European Council
Topic area A: The completion of Europe (2020 Strategy)
‘World peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it. [..] A united Europe was not achieved and we had war. Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create de facto solidarity.’ The day Robert Schuman spoke these words is still regarded as the birthday of the European Union. On the 9th of May 1950, Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet published their internationally renowned Schumanplan. This was the beginning of the European Coal and Steel Community, a community that would grow to become the European Union. The original plan was signed by six countries during the Paris Convention of 1951. With the aim of a peace initiative, it was realized that Europe can only be built through practical achievements and through the establishment of common bases for economic development.
It has been sixty years since that celebrated Convention, the European Union now has twenty seven member states and is considering the accession of even more states. The Union has its own currency and its own Court of Justice. With the Union coming closer to full integration, various issues are rising. With Greece on the edge of bankruptcy, the IMF is itching to march into the euro zone and intervene. Without a closer fiscal union, how long can Brussels hold the currency together? This question also intensifies the debate on the accession of more states, and the potential financial risk they might bring along.
Topic area B: EU Summit on Russian partnership
The Russian Federation supplies over thirty percent of the oil and over forty percent of the gas in the European Union. Some European states are even fully dependent on the Russian energy. In return, the European Union is the main market for Russian exporters. However, with the recent fights between Georgian and Russian troops in 2008 and the temporary stop on gas supplies in the winter of 2009, the relationship cooled down somewhat.
Russia is a potential strategic partner for the European Union. Successful co-operations, for example the joint piracy fighting in Somalia has created a proper foundation for future partnerships. The first move towards tightening the bonds between both parties has been made by a recent summit on the modernization of Russia through an EU-Russian partnership. Both the European Union and Russia find themselves standing at crossroads. The European Union is working on their 2020 strategy and Russia is building a modern diversified and dynamic economy, basing Russia’s modernization on democratic values. The European Union has shown willingness in becoming Russia’s partner in this process of modernization.
However, there are still a couple of issues that make this partnership challenging. One of those issues is the climate of impunity in Chechnya and other parts of the Northern Caucasus. The European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) has issued 115 judgments to date, on cases concerning serious human rights violations. In nearly all of these cases, the Court has held Russia responsible for enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, torture and for failing to properly investigate the supposed crimes. Although President Medvedev of Russia shares the concern on this climate of impunity, European member states, remain concerned. The European – Russian dialogue does not need a reset, it needs a fast forward.
In-committee lecture
The committee will be introduced by dr. Marcel de Haas, who is a Senior researcher at the Centre for Russian Studies at the University of Groningen. The Centre for Russian Studies concentrates on studying Russia in the widest sense and in particular on Russian-Dutch relationships. Besides, Marcel de Haas is a Senior Research Associate at the Clingendael Security and Conflict Programme. In the past he has fulfilled positions as military-political analyst, lecturer in international relations and international law, head research branch NATO School and policy advisor at the Dutch Defence Staff. One of his current projects at the Clingendael Institute is the cooperation between Russia and the EU.