EU ENLARGEMENT LECTURE SERIES: 20th Anniversary of the EU Enlargement

As part of our continued efforts to bring together experts with diverse perspectives to discuss contemporary issues facing Europe, the European Studies Center/European Union Center of Excellence (ESC/EUCE) along with the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES) offers a new lecture series to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the EU Enlargement. This virtual lecture series will be held on the last Thursday of each month. 

During this session of our Conversations on Europe, we will focus our discussion on the ongoing election campaign to the European Parliament, as the elections will take place between June 6th and 9th. With a looming economic slowdown, increasing migration both on the southern and eastern border of the EU, and growing support for populist and nationalist parties, what are the prospects for EU integration? What are the main topics of the campaign, and how will they impact the elections? Which parties will gain a majority in the upcoming five-year term and shape the future of the EU?

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine transformed European security concerns dramatically. It has disrupted the lives of countless people in the region. It triggered a new wave of rapid forced migration throughout the EU and in other neighboring countries. Displacement from the war impacts not only Ukrainian women and children fleeing to Poland, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, and other neighboring countries. It has also affected Russians avoiding mobilization or Russian intellectuals avoiding repressions in their home country.

Moderator:
Erica Edwards, Unversity of Pittsburgh

Panelists:
Ralitsa Kovacheva, Sofia University
Julia Partheymuller, University of Vienna
Elena Bruni, LUISS Gudio Carli, Italy, Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer

Moderator:
Randall Halle, University of Pittsburgh

Panelist: TBD

Moderators:
Randall Halle, European Studies Center, University of Pittsburgh
Nancy Condee, Center for Russia East European and Eurasian Studies, University of Pittsburgh

Panelist:
Agnieszka Holland, European Film Academy

It is 60 years since the signing of the Yaoundé Convention (1963). This was a moment in the history of decolonization when the Associated African States, 12 mainly young postcolonial Western African countries, signed a trade agreement with the also young European Economic Community. The Yaoundé Convention was part of the EEC’s Eurafrica initiative, an effort to maintain a presence in the former colonies. Yaoundé initiated a series of trade and aid agreements that replaced the colonial relation with a developmental model. An era of trade and infrastructural development followed.

October is the month of Parliamentary Elections in Eastern Europe’s powerhouse, Poland. On 15 October, the electorate stands at a crossroads and our invited panelists will discuss the path the Polish voters will have chosen. In addition to the implications for Poland, our panelists will discuss what the election results mean for relations with Poland’s neighbors, Ukraine in particular. And given that Brussels has repeatedly drawn attention to Polish democratic backsliding under the current government, this CoE will ask what the election means for the EU?

The EU declared 2023 the Year of Skills to bring attention to the challenges the contemporary workforce faces and to the European responses. It is indeed a period of transition in labor, with no little unrest. The Yellow Vest strikes are perhaps the best known of the strikes that have taken place recently in Europe. This Conversation on Europe considers the state of labor and the security of employment. In conversation with our panelists, we will consider labor struggles, the disruption of historical industries, the insecurity caused by inflation, energy scarcity, and AI.

EU FILM FESTIVAL
SCREENSHOT ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL

In preparation for the upcoming 2023 Screenshot Asia Film Festival (October 4-8, 2023) and the 2024 EU Film Festival (January 19-26, 2024), the ESC and the ASC will host a teaser film screening.

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Director: Davy Chou