New Tauranga lecture series looks at survival of the European Union

The University of Waikato’s new Tauranga public lecture series began in July with hundreds braving the wild weather to hear Professor Devon Polaschek discuss psychopathy. For the second lecture of the series on Thursday 17 August, Dr Simona Soare from the European Parliament and the Université of Saint Louis in Belgium will discuss ‘Europe in crisis: the impact of migration, terrorism and populism.’

Dr Soare, who is the Security and Defence Advisor to the Vice-President of the European Parliament – which represents the second largest democratic electorate in the world - will explore how the integration of Europe is threatened and how democracy is in danger of being rolled back under the impact of these threats. Dr Soare is also a Research Associate with the Institute of European Studies at the Université of Saint Louis in Belgium.

According to Dr Soare, the integrity and viability of the European project is threatened by multiple crises including a crisis of political legitimacy culminating in the rise of populism, extremism and Brexit; a severe migration crisis; and the complex threat of international terrorism and foreign terrorist fighters returning to Europe.

“To survive, the European Union is implementing an ambitious strategy to re-gain the trust of its citizens by re-capturing the functions of successful polities: a monopoly on the use of force, reliable and credible control of borders, and the upper hand on the political narrative. The future of the European project may depend on its success and effectiveness. While there are several risks that, left unaddressed, may derail Brussels’ efforts, there are also important signs of success for the Union’s strategy so far.”

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states with an estimated population of 510 million people or 6.9% of the world population.

Dr Soare researches, advises and drafts policy on European and transatlantic security, including the EU Global Strategy, the EU’s security relations with the US, NATO and emerging powers, and transnational and trans-regional security issues. She holds a PhD in International Relations and an MA in International Security and Conflict Studies from the National University of Political and Administrative Studies (NUPAS) in Romania and is a former US State Department Fellow.

Event: University of Waikato 2017 Tauranga Public Lecture Series.
Speaker: Dr Simona Soare, Security and Defence Advisor to the Vice-President of the European Parliament and Research Associate at Université Saint Louis, Belgium.
Topic: Europe in crisis: the impact of populism, migration and terrorism.
Time & Date: 17 August 2017. Doors open 5.30pm, lecture starts 6.00pm.
Location: Trinity Wharf, 51 Dive Crescent, Tauranga.
To register for this event go to: http://bit.ly/2uxJSZL
For more information visit: http://bit.ly/2wCuI79

© Scoop Media