The Current State of the European Union – Conference on the Future of Europe (Module 1: European democracy)

The European Union is becoming an ever more complex entity that is difficult to grasp even for practitioners. At the same time, the European integration project has lately been facing unprecedented challenges that affect the core of the EU’s policymaking capacity as well as the political commitment of its Member States. The culmination of recent events, starting from the 2015–16 migration crises, to the Covid-19 pandemic and now the war in Ukraine, creates dilemmas that go much further than traditional ‘deepening’ or ‘expanding’ the integration paradigm and push the European Union to embody its mission more convincingly.

The summer school’s primary objective is to address the major issues discussed in the frame of the ‘Conference on the Future of Europe’, such as making the EU more democratic, incorporating climate change and green economy, digital transformation, migration and security. To do so the discussion will start to first see whether the novelties introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon in various policy areas have proved themselves in practice. Then, with a view to the current crises-driven context, to see what further modifications should and could be sought to better equip the EU to respond to the current challenges.

More specifically, the summer school will tackle how the institutional structure of the EU could be enhanced to better adhere to the democratic principle. In that regard, the possibilities of designing new electoral laws for the elections of the European Parliament will be discussed in detail as well as the right of initiative as the cornerstone of the current ordinary legislative procedure. Then, the course will elaborate further on how the EU could effectively safeguard the rule of law in its Member States, especially in cases of backslidings. Later, the modules will also address, inter alia, how the EU could further ensure the protection of fundamental rights in the EU, how the EU is to preserve the Eurozone (and whether to expand it), how to make the European Union greener and how to fight effectively against the climate crisis. Moreover, the course will also make a distinct effort to explain what digital transformation entails, and what regulatory efforts are made at the EU level to tackle artificial intelligence (AI), big data and social media platforms. Finally, the course will map out how make the EU more secure and what role the EU should play on the world stage. On that basis, the summer school will make an attempt to see whether the EU’s united and swift response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine has a lasting impact on the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Defence and Security Policy of Europe.

What you will learn in this course

The objective of the summer school is to provide national administrations, interest groups and practitioners working with issues related to the European Union with an enhanced understanding of how the current challenges shape EU policymaking and regulatory affairs related to the integration process.

In essence, the course explores the tenets of the European Union and helps participants to understand the underlying political, social and economic dilemmas, and evaluate European-level responses.

Sessions will be conducted by two experts providing a short presentation followed by facilitated panel discussions, allowing for the exchange of ideas and addressing issues of concern based on case studies, where participants will be especially encouraged to share their experiences.

Module 1: European democracy

• the thematic discussion of the Conference on the Future of Europe
• the democratic principle with a view to designing new rules for electing the Members of the European Parliament.

In this module you will be introduced to the intrinsic nature of the EU, the motivations behind treaty modifications, the structure of the debate and the methodology of the conference, and eventually have an in-depth discussion on the context of changing MEP electoral laws.

The module also focuses on how to make EU decision-making more democratic and what are the major items that the Conference on the Future of Europe could discuss to further enhance the transparency and representative nature of the EU legislative processes. In this context, attention will be paid to the right of initiative – being, so far, the almost exclusive prerogative of the European Commission.

The course will map out the repercussions of equipping the European Parliament with the same right of initiative, a specific demand made by the Parliament in preparation for the conference.

This module is part of a 5-day course, divided into short courses to offer you flexibility in adapting the course to your needs. If you prefer to attend one of the other options you can click on Module 2, Module 3, Module 4 or Module 5, or you can attend the full 5-day course.

By the end of the course, you will

• understand how the recent and current crises shape the European Union today and how these events have an impact on the institutional and legal identity of the EU of tomorrow;
• understand the major political, legal, economic and social drives behind key EU policies;
• understand what the Conference on the Future of Europe is and what are the fundamental issues at stake.

Who this course is for

This course is for experts from national administrations and EU institutions; practitioners from various EU-regulated policy fields; and lawyers, consultants, journalists and other professionals dealing with the European Union who want to enhance their understanding of how the recent developments in the EU will have an impact on their work.

Course venue
European Centre for Judges and Lawyers – EIPA Luxembourg
8 rue Nicolas Adames
1114 Luxembourg

Programme Organiser
Ms Stéphanie Gemnig Comodi
Tel: +352 426 230 301
s.gemnig@eipa.eu

Discounts
EIPA member fee
EIPA offers a discount to all civil servants working for one of EIPA’s supporting countries, and civil servants working for an EU institution, body or agency.

Who are the supporting countries?
Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies

Early bird discount
The early bird discount is not cumulative with other discounts or promo codes, except for the EIPA member fee.

Confirmation
Confirmation of registration will be forwarded to participants on receipt of the completed online registration form.

Payment
Prior payment is a condition for participation.

Cancellation policy
For administrative reasons you will be charged €150 for cancellations received within 15 days before the activity begins. There is no charge for qualified substitute participants. EIPA reserves the right to cancel the activity up to 2 weeks before the starting date. In that case, registration fees received will be fully reimbursed. EIPA accepts no responsibility for any costs incurred (travel, accommodation, etc.).