In recent decades Europe has been rocked by successive crises often managed, to a large extent, at EU level. Many were external in origin, among them the financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is yet another example. At a seminar on 29 April 2022 , four European researchers shared their analyses of how the EU has handled the crises of the 21st century and made assessments of how the EU’s capacity for crisis management can be improved. Their analyses are collected in an anthology that was presented at the seminar.

In recent decades Europe has been rocked by successive crises often managed, to a large extent, at EU level. Many were external in origin, among them the financial crisis, the mass influx of refugees in 2015, and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic, which put EU cooperation to the test as Member States initially chose to protect public health in conflicting ways, and at the expense of the ‘four freedoms’. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is yet another example. The war is already having concrete effects on the lives of EU citizens and Europe’s response is to a large extent being coordinated by the EU.

At a seminar on 29 April at SIEPS in Stockholm, four European researchers shared their analyses of how the EU has handled the crises of the 21^st century. They provided perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of EU crisis management and made assessments of how the EU’s capacity for crisis management can be improved. Their analyses are collected in an anthology that was presented at the seminar.

In April, France holds presidential elections. It looks like Emmanuel Macron is going to win. SIEPS hosted a webinar on 6 April to discuss how Macron has changed French and European politics and how the result of the elections will affect the future of the EU.

Webbinarium 6 april: Frankrike – Europa – Macron 2.0? from Sieps on Vimeo.

On 10 and 24 April 2022 France will hold its presidential elections, with parliamentary elections to follow in June. President Emmanuel Macron is standing for re-election and currently looks almost certain to win. This SIEPS webinar on 6 April discussed how Macron has changed French and European politics, and how the results of these elections will affect France’s EU policies and the future of Europe. What is likely to change over the next five years?

The webinar put the changes in the French party landscape into European perspective. In which direction do these developments lead? And how does Macron’s presidency compare to his predecessors?

France has had a high profile in recent years, thanks to its pursuit of strategic autonomy for the EU and its diplomatic contacts with Russia. Putin's invasion of Ukraine greatly affects Europe, and is having a big impact on the French elections, French EU policy and the French Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The webinar also addressed France’s aspirations for the Conference on the Future of Europe, and whether the country will be able to cede more sovereignty to supranational institutions and is willing to accept being outvoted if decisions are taken by majority. Does the country want to embark on changing the EU treaties or does the public retain the Euroscepticism it showed in the 2005 referendum on the Constitution for Europe?

These are just some of the questions that were addressed at this webinar on the French elections in their European context. Four days before the first round of the presidential election, SIEPS tackled them with experts from France and Sweden.

The aim of the ongoing ‘Conference on the Future of Europe’ is to give citizens a role in directly shaping the future of European cooperation. European political parties played an important role in the design of the Conference and continue to mobilize participants. A SIEPS webinar on 30 March assessed the influence of the parties on the process as a whole, and how that influence was likely to be felt in the outcomes.

Webbinarium 30 mars: Europapartiernas makt över framtidskonferensen from Sieps on Vimeo.

The Conference on the Future of Europe was intended to revitalize democracy in the EU. In her Political Guidelines Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the Conference as a chance for citizens and civil society to debate the future activity and direction of the Union. European political parties are key actors: they promote political ideas at EU level, mobilize the public to participate in the Conference, and will seek to capitalize on Conference outcomes that support their vision(s) for the EU.

During the webinar political scientists Karl Magnus Johansson and Tapio Raunio presented their report ‘The Partisan Dimension of the Conference on the Future of Europe: agenda-setting, objectives and influence’ which analyses Europarties’ influence on the organisation and content of the Conference.

Swedish MP and vice-chair of the Committee on EU Affairs Jessika Roswall discussed the report with the authors.

What role does the Presidency of the Council of the EU have in the EU’s institutional system? France has an ambitious programme for its current term, and Sweden is preparing to take over in the first half of 2023. This webinar discussed what influence the presidency has over the direction of European affairs.

Webinar 2 February: What are the powers of the rotating Presidency? What can we expect from France’s Presidency? from Sieps on Vimeo.

From 1 January 2022, France holds the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU for six months. While the Treaty of Lisbon has changed the EU’s institutional structure and its internal balance of powers, the country holding the rotating Presidency still finds itself at the centre of EU policymaking. France, the Czech Republic and Sweden are part of the so-called Trio Presidency that covers the 18 months from January 2022 to June 2023. Sweden will take over the Council Presidency from the Czech Republic for the first half of 2023.

This webinar discussed the role of the Council Presidency in the EU’s institutional system. The panellists assessed what one can expect during such a six-month term: France is trying to actively shape the EU’s agenda through its role and has published an ambitious programme, while Sweden’s six-month Presidency is already under preparation. The Treaty of Lisbon has reduced the visibility that the Council Presidency enjoys, but the role still allows to exert influence over the direction of European affairs. The webinar will examine the opportunities and constraints that Council Presidencies are facing.

During the webinar, Olivier Rozenberg, Associate Professor at Sciences Po Paris and Austė Vaznonytė, Affiliate Researcher in Political Science at the Department of Public Governance and Management at Ghent University presented their European Policy Analyses on the subject.

The concept of strategic autonomy has been a frequent topic the last few years. The crisis management has expanded the discussion of strategic autonomy beyond security and defence. How do the Nordic countries relate to this pursuit of sovereignty and capacity to act? The similarities and differences in the countries’ attitudes were discussed in a webinar on 15 December 2021.

The EU’s capacity to act autonomously and promote its interests has become a central issue during later years due to the backdrop of rising global power competition and crisis management at home. The issue of EU’s strategic autonomy was initially limited to security and defence but has gradually grown to include more policy areas such as industrial policy, digitalization, and green transition. The interests of the Nordic member states coincide on many levels. How do Denmark, Finland, and Sweden relate to the discussion on strategic autonomy and the proposals to strengthen EU's position in the world?  

In this webinar the report Strategic autonomy – Views from the North was presented. 

Webinar 15th of December - Strategic autonomy - a view from the North from Sieps on Vimeo.