Eurozine News ItemEurozine2011-03-29The EU: the real sick man of Europe?Public debate in Vienna
Democratic deficit, enlargement fatigue and ever more rescue funds. Is there still a future for a common Europe? At the concluding event in the series "Europe talks to Europe", taking place in Vienna on 13 April, prominent intellectuals and opinion makers from western and eastern Europe will diagnose the malaise of the EU.
Across Europe, countries are clawing back the sovereignty they once willingly sacrificed in pursuit of a collective ideal. The late reaction to the democratic revolts in the Arab world only further underlined that Brussels lacks a vision of how to steer a common EU policy agenda.
Democratic deficit, enlargement fatigue and ever more rescue funds. Is there still a future for a common Europe? In a discussion in Eurozine's series "Europe talks to Europe", prominent intellectuals and opinion makers from western and eastern Europe diagnose the malaise of the EU.
THE EU: THE REAL SICK MAN OF EUROPE?
Speakers:
Sonja Puntscher-Riekmann (Salzburg)
Claus Offe (Berlin)
Ivan Krastev (Sofia)
Martin M. Simecka (Bratislava)
Chair: Therese Kaufmann (Vienna)
Introduction: Carl Henrik Fredriksson (Eurozine)
Language: English
Time: Wednesday, 13 April 2011, 7 p.m.
Place: Österreichische Gesellschaft für Literatur,
Herrengasse 5, 1010 Vienna
About the speakers
Sonja Puntscher-Riekmann is professor of political theory with a focus on European policy, director of the Salzburg Centre of European Union Studies -- Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, and vice-rector for international relations and communication at the University of Salzburg.
Claus Offe teaches political sociology at the Hertie School of Governance and was until his retirement in 2005 professor of political science at Humboldt University, Berlin.
Ivan Krastev is director of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia and Permanent Fellow at the Institute of Human Sciences, Vienna. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of ERSTE Foundation.
Martin M. Simecka is a Slovak author and journalist who acted as editor-in-chief of SME, Slovakia's leading daily newspaper, and as editor-in-chief of Respekt, where he is now a freelance editor and contributor.
Therese Kaufmann works at the European Institute for Progressive Cultural Policies (eipcp) in Vienna.
Europe talks to Europe
A polylogue on culture and politics
The series "Europe talks to Europe" is a cooperation of Eurozine and ERSTE Foundation. From autumn 2009 to spring 2011, a series of high-profile debates took place in different central and eastern European cities, including Budapest, Bratislava, Brno, Bucharest, Ljubljana, Sofia, Warsaw and Vienna, in collaboration with selected partners in the Eurozine network. Making use of a well-established media platform and a wide-ranging network of editors, authors and intellectuals, the debates aimed at making a substantial contribution to cross-border discussion on cultural identities and the European integration project.
The Vienna debate is the concluding event in the series "Europe talks to Europe". At the event, the second volume in the Eurozine im:print series will be presented to the public. Entitled "Europe talks to Europe. A polylogue on culture and politics", the journal contains texts based on the discussions as well as further articles and interviews on the topics dealt with in the debate series.
More information about the debate series Europe talks to Europe.
With the financial support of the European Commission and the ERSTE Foundation.