Summary

The European General Studies programme at the College of Europe is organizing a three-year lecture series entitled “Global Europe and the (real) new Millennium” with the aim of initiating an interdisciplinary dialogue with leading intellectuals on the future of European societies and the possible turning point of 21^st century that we are currently witnessing. 

Thus, the series 'Global Europe and the (real) new millennium” invites to question the trajectory of European integration at the dawn of the 21st century. Around which principles will the construction of Europe take place? In what way should the new Weltaschauung that attempted to build the Union around its new geopolitical claim and the new green deal be recomposed? How, where and to what extent? What is the likely impact on the legal-political, economic and social models that the European Union wants to embody, what are the risks in terms of global and intra-European inequalities, and what are the new opportunities to build fairer societies? 

The first conference, which will take place on 2 of November 2021 at 8:30 pm will develop a discussion through historical perspectives. The event is entitled “The empire that never was. A Global history perspective on European integration”. Prof Patrick Pasture, professor of European and global history at the University of Leuven and author of Imagining European unity since 1000 AD, will rethink the critical approach to European history developed in his book in the aftermath of the global pandemic. Prof Pasture will debate about his conceptual approach with Prof Wolfram Kaiser, professor of the course "The historical foundations of the EU" at the College of Europe. The event will be moderated by Prof Didier Georgakakis, Academic Coordinator of the European General Studies programme. The discussion will also be the subject of a podcast available to a wider audience. 

The conference series is organized in collaboration with the journal Le Grand Continent (Groupe d’études Geopolitiques.

Participants

Patrick Pasture is Professor of European and Global History at the University of Leuven. As part of a history of religions in Europe, he leads the European H2020 project RETOPEA, which links conflict resolution processes with the promotion of religious tolerance. His recent books include Imagining European unity since 1000 AD (2015). 

Wolfram Kaiser, Visiting Professor at the College of Europe since 1996, he is University Professor of European Studies at the University of Portsmouth, England. His research interests include the history of European integration; the role of experts and expertise in different forms of integration since the 19th century; and representations of the EU and European integration in museums across Europe. His most recent books include: (with four co-authors) The European Ambition. The Group of the European People's Party and European Integration (2020), Shaping European Union: The European Parliament and Institutional Reform, 1979-1989 (2018). 

Didier Georgakakis is the Academic Coordinator of the European General Studies program at the College of Europe. He is Professor of Political Science at the University of Paris1-Panthéon Sorbonne where he holds a J. Monnet Chair. He is one of the founders of the sub-discipline Historical and Political Sociology of the EU. His teaching and research focus on European professionals and the transformations of European administration and politics, as well as on broader, transdisciplinary perspectives on theories of European integration and transnational social fields. He has published numerous books and articles, including The Euro-civil service in (times of) crisis. The changing power of Eurocrats (2017) and The Field of Eurocatie. A political sociology of the EU workforce (2012).

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