Conference on Democracy and the Model of the future EU
9 October 2009 - 10 October 2009
Austria
The EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Vladimir Spidla will make the opening speech at the conference, which aims to engage participants in a constructive discussion on the models addressing the challenges of the traditional nation state and the future of the European Union.
The topics for discussion include three alternative models for the EU, explored in-depth within the RECON project, such as:
- Reframing the EU as a functional regulatory regime and reconstituting democracy at the national level;
- Establishing the EU as a multinational federal state;
- Developing a post-national Union with an explicit cosmopolitan imprint
The aim of the RECON project and its conference is to identify strategies through which democracy can be strengthened and propose measures for rectifying institutional and constitutional defects in different policy areas. RECON’s research thus brings forth knowledge of great relevance for the ongoing process of reforming European and national institutions.
The first day of the conference will be devoted to one keynote speech on each of the three RECON models for the EU - regulatory regime, multicultural federal state or a cosmopolitan order. A roundtable on each model will allow for more in-depth discussions and on preliminary findings from the project. The broader academic community as well as policy makers, civil society actors and the wider public will be invited to this session.
The second day will be devoted to parallel work sessions on the discussion of ongoing research within the RECON project and amongst others, on topics related to constitutional politics, the issues of gender, democracy and justice, the civil society and the public sphere, as well as the political economy of the European Union.
RECON is a large-scale European research project with a duration of five years (2007-2011), which is initiated and coordinated by ARENA – Centre for European Studies at the University of Oslo. The consortium consists of 19 universities and research institutions across Europe.For more information on the event and the outcome of the research within the RECON Project: http://www.reconproject.eu/projectweb/portalproject/RECONmidtermConferenceOct09.html(opens in new window)
The topics for discussion include three alternative models for the EU, explored in-depth within the RECON project, such as:
- Reframing the EU as a functional regulatory regime and reconstituting democracy at the national level;
- Establishing the EU as a multinational federal state;
- Developing a post-national Union with an explicit cosmopolitan imprint
The aim of the RECON project and its conference is to identify strategies through which democracy can be strengthened and propose measures for rectifying institutional and constitutional defects in different policy areas. RECON’s research thus brings forth knowledge of great relevance for the ongoing process of reforming European and national institutions.
The first day of the conference will be devoted to one keynote speech on each of the three RECON models for the EU - regulatory regime, multicultural federal state or a cosmopolitan order. A roundtable on each model will allow for more in-depth discussions and on preliminary findings from the project. The broader academic community as well as policy makers, civil society actors and the wider public will be invited to this session.
The second day will be devoted to parallel work sessions on the discussion of ongoing research within the RECON project and amongst others, on topics related to constitutional politics, the issues of gender, democracy and justice, the civil society and the public sphere, as well as the political economy of the European Union.
RECON is a large-scale European research project with a duration of five years (2007-2011), which is initiated and coordinated by ARENA – Centre for European Studies at the University of Oslo. The consortium consists of 19 universities and research institutions across Europe.For more information on the event and the outcome of the research within the RECON Project: http://www.reconproject.eu/projectweb/portalproject/RECONmidtermConferenceOct09.html(opens in new window)