Following the book "The comeback of Europe: After the crises, the future" (in Dutch: De comeback van Europa: Na de crisissen, de toekomst) by MEP Kathleen Van Brempt, the STRATEGO Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence is organising a panel discussion on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, 16:00 - 18:00h.
About the event
The STRATEGO Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence is organising a panel discussion with MEP Kathleen Van Brempt. In her book "The comeback of Europe: After the crises, the future", Van Brempt provides a comprehensive exploration of how the European Union has effectively addressed a series of crises over the past few years, ranging from the financial crisis and the pandemic to the ongoing challenges posed by climate change. During the event, Kathleen Van Brempt will first shed light on the themes and inspiration behind her recent book. Afterwards, a panel discussion aims to delve deeper into the insights and perspectives shared in the book. Panelists are prof. Hans Bruyninckx, expert in environment/climate, and prof. Philippe Beutels, expert in health/covid. The panel is moderated by prof. Peter Bursens, coordinator of the STRATEGO Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. Following the initial panel discussion, we will open the floor to the audience for questions.
Practical information
- Date & time – Wednesday, March 6, 2024, 16:00 - 18:00h
- Venue – University of Antwerp, Stadscampus (city centre), Meerminne building, Sint-Jacobstraat 2, room M.003
- Registration – Participation is free, but registration is required for reasons of logistics. Registration has closed.
- Target audience – Students, practitioners, researchers interested in the EU
About the panelists
- Kathleen Van Brempt is a convinced social democrat and European. Since 2009 she has been a Member of the European Parliament for Vooruit. Van Brempt is a sociologist and was previously also Federal Secretary of State and Minister in the Flemish government.
- Hans Bruyninckx is full professor of Environmental Governance at the research group Politics & Public Governance (PPG), Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Antwerp. Moreover, he is adjunct senior research fellow at the Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. Previously, he was Executive Director at the European Environment Agency. He is an expert in European and international environmental policy, the effects of globalization on the management of environmental issues and sustainable development.
- Philippe Beutels is full professor, founder and director of the Centre for Health Economics Research & Modelling Infectious Diseases (CHERMID), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp. He is a regular advisor to international institutions, and took up leading roles in many interdisciplinary research projects, including currently the ESCAPE (2023-2026) and PROMISE (2021-2024) projects of the European Union, on pandemic intelligence and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), respectively. Furthermore, he is co-promoter of the STRATEGO Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence.
About the book – The comeback of Europe: After the crises, the future
After years of relative peace, the European Union had to deal with one crisis after another. From the financial crisis to the war in Ukraine. From Brexit to the pandemic. Initially, the Union did not know how to deal with such crises. But little by little, crisis after crisis, we have pushed back faster and more powerfully. We have shown that we can be resilient in a world that has become more uncertain and unstable.
In The Comeback of Europe, MEP Kathleen Van Brempt describes how the European Union has navigated its way through those crises. It is a story of unexpected twists, of new challenges, and of learning-by-doing. Van Brempt takes stock of the European Union today and describes the challenges for the Europe of tomorrow. What place does Europe occupy on the increasingly turbulent world stage? What does it mean to be European? Can we win the fight against climate change, and how? These are just some of the questions that Van Brempt answers in this book.
At the same time, Van Brempt puts an end to the populist and persistent clichés that exist about the European project. Drawing on her extensive experience as a Member of the European Parliament and her belief in the power and added value of European cooperation.
The book is written in Dutch: De comeback van Europa: Na de crisissen, de toekomst, https://ertsberg.be/boek/de-comeback-van-europa/