27-28 May 2020, Online
Thomas Hoerber (EU*Asia Institute, ESSCA) and Kristina Kurze (Andrássy University Budapest) organised this online research workshop on the 27th and 28th of May 2020. Following the research developed in the frame of the « Governance of sustainability in Europe » network, this workshop will address several topics such as EU internal and external policies and its sustainable dimensions, the EU’s role in environmental negotiations, as well as possible contradictions between trade and sustainability policies.
Discussions and Topics:
The Workshop was divided into four panels that addressed the EU’s role from various angles and in different geographical spaces, including for instance the Western Balkans and the Southern neighbourhood. In addition, ‘least-likely-cases’ that are often neglected in EU sustainability research – such as Russia, Columbia and the Middle East – were also addressed. Moreover, different policy instruments and actors – such as the European Investment Bank – were analysed in view of their contribution to sustainability objectives. All of these case studies revealed context-specific deficits of the EU’s external sustainability policies. Nevertheless, papers adopting a global comparative perspective concluded the EU still acts as a ‘green leader’ at the international level. For more details on the topics and presenters please see the full programme here. Interestingly, participants also linked EU sustainability policies to current debates on a ‘green recovery’ and more precisely to the European Green Deal.
Outcome
Against this backdrop, Helen Dyrhauge and Kristina Kurze aim to further developing this theme in a common publication project. Participants of this Workshop as well as the Roskilde Workshop, that was held last year, are invited to contribute to an edited volume entitled “The European Green Deal in the making: EU sustainability policies at home and abroad”. It is proposed for publication in the Routledge Book Series Governance of Sustainability in Europe edited by Thomas Hoerber and Jenny Fairbrass. In October 2020, a paper writing workshop will be held to further pursue this publication project.
The full programme is available here
The EU is traditionally considered as a ‘leader’ in environmental politics and has committed itself to promoting sustainable development internally and externally. This commitment manifests itself in various EU standards and policies concerning the environment, but also other sectors. Hence, we embrace a comprehensive understanding of ‘sustainability policy’, including a broad range of related policies such as energy, climate, waste, water, transport, security, trade etc.
The interdisciplinary research workshop aims to bring together scholars and practitioners in the field to focus on analysing the external dimension of EU sustainability policy. The workshop seeks to critically address research questions such as the following: How is the EU contributing to (or undermining) sustainable development beyond its borders? How are sustainability concerns integrated in EU foreign policies towards neighbouring countries and other world regions? What is the EU’s role in the global energy transition? How is the EU performing in bilateral and multilateral negotiations? And finally, what are the repercussions of EU external sustainability policy for European integration?
To discuss these questions, we are pleased to invite about fifteen researchers, coming from many countries as matter experts.
