European Political Identity at the Crossroads: Advancing European Integration
EUCA Summer School – 4th edition
Newnham College, University of Cambridge
03 -18 September 2013
Introduction
In September 2012, during his annual speech on the State of the Union, the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Durão Barroso made a case for the European Union to be turned into a "federation of nation states", in a sweeping demand for countries to surrender more sovereignty and move towards full integration.
"Let's not be afraid of the words: We will need to move towards a federation of nation states. This is our political horizon. This is what must guide our work in the years to come," he said.
Mr. Barroso continues: “A democratic federation of nation states that can tackle our common problems, through the sharing of sovereignty in a way that each country and its citizens are better equipped to control their own destiny”.
This vision would require another overhaul of the EU's treaty - the fundamental set of laws that govern how the European Union is managed. Changing the EU treaty has happened in the past, although it is a complex and lengthy process that often raises tensions among member states.
EUCA Cambridge Summer School
To understand better the new perspectives that the present European leaders are advocating, EUCA organizes once again a two week seminar devoted to an exploration of topics of interest in the future development of the European Union and its neighbours, including the evolution of the European legal system to present, the future of the euro and European economic governance, the relevance of the Arab spring for Europe, etc. Three seminars per day will be given by faculty who are specialists in political theory, European affairs, sociology, law, moral philosophy, Islamic affairs, and economics.
There will also be a number of broader liberal arts offering, with a talk by Mr. Lembit Peterson, the Artistic Director of Theatrum, Estonia, and a classical music concert by Nightingale String Quartet from Copenhagen.
Students and faculty will be housed on the stately grounds of Newnham College, where the seminars will be given and meals will be taken in common. There will be opportunities on the weekends to tour the University of Cambridge and its many historical Colleges, go punting on the river Cam and the chance for cultural trips to London’s museum, galleries, and many historical sights.
The seminar will conclude with a Formal Dinner in Newnham’s famous Victorian Dining Hall.
Faculty and seminar topics
Dr Thomas D’Andrea, University of Cambridge. The European Social Democratic Project: Philosophical and Theological Foundations.
Prof Andreas Kinneging, University of Leiden. United We Stand, Divided We Fall: A case for the United States of Europe.
Dr Harald Wydra, University of Cambridge. Two Or More Europes? Memory, Identity and History.
Prof Andrei Holodny, Chief of Neuroradiology, Cornell University Medical College, New York, USA. Brain Science and Future Society.
Ms Naema Tahir, British-Dutch-Pakistani Human rights lawyer, author, broadcaster and expert in Islamic affairs. Muslim integration in Europe.
Mr Riccardo Ribera d’Alcalá, Director-General for Internal Policies of the Union European Parliament. Dynamics of the European integration process-Insights from the European Parliament.
Ms Cristina Castagnoli, European External Action Service. EU Foreign Policy: The State of Play.
Mr Aindrias Ó Caoimh, Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union-6th Chamber. The role of the European Court of Justice in the European Integration process.
Mr Jens Christiansen, Head of Denmark’s Europol Desk, Europol Headquarters, The Hague-National Security And Member State Cooperation in the European Project.
Mr Lembit Peterson, Artistic Director of Theatrum, Tallinn, Estonia (former Director of the National Academic Drama Theatre, Estonia). Theatre in the life of the educated European citizen.
Venue
The Summer School will take place at the Newnham College, one of the 31 Colleges of the University of Cambridge. Newnham College was established in 1871 as a house in which young women could reside while attending lectures in Cambridge. For more information please visit www.newn.cam.ac.uk
Who can participate?
The EUCA Summer School is open to 25 students from EUCA Colleges who will be selected based on their applications containing:
1. Letter of motivation where the applicants are required to present themselves and their academic career, explain their interest in the topics of the Summer School, previous knowledge in these fields (if any), and what do they hope to achieve by participating. (between 2500 and 5000 characters without spaces);
2. Curriculum vitae
3. Proof of fluency in English
Applications * should be send to .
*Applicants from colleges in Spain should send their request to:
* Applicants from colleges in Italy should send their request to:
Deadline to send the application is May 5th 2013.
Academic record, personal interest, motivation and the linguistic competence of the candidates will be evaluated by EUCA also through a Skype interview. Preselected candidates will have the online interview with a member of the EUCA staff by June 2013. The best applications will be sent to the Director of the Summer School, Dr. Thomas D’Andrea for the final selection.
Contact information
For any additional request for information please contact:
Mirela Mazalu
Filippo Ballarini - EUCA Italy
Carlos García - EUCA Spain