Call for Papers - 10th Anniversary CLEER Conference: ‘EU external relations: Tackling global challenges?’

On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, CLEER will organise a two-day academic conference at the T.M.C. Asser Institute on 6-7 December 2018. It will consist of several thematic panel sessions featuring presentations and discussions with senior and junior scholars as well practitioners, and keynote presentations from outstanding EU academics.
Academic coordination of this Conference is provided by CLEER Executive Board.

Conference Theme
Unprecedented challenges to globalisation, trade, multilateralism and the global order have come from various internal and external sources over the past few years. From Trump to Brexit, from an assertive Russia to the continuing migrant crises, and from the public outcry towards multilateral trade to the rise of populism, hardly any policy area has been recently operating ‘business as usual’. Indeed, the European Union and its Member States have no option but to accept these unprecedented challenges and find the best ways forward in attaining the external objectives laid down in the EU Treaties. This Conference takes stock of the actions (and reactions) of the European Union through external action instruments in a number of substantive areas such as migration, trade, neighbouring policies, and security and defence. It aims to reflect on the appropriateness and effectiveness of the institutional structures underpinning EU external action in addressing these challenges and suggest possible ways forward. This Conference, therefore, welcomes contributions from different areas of EU external relations, potentially combining a legal with a theoretical or policy perspective.

Possible topics include:

• An evaluation 10 years after the constitutional and policy innovations introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon in the area of EU external relations
• Legal and policy aspects of Brexit, the future settlement, and recent developments in light of the deadline of March 2019
• Migration and asylum policies within the framework of the external dimension of the area of freedom security and justice
• Legal aspects of trade and investment policies such as trade and sustainable development, ISDS, and EU compliance with international legal obligations in the context of economic agreements
• Recent developments in neighbouring policies especially with Russia, the Balkans and the Southern Mediterranean countries
• Permanent and Structured Cooperation in the area of security and defence
• Legal aspects of external aid in view of the future merger of different instruments under the next multi annual financial framework

Submission and selection of potential contributions
Interested researchers (in every stage of their careers) should submit an English abstract of around 500 words (approximately one page) addressing the conference theme as well as brief CVs to cleer@cleer.eu no later than 30 June 2018.

The organisers will review all submitted proposals and will be responsible for the composition of panels. A final selection will be made by the organisers, and the speakers will be notified by the end of July 2018.

Confirmed participants are expected to provide final drafts of their papers of between 8000-10.000 words, in electronic form, no later than 15 November 2018.

Selected papers, duly revised, may be considered for publication in CLEER Papers.

Travel costs and accommodation
CLEER will be able to cover part of the travel costs on a needs-basis as well as lunch for the selected participants, including accommodation in The Hague for one night.

CLEER is an academic platform for research coordination and cooperation between its members in view of joint events, joint publications, and funding opportunities. Since 2008 it links world-leading EU external relations experts from universities and institutions in the Netherlands and in Europe.