War and Peace in the 21st Century “The EU ahead of a new political cycle and a new geopolitical era”

The seminar "War and Peace in the 21st Century: The EU ahead of a new political cycle and a new geopolitical era" will contribute to the analysis of the EU's internal dynamics and how to address its relations with major powers in an era of changing geopolitical alliances.

2024

March

09:30h

Location:

Palau de Pedralbes, Diagonal 686, Barcelona

Organized by:

CIDOB in collaboration with EsadeGeo, with the support of “la Caixa” Foundation, the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) of the European Commission project, and the institutional board members

The EU is facing a new political cycle beginning with the European Parliament elections scheduled for June 2024. The new European legislature will determine the leadership of European institutions and the scope of future EU policies. A fragmented parliament and/or one with little incentive to deepening integration will hinder the EU's ability to address the internal and external challenges that it is facing. Considering it has been more than fifteen years since the latest major institutional reform -the Lisbon Treaty-, the EU could undertake new reforms to gain efficiency and legitimacy and get ready for an increasingly complex global context.

Internally, issues such as EU enlargement and reform, green and digital transitions, the Migration and Asylum Pact, fiscal reforms and the EU’s own resources, European defence, and persistent divisions between EU member states require renewed efforts for consensus and internal transformations. Externally, the EU needs to increase its mechanisms and resources to tackle the challenges of a complex geopolitical reality, with open conflicts in European territory and its neighbourhood: the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, the relationship with the US and China, the rivalry with Russia, and a necessary engagement with the so-called Global South. The seminar "War and Peace in the 21st Century: The EU ahead of a new political cycle and a new geopolitical era" will contribute to the analysis of the EU's internal dynamics and how to address its relations with major powers in an era of changing geopolitical alliances.

>> Image gallery: War and Peace in the 21st Century “China and the US: Can Bipolar Confrontation Be Avoided?”