Florence – The Roundtable Workshop will explore what we know and what we need to know about the way in which the recent round of national referendums from Greece and Switzerland to the UK are beginning to challenge the institutions and policies of the European Union.
By definition each referendum is subject to national influences, and the effects of referendums vary. Yet national voters are also EU citizens, and national governments meeting in the European Council are accountable to referendum voters as well as having multi-national obligations. The sudden eruption of ballots or demands for referendums implies this phenomenon is symptomatic of transnational causes, such as developments in the Eurozone or popular dissatisfaction with the way in which EU institutions and nationally elected governments arrive at collective decisions in Brussels.
Each session will start with an expert presentation of 20 minutes dealing specifically with some aspect of the challenge that referendums have had or may produce for the EU’s handling of issues. The concluding session will focus on appropriate steps that the Schuman Centre could take to increase understanding of the causes and consequences of the surge of referendums that are now stalking Europe.
Thu 26 January 2017 09.00 – 17.30 & Fri 27 January 2017 09.00 – 14.00