Europe and the people: Examining the EU's democratic legitimacy - Leeds Conference

The topics of this conference are the concerns across Europe, the democratic legitimacy of EU institutions and the European project as a whole.

In the wake of the British vote to leave the EU, this conference will examine concerns across Europe around the democratic legitimacy of EU institutions and the European project as a whole. It will look at how the debate about EU democratic legitimacy across member states fit within the context of a crisis of trust in institutions at both national and international levels in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis.

The conference will explore the mechanisms through which EU institutions have sought to gain democratic legitimacy, comparing and contrasting with other national and international organisations. The conference will look to explore the potential democratic basis for a future UK-EU relationship post-Brexit, examining the emerging UK Government and EU thinking. The conference will explore the findings of the recent Foreign Policy Centre (FPC) publication Europe and the people: Examining the EU's democratic legitimacy that assessed the major challenges the EU faces and set out ideas for potential democratic and organisational reform. 

Speakers:

• Richard Corbett MEP
• Linda McAvan MEP
• Dr Victoria Honeyman, Lecturer, University of Leeds
• Dr Jim Buller, Senior Lecturer, University of York
• Dr Matthew Wood, Lecturer, University of Sheffield
• Dr Mette Wiggen, Lecturer, University of Leeds
• Professor Iyiola Solanke, Professor of EU Law and Social Justice, University of Leeds
• Adam Hug, Policy Director, Foreign Policy Centre
• Further speakers to be confirmed shortly

This conference series is supported by the European Commission Representation in the UK Call for Proposals for civil society organisations 2015-16. The event is independently organised by the FPC and th wide range of views on the matters under discussion are those of the speakers alone.

The event is free and open to all. Refreshments will be served.

Location details

Maurice Keyworth Building
Business School
University of Leeds
Leeds
LS2 9JT

Campus map

Please RSVP to events@fpc.org.uk providing your name and any affiliation.