Past conferences and workshops
Workshop on 'The Politics of Informing the EU'
Maastricht University, 1 -2 December 2011
The 2-day workshop The Politics of Informing the EU was an opportunity to present the first results of a research agenda that focuses on the EU and its institutions as complex systems of information processing. The central focus was on the way in which information is accessed, channeled and processed with a view to the formulation, legal design and implementation of EU policies. The workshop (and the subsequent edited volume) was organized around 5 themes:
I. Theoretical and conceptual approaches on the ‘politics of informing’
II . European institutions and bureaucracies as information processors
III. The role of organized interests as a source of information and expertise
IV. Informing the European Public
V. The informational basis of EU foreign politics
Local organisers at Maastricht University:
Prof.dr. Tannelie Blom
Prof.dr. Sophie Vanhoonacker
Relations between the European Union and Asia
Maastricht University, 8-9 September 2011
This conference brought together some 25 scholars to discuss a range of issues that concern the relations between the EU and Asia - a relationship that is widely seen as a crucial axis in the future development of global politics in a multipolar age. Different panel focuused on the political, economic and institutional dimensions of the relationship, while others compared the respective responses to global challenges in each region. The conference took place in the framework of the Jean Monnet Multilateral Research Group on EU-Asia Relations that includes also scholars from Birmingham University (UK), Kobe University (JP), Melbourne University (AUS), Pusan National University (ROK) and Renmin University (CH). The papers presented at the conference will subsequently contribute to a Handbook on EU-Asia Relations to be published by Palgrave Macmillan.
Organiser: Prof. T. Christiansen
Where now for Europarties: Reflections post-Lisbon
(20-21 June 2011, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Maastricht University, the Netherlands)
The workshop aimed at addressing the challenges that the Europarties face in the light of the new EU constitutional reforms, contributing to the scholarly debates on the role of Europarties for the EU political system and democratic accountability as well as raising new ideas and research agendas on Europarties. The organizers welcomed papers on the issues of conceptualizing Europarties, the organizational consolidation of Europarties and their activity within the EP and EU decision-making process, the role of Europarties in promoting and safeguarding the democratic accountability, as well as Europarties as regional and global actors. The workshop brought together Europarty representatives, academic experts, as well as young PhD researchers. One of the most important achievements of our workshop was the roundtable discussion with the participation of Prof. Geoffrey Pridham (moderator), Sir Julian Priestley (former Secretary General of the European Parliament), as well as Luc Vandenpute (European People’s Party) and Philip Corderey (Party of European Socialists).
Organizing team: Dr. Natalia Timus (Maastricht University), Dr.Simon Lightfoot (University of Leeds), Prof. Michael Shackleton (Maastricht University) and Dr. Christine Neuhold (Maastricht University)
Annual work conference 2010 of the Netherlands School of Governance (NIG)
On 25-26 November, 2010 the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences hosted the yearly conference of the Dutch School of Governance.
The EU Diplomatic System after Lisbon: Institutions Matter
(Maastricht University, 18-19 November 2010)
The aim of this exploratory and interdisciplinary two-day workshop was to contribute to current debates about the institutional dimension of the emerging EU system of diplomacy and to identify the key challenges to be addressed in the short and medium term. The organisers encouraged an input from scholars from different disciplines, ranging from IR to law, comparative politics, public administration, organisation theory etc. The workshop was open to both established and young academics as well as to practitioners.
The workshop took place in the framework of the Jean Monnet Multilateral Research Network on ‘The Diplomatic System of the European Union’ organised by the universities of Loughborough (UK) (Prof. M. Smith), Leuven (BE) (Prof. S. Keukeleire) and Maastricht (Prof. S. Vanhoonacker).
For more information about this Network, see: http://dseu.lboro.ac.uk
Organising team: prof.dr.Sophie Vanhoonacker, Heidi Maurer MA, dr. Petar Petrov and dr. Karolina Pomorska (all Maastricht University)
INCOOP workshop ‘Theory and Concepts 1 “Modes of European Governance”
(September 29 – October 1, 2010 at Maastricht University)
The first workshop of the Initial Training Network on Inter-institutional Cooperation in the EU (INCOOP) was held at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (Maastricht University, The Netherlands) from 29. September – October 1st 2010. This was the first of a series of seminars on Theories and Concepts within this network. This workshop was devoted to Modes of European Governance, with a special focus on the role of EU institutions. It was the first time all the scientific members came together with all the researchers recruited so far by the different network nodes. The aim was to elaborate on the common conceptual framework of the network. In this quest we had lectures by network members and external speakers such as Prof. Guy Peters. The researchers also had a first opportunity to present and discuss their research. Practicalities of working within such a network were also discussed.
Organising team: prof.dr. Sophie Vanhoonacker and dr. Christine Neuhold
Ambitions and Reality of the Common Agricultural Policy: Historical and interdisciplinary Perspectives
(Workshop, 12 April 2010 at Maastricht University)
Organiser: Dr. Carine Germond (Maastricht University/ DHIP-IHA Paris)
Peer Reviews as an Instrument of Global Governance
(Workshop, 9-10 April 2010 at University of Bremen)
States have long been experimenting with techniques of peer reviewing, most prominently in the context of the OECD, but also in a range of other international organizations, such as the United Nations family, the WTO, the EU, the African Union, but also in international environmental regimes and private self-regulatory initiatives. The workshop focused on a comparative perspective on peer reviews, covering
questions like the emergence and institutional evolution of peer reviewing arrangements in different organizational and policy contexts, the extent to which the OECD serves as a role model for the conduct of peer reviews, and the ways in which peer reviews from part of wider continental governance ‘architectures’, as for example in the European Union and the African Union.
Organising team: Dr. T. Conzelmann (Maastricht University) and Dr. K. Martens (University of Bremen)
The Council General Secretariat: Past and new Developments
(Workshop, 26 March 2010 at Maastricht University)
Organising team: Prof. Dr. S. Vanhoonacker (Maastricht University) and Prof. Dr. D. Curtin (University of Amsterdam)
Civil Servants and Politics: A delicate Balance
(Workshop, 4-5 March 2010 at the Montesquieu Institute Maastricht - Maastricht University)
Organising team: Prof. Dr. L. Verhey (Montesquieu Institute Maastricht), Prof. Dr. S. Vanhoonacker, (Maastricht University), Dr. C. Neuhold (Maastricht University), S. Hardt LL.M. (Maastricht University)
Bureaucracy at work: The role of the administrative level in ESDP
(Workshop, 18-19 June 2009 at Maastricht University)
Organising team: Prof. Dr. S. Vanhoonacker, H. Dijkstra MA, H. Maurer MA, Dr. Petar Petrov, Dr. Karolina Pomorska (all Maastricht University)
The Process of Institutionalising regulatory Governance Networks
(Workshop, 28-29 May 2009 at EIPA Maastricht)
Organising team: Prof. Dr. T. Christiansen, Dr. P. Stephenson, Dr. E. Versluis
“Vales vs Security? The Choice for the EU and Its Neighbours”
(5-6 June 2008 at Maastricht University)
Organizers: Gergana Noutcheva, Karolina Pomorska, Giselle Bosse
