Policy Dialogue:

The European Union as crisis manager: patterns and prospects

Thursday 21 November 2013, 15.30-17.30 (registration from 15.10)
at Polak Room, Résidence Palace, Rue de la Loi 155, 1040 Brussels.

The European Policy Centre and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency are pleased to invite you to a Policy Dialogue on Thursday 21 November 2013, on The European Union as crisis manager: patterns and prospects.

A subtle shift in thinking about the EU’s role as a manager of crises is taking place, casting light not just on the EU’s role in crises abroad, but also in emergencies, disasters and infrastructure breakdowns at home. At the same time, a dynamic process of reorganising and strengthening the EU’s capacities and tools related to different types of crises is underway. This is happening across the institutions and was partially prompted by the Lisbon Treaty, which encourages joined-up crisis management, and by actual crises hitting the Union, including the Libyan and Syrian uprisings, pandemics and extreme weather events. The implications of these shifts both in thinking and practice are profound: citizens’ expectations of coordinated action are high, while new forms of crises are on the horizon.

Against this background, this Policy Dialogue will shed light on these issues and discuss the future of the EU as a transboundary crisis manager. Speakers include Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Deputy Secretary-General Maciej Popowski, European External Action Service (tbc), Erik Windmar, Member of Cecilia Malmström Cabinet, Directorate General for Home Affairs of the European Commission, and Antonio Missiroli, Director of the European Union Institute for Security Studies.

The event will be opened by Rosa Balfour, Senior Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre, and Helena Lindberg, Director-General of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency. Arjen Boin, Magnus Ekengren and Mark Rhinard, authors of the recently published book ‘The European Union as Crisis Manager’, will also take part in the debate.