Centre od International Relations

The workshop “The Impact of the Crisis on Regional Economic and Financial Integration in Asia and Europe” was jointly organised by Asia-Europe Foundation, Asian Development Bank Institute, University of Ljubljana - Centre of International Relations (CIR), Prospex, Brussels and Europe-Asia Policy Forum; Ljubljana, September 14-16, 2011.

As an introduction to the workshop a public panel “Asia, Europe, and Global Financial Integration” was organized with the participation of 5 panelists (photo 1). Its objective was to inform public about the major challenges the world and Europe and Asia are facing as a result of the global financial crises, as well as to enhance public awareness of tectonic changes taking place in the world, with Asia becoming the driving force of such changes. Panel was opened by Slovenian Minister for Foreign Affairs Samuel Žbogar (photo 2) and chaired by prof. Marjan Svetličič, CIR, University of Ljubljana and TEPSA Board member. Experts participating in this workshop included the former Finance Minister of Thailand, Dr Chalongphob Sussangkarn, Dr Noritaka Akamatsu (Asian Development Bank); Prof Yu Yongding (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences); Prof Žiga Turk (Reflection Group on the Future of the EU 2030 and University of Ljubljana); and Prof Iain Begg (London School of Economics and TEPSA Board member).

According to Minister Žbogar, the Asia–Europe meeting (ASEM) provided Europeans and Asians with the opportunity for debate, contributing to greater cooperation between the two continents. He noted that political dialogue played an important role as it could respond to the key issues addressing the future of cooperation and integration. This group explored, among other issues, whether the solution to the prolonged economic crisis could be achieved through the leadership of Asia and Europe rather than awaiting a US-led response. Experts called for Asia and Europe to lead Bretton-Woods reform. The experts recommended that the path through this crisis lay with Asian and European leaders taking a proactive stance in revitalizing and reforming the Bretton Woods institutions to meet the needs of a multi-polar, post-crisis world. The experts urged Asian and European leaders to start formally the process of reforming international economic governance in a process akin to the one culminating in the original Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. While Asia and Europe could share the responsibility of convening and bringing the process to completion, all other nation states, including the US, should be invited to participate. Joint Asia-Europe study groups could be mandated to draft agreements on specific topics as the basis for negotiations. The key recommendations for Asia-Europe dialogue from the Ljubljana discussions will be conveyed to the 48 members of the Asia-Europe Meeting. The Slovenian government has been urged by the workshop organizers to consider hosting the 10th ASEM Finance Ministers’ Meeting, which is expected to convene next year.

Workshop took place at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana with the participation of experts from 18 countries. The total number of European and Asian participants and those representing international organizations in their personal capacity was 20. The reason was to have a small productive group focusing on major challenges Europe, Asia and the world are facing in the next two decades.

Several researchers from the CIR will participate in the 8th CEEISA conference to be held between 15 and 17 June in Istanbul, Turkey.
Petra Roter, Aljaž Kunčič and Zlatko Šabič, together with another researcher from Slovenia (Janez Šušteršič), will contribute to a set of panels on Central Europe in Global Politics, jointly organised by Zlatko Šabič and Petr Drulák from the Prague Institute of International Relations. The conference will be attended also by Maja Bucar, who is presenting her paper »Involving civil society in the international development cooperation of »new« EU member states at the panel The »East« meets the »South«: Global and development policies of Central and Eastern European states. The panel has attracted presentations of 8 research papers from as many countries.

At the conference a Round table: Old and new forms of political community in Europe: perspectives on the inside/outside divide is being chaired by Ana Bojinovic Fenko and attended by three researchers of CIR: Marko Lovec, Daniel Crncec and Jure Požgan as well as Milan Brglez as a commentator.

On November 11th and 12th, 2010 CIR researchers organized a workshop of FP7 project ServPPIN (The Contribution of Public and Private Services to European Growth and Welfare, and the Role of Public-Private Innovation Networks). The event was held at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana. 25 participants from eleven teams discussed the main outcomes of the project that ends in January 2011, plan of publications and organisation of final diffusion meeting in Brussels in January aimed to inform policy makers and policy officers about the main outcomes of the project. [photo1] [photo2]

Slovenian contribution to EU-27 Watch No. 9 published
The new issue of the EU-27 Watch including the Slovenian country report written by the Centre for International Relations is now available at: www.EU-27Watch.org. The EU-27 Watch No. 9 gives an overview on the current national debates on European policy in the 27 EU member states and the 4 candidate countries. The topics discussed in the EU-27 No. 9 are: the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, enlargement and the European Neighbourhood Policy, the financial crisis and economic policy, and climate and energy policy. A comparative introduction gives an overview of the debates in the 31 countries covered by the EU-27 Watch.