroom, where he discussed the security situation in the EU’s neighbourhood and European military capabilities. On 5 December he was invited by the SDA to speak alongside high-level personalities from the European Defence Agency (EDA),
EU Performance in the International Climate Negotiations in 2013: Scope for Improvement
2014:1
by Sebastian Oberthür and Lisanne Groen The EU has long been an important player and even a leader in the international cooperation on climate change. In 2013, preparations for a new global climate agreement in 2015 moved centre stage in the international negotiations. This policy brief assesses the EU’s performance in 2013 culminating in the Warsaw conference in November 2013. We find that the EU was actively engaged in the negotiations and pursued partially ambitious/ progressive policy objectives, which it was partly successful in realising. The policy brief argues that international EU leadership for a 2015 agreement requires (1) building an international leadership alliance including the EU and other progressive countries and (2) serious homework by the EU to advance domestic climate mitigation efforts both by 2020 and 2030, and to enhance its position on climate finance.
European Parliament and European Commission at an event on “Europe’s Defence Outlook”. Following this, Bloomberg News interviewed Daniel on the defenceindustrial consequences of the restructuring of EADS. Finally, in advance of the December Council he published an overview of European defence-related data with European Geostrategy. On 9 November, Daniel presented a paper on European Commission and EDA relations at the 25th conference of the European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy at the Université Paris Nord 13. Daniel was also interviewed by Judy Dempsey for Carnegie Europe’s “Strategic Europe” blog and by the widely circulated Brazilian weekly CartaCapital. As
a Senior Editor of European Geostrategy he published articles on China and the CSDP, unmanned aerial vehicles and a number of book reviews.
Associate News The EFSP cluster has welcomed two new associates: Dr. Isabelle Ioannides, Associate Researcher, is currently part of the “European Dialogue” team at the European Commission’s Bureau of European Policy Advisers; Hubertus Juergenliemk, Visiting Researcher, is currently completing his PhD at the University of Cambridge on the EU’s civilian crisis management.
10
IES in the media •Daniel Fiott : Leaving the EU would harm the UK’s number one national interest – trade 21 December 2013 in: Carta Capital
•Alexander Mattelaer : Hier zijn we goed in 12 December 2013 in: De Standaard
•Daniel Fiott : No ‘Last Supper’ for EU Armsmakers Amid National Blinders 11 December 2013 in: Bloomberg News
•IES and Egmont Conference : Conférence sur l’état de la défense européenne… Il y a urgence ! 5 December 2013 in: Bruxelles2 B2
•Daniel Fiott : Judy Asks: Has the EU Lost Both Its Neighborhoods? 4 December 2013 in: Carnegie Europe
•Daniel Fiott : Interview with Lord Douglas Hurd 26 November 2013 in: European Geostrategy
•Ilke Adam : Brussel wereldstad is rode draad van Nacht van de Kennis 21 November 2013 in: Brussel Deze Week
•Daniel Fiott : Interview with Pierre Vimont 17 November 2013 in: European Geostrategy
•Daniel Fiott : Statement by Researcher of Institute for European Studies - Part 2 15 November 2013 in: TV Newsroom - European Council - Council of the EU
•Daniel Fiott : Interview with Claude-France Arnould 11 November 2013 in: European Geostrategy
•Ilke Adam : Versterken van grenscontroles is een zwaktebod 24 October 2013 in: De Morgen
•Ilke Adam : Politique commune des migrations: une urgence absolue 24 October 2013 in: Le Soir
•Magdalena Sapala : EU cohesion policy: ‘No more business as usual’ 22 October 2013 in: EUobserver
•Daniel Fiott : European Defence Under a Transatlantic Trade Pact 14 October 2013 in: European Global Strategy
•Medlir Mema : The ICC on the ropes: What can the EU do about it? 7 October 2013 in: EurActiv
•Greta Barbone @ IES Policy Forum : NGO says EU should push Kenya to cooperate with ICC 2 October 2013 in: New Europe
•Alexander Mattelaer : Wordt de F-35 de opvolger van onze F-16’s? 19 September 2013 in: Ter Zake
•Luis Simon : How France became Obama’s best friend in Europe on defence issues 4 September 2013 in: The Globe and Mail
IES in the social media
facebook.com/IESBrussels We now have 4350+ followers.
@IES_Brussels
Join the debate.
11
Staff News Wiebke Anton
joins us as an intern in the
Environmental cluster:
“I
Andrea Hrzic is a Master student
Klaudia Majcher joined the IES
in Communication Sciences at the
as an intern within the European
VUB. She arrived at IES at the end of
Economic Governance Cluster:
did my Bachelor of Arts in
November and she will mostly assist
Political Management in
Marie Tuley, IES Communications
Bremen and I am now in the final
Officer and Anamaria Bacsin,
“I
recently completed the LL.M. programme with a
term of my Master’s in Slavic
Communications Assistant, with Communication and
specialisation in European Law at the Leiden Law School
Studies (with a focus on Society
Marketing tasks. Andrea is originally from Croatia and
in the Netherlands. As my prime academic interests
and History). My main research
is currently working on her Master thesis regarding
focus on the intersection of EU competition law and
interests are environmental movements (especially
smart cities, more specifically on cultural participation
IP law, I wrote my Master’s thesis on monopolists’
anti-nuclear movements), change of values, and how
of citizens in urban spaces.
exclusionary conduct in form of unilateral refusals to license an intellectual property. Prior to this, I obtained
these movements influence society as a whole - both in Eastern and Central/Western Europe (indeed very
Hubertus Jürgenliemk is a
two Bachelor’s Degrees, in European Studies and in
interesting in a comparative perspective). The effect of
Visiting Researcher at the IES and
English and German Philology at Jagiellonian University
climate change on the Arctic as well as energy security
currently completing his PhD at
in Cracow. I will conduct research supervised by Prof.
issues and interrelations between Europe and “the East”
the University of Cambridge on
Harri Kalimo and Max Jansson.”
are also some of my foci. I have always been interested in
the civilian aspects of European
lobbyism and lobbyist’s influence on political decisions.
Security and Defence Policy
Since I love exploring new places and ‘have the travel
and the linkages to development policy. His wider
bug’, I took a semester off and travelled through the US
research interests are EU cooperation with NATO
and Southeast Asia. I spent a semester in Vilnius and
and the United Nations, civilian crisis management
Training Seminar
some time in Moscow. I am member of a FoodCoop and
and European security governance. Hubertus has
26-28 March 2014
worked in a cooking school. During my internship at the
carried out research or taught at the Universities of
IES, I am going to support Claire and Sebastian with their
Cambridge (2010-14), Oxford (2010-11), King’s College
publication on decarbonisation - and will finally start
London (2010), the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB,
writing my Master thesis. However I am still working on
2013) and Vesalius College (2013-14). He has work
my research question... I am always open for interesting
experience with the United Nations Democracy Fund,
projects and issues!”
the UNDP Growing Inclusive Markets Initiative, the
Upcoming EU in Close-up
German Federal Ministry of Economics, the Public
Diego Gandolfo
is a visiting
Affairs Division of the OECD and a private sector
researcher from Alma Mater
consultancy firm. Hubertus holds a BA from the
Concept
Studiorum – the University of
University of Konstanz and an MPhil in International
Bologna, in Italy, where he has
Relations from the University of Cambridge. You can
been a PhD candidate in Agri-food
also follow him on Twitter @hjuer.
An intensive training seminar on the EU institutions and the EU policy process offered twice a year (spring and autumn sessions)
What is EU in Close-Up training?
Economics and Statistics since 2011. In his PhD dissertation Diego analyses the problems of
Monika Kokstaite
the EU Cohesion Policy and the use of Structural Funds,
a Visiting Researcher at the IES
with a particular focus on Italy and the Convergence
until November 2014. She is a PhD
Area. He also wrote and lectured on some other fields
Candidate in Institutions, Politics
of research: regional economies, community currencies,
and Policies at IMT Lucca, Italy.
organised crime in agriculture and environment,
She is writing her PhD thesis on EU
Italian lobbyist groups. He holds a MA in Local and
economic security policies and their effects. She holds
International Development and Cooperation (2009) and
an MA in International Relations and European Studies
a BA in Political Science (2006) from the University of
from the Central European University in Budapest. She
Bologna. During his Master studies, he spent a year at
studied in various places: Frankfurt and Main (Germany),
the Institut d’Études Politiques de Grenoble (France) as
Tartu (Estonia), Reykjavik (Iceland), Jerusalem (Israel)
an Erasmus student.
and Xiamen (China). Her research focuses on good
will be
governance, human security, globalisation, regionalism, democratisation and sustainable development. She worked as a journalist and policy analyst for several years. Moreover, she has organised conferences and workshops with German Cultural Foundations.
A 3-day intensive programme designed for both new and seasoned professionals seeking an advanced understanding of the EU institutions and decision-making
EU in Close-Up training offers you: • In-depth analysis of each institution, with a special focus on its functioning and role within the EU structure overall • A detailed insight into the various types of decision-making methods, according to the field of EU action • Choice between two comprehensive case studies on specific EU policies in practice • A hands-on guide to various types of EU information sources in the form of an online module
12
Events Calendar Date
Event
11 Feb 2014 12:00 - 14:00
Explaining EU effectiveness in the international biodiversity and climate change negotiations
11 Feb 2014 19:00
Science Bar Brussel: Klimaat in de media Contributions to this Newsletter:
13 Feb 2014 15:00
IES-HCSS Policy Forum – Future Airpower: Benelux Air Cooperation in a European Context
Ilke Adam - Anthony Antoine - Claire Dupont - Daniel Fiott - Lisanne Groen - Max Jansson - Harri Kalimo - Esther Marijnen -
13 Feb 2014 17:30
Public PhD Defence Ioannis Spyridakis: Delegation and Control. A critical analysis on Principal-Agent theory in the context of EU external policy making
Alexander Mattelaer - Alexandra Mihai - Sebastian OberthĂźr - Silviu Piros - Magdalena Sapala - Jamal Shahin - Luis Simon - Anna Stahl - Cem Tintin Lynn Tytgat - Mathijs Van Dijk -
5 Mar 2014 12:00
6 Mar 2014 12:00
Joint Policy Forum Brussels-Bialystok: Elections to the European Parliament as a Challenge for Democracy
Alison Woodward
Editing & layout by: Marie Tuley
The implementation of the Blue Card Directive: what, why and what next?
marie.tuley@vub.ac.be Pictures courtesy of IES
26 Mar 2014 12:00
Wednesday Webinar: EU Foreign Policy Vehicles & Partners
Newsletter of the Institute for European Studies Published by
26 - 28 Mar 2014
The EU in Close-up: 3-day Training Seminar
22 -24 May 2014
The European Union in International Affairs IV
Anthony Antoine Institute for European Studies Vrije Universiteit Brussel Pleinlaan 2 (IES) B-1050 Brussels (Belgium) www.ies.be ies@vub.ac.be
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