Each year in early September, the UACES conference is a highlight of the academic calendar in European Studies. And each year, the EU-Asia Institute, which had the great honour to host the event in Angers in 2009, contributes very actively to the interesting programmes of multidisciplinary panels and, hopefully, to the stimulating atmosphere of constructive exchange that has become a trademark of the event.
The 2017 edition took place in Krakow, Poland, at the Jagiellonian University, flagging over 400 different research papers and several side-events. ESSCA and the EU-Asia Institute were duly represented:
For the eighth consecutive year in a row, Thomas Hoerber set up a panel on European Space Policy. The conference is an occasion to take stock of what has been achieved by the standing research group on the topic he coordinates, and present the activities to potential new members. Thomas also served as chair for a panel on ‘The Governance of European Energy Policy’, a field he has himself widely published in. Moreover, he took part in a non-traditional panel entitled ‘Judge a book by its cover’, where he discussed his volume European Space Policy (Routledge) together with his co-editor Paul Stephenson (Maastricht University).
Multi-national, multi-lingual, multi-talented: the team of the EU-Asia institute at the UACES conference in Krakow.
Antonella Forganni, who also participated in the Space Policy Panel, presented an additional paper in a panel on ‘Obstacles to Europeanisation’, receiving high-quality feedback on her reflexions on ‘The Standstill of the European Integration Process and Reversibility Issues’. Together with Anna Dimitrova, she also attended the so-called ‘Learning and Teaching Workshop’ always organised on the eve of the research conference, and will recapitulate the discussions at the next internal meeting of the EU-Asia Institute. Besides the pedagogical workshop, Anna also presented an own paper in her field of expertise, on the topic ‘Politicizing Trade and Trans-Atlantic Relations’.
As for Wei Shen and Miguel Otero Iglesias, both were once again very active in the field of EU-China relations. While Wei spoke about ‘EU-China Relations in Times of Global Uncertainty’, Miguel discussed the question ‘Increased Chinese Investment in Europe: Blessing or Curse?’.
On a more general note, many panels and papers, as well as some of plenary sessions were, of course, concerned with the state of the Brexit negotiations. It is only logical that the UACES conference returns to Britain in 2018, when it will be hosted by the University of Bath. Once more, the EU-Asia Institute will be pleased to be involved in this vibrant international research community.
