A New Beginning for UK-EU Relations
30. May 2023 | 18:00 - 19:30 | Online
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. The Integrated Review Refresh, 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” will take a look at the current UK-EU realignment in the field of security and defense. It will explore the potential opened by the IR for productive and sustainable cooperation with the European Union, but also with the rest of “our continent” (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.
The European Strategy Dialogue will be jointly organized by the University of Bonn/CASSIS, Leiden University, the French research center SIRICE (Sorbonne), and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.
Schedule
Opening Remarks:
Dirk Brengelmann
Amb. (ret.) to the Netherlands (2016-2021), Senior Fellow at CASSIS, University of Bonn
Discussion:
Dr. Jana Puglierin
Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and Head of their Berlin Office
Georgina Wright
Senior Fellow and Director of Institut Montaigne's Europe Program
Dr. Rem Korteweg
Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute
Mathieu Droin
Visiting Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
Moderation:
Jeroen Dobber
Director of the Global Security Hub at Friedrich Naumann Foundation Brussels