These are some of the issues on the agenda when Carl Bildt, Sweden’s Foreign Minister, and Villy Søvndal, Denmark’s Foreign Minister, give a joint lecture at University of Copenhagen on March 9th.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Villy Søvndal says:
”The Arab spring is a key development– arguably the most important foreign policy development right now. Conditions have been difficult for democracy and fundamental human rights in a number of countries, and it is now important that Denmark and the international community should assist these countries in the far-reaching and difficult transitional phase. We cannot know where this will end, but it contains the potential for progress that we did not imagine possible just a few months ago.”
Ole Wæver, a researcher from the University of Copenhagen, will open the lecture with an introduction to the EU and foreign policy, and the morning session will conclude with a debate with the audience.
Lecture series about the EU
This is the first lecture in a series during the Danish EU Presidency in the first half of 2012 which bring some of the challenges facing the EU today into focus.
The Danish EU Presidency, the European Commission and the universities of Aarhus and Copenhagen, where the lectures will also be held, are behind the initiative. The newspaper Politiken is the media partner in the lecture series.
Each lecture has a theme that two prominent EU actors – typically one from Denmark and one from Europe – will address in an introduction, after which the audience will be invited to take part in the debate.
A film about the arrangement will be posted on eu2012.dk’s online university after each lecture, where you can also keep up to date about coming lectures in the series.
Programme 09.03.12
- Welcome, with Ralf Hemmingsen, Rector of the University of Copenhagen
- Ole Wæver, Professor of International Politics at the University of Copenhagen.
- Carl Bildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden
- Villy Søvndal, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark
- Debate with the audience
Moderator: Michael Jarlner, foreign editor, Politiken
The lecture and debate will take place in Scandinavian languages.
Contact
Astrid Gufler, University of Copenhagen
Phone: +45 28 75 47 84, e-mail: asg@adm.ku.dk
Rina Valeur Rasmussen, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
Phone: +45 33 92 09 24, e-mail: rinras@um.dk