Call for interest – Navigating Crisis in the EU: what lessons to be learned?

Doctoral workshop and networking event of the Young BEDER

(Association for European Union law /Association pour le droit de l’Union européenne/ Belgische Vereniging voor het Europees Unierecht)

The brand-new Belgian Association of European Union Law (BEDER) has been recently created thanks to the common effort of various Belgian universities. The BEDER association aims to build a dynamic network bringing together experts on EU law in Belgium, both within the academic and institutional world. The BEDER also includes a “Young” section (Young BEDER) aiming to involve junior academics and practitioners interested in European Union law.

On 22 November 2024, the association's official launch event will take place at the Egmont Palace (Brussels), featuring a keynote speech by President Koen Lenaerts. In conjunction with this launch event, “Young BEDER” will also be launched with a doctoral workshop from 12h00 to 15h00. This event will be an opportunity for young scholars to present their work, to hear more about this new association and to meet other young scholars working in the field of EU law in Belgium.

The workshop is centered around the theme "Navigating Crisis in the EU: what lessons to be learned?”. The EU has encountered numerous crises throughout its history, ranging from economic downturns and migration surges to democratic backsliding and global pandemics. Amidst these challenges, the EU has developed various response strategies, each offering valuable insights into crisis management and resilience-building. We invite young scholars with a link to Belgium to explore the multifaceted dimensions of the EU's reactions to crises and to reflect on the lessons derived from these experiences. For instance, one might think of contributions touching upon the following board themes (not exhaustive):

• What is the definition of a crisis at EU level? Can we identify a core of EU crisis law or EU emergency law?
• Has the EU learned some lessons from past crises when dealing with present crises?
• How have crises influenced the EU institutional framework e.g. use of certain legal bases, creation of new legal acts, role given to certain EU institutions?
• How do crises influence the relationship between the Union and the Member States?
• How do crises impact the protection and enforcement of EU fundamental rights and values?
• How can the EU reconcile the protection of EU fundamental rights and the need to tackle crises e.g. in the framework of CFSP, rule of law conditionality, migration law?
• How can the EU enhance its regulatory and policy frameworks to manage crises in the form of technological disruptions, such as artificial intelligence and algorithms?
• Is the EU framework well equipped to ensure a just transition and while tackling the climate crisis?
• How have crises influenced trust between Member States, and, if so, how could this be restored?

Those interested in presenting their work are kindly invited to send an email with a CV, a title and a short abstract to young@beder.be by the 30 September 2024.