[Conference] Public interests without borders: investigating the EU’s transnational ambitions

The European Union (EU) has long positioned itself as a global force for good, striving to promote peace, security, human rights, and sustainable development beyond its borders. But how does it achieve these goals in practice? And more importantly, are its policies truly serving the global public interest, or are they shaping international affairs in ways that deserve closer scrutiny?

Article 3(5) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) sets out the EU’s commitment to advancing global public goods, from eradicating poverty to enforcing human rights and environmental sustainability. In recent years, this ambition has materialised in tangible ways—through trade agreements embedding human rights clauses, new regulations targeting deforestation and forced labour, and the implementation of global human rights sanctions.

One of the most striking developments has been the EU’s push for mandatory due diligence, requiring businesses operating within its market to ensure that their supply chains do not contribute to human rights abuses or environmental harm. This regulatory power extends far beyond Europe, affecting industries, workers, and governments worldwide. Similarly, in its trade policies, the EU increasingly integrates sustainability and human rights standards, shaping how global commerce operates.

While these measures seek to create a more ethical and sustainable world, they also raise important questions about legitimacy, effectiveness, and fairness.

This conference will gather experts to assess the real-world effects of these policies, focusing on:

• How the EU’s regulations impact global trade, labour rights, and environmental policies.
• Whether these policies achieve their goals or create new challenges for affected countries.
• Who decides what counts as ‘public interest’ on a global scale—should it be the EU?
• Whether affected countries have enough say in shaping these policies.
• If these policies represent a responsible global strategy or a continuation of past colonial influences.

This conference aims to contribute to the Asser Institute’s strategic research agenda to rethink public interests in international and European Law and, more specifically, to study critically, in the context of the EU, the decoupling of the pursuit of the public interest from the territorial state and the challenges it poses. 

View the draft programme of this conference

Organisers:

• Antoine Duval (Asser Institute)
• Stephanie Triefus (Asser Institute)
• Narin Idriz (Asser Institute)

Speakers:

• Peter Van Elsuwege (Ghent University)
• Saide Esra Akdogan (Wageningen University)
• Geraldo Vidigal (University of Amsterdam)
• Kunhao Yang (European University Institute)
• Lena Parzsch (Freie Universität Berlin)
• Michael Mason (London School of Economics)
• Rebecca Ravelli (Maastricht University)
• Clara Portela (University of Valencia)
• Alexandra Hofer (Utrecht University)
• Nathanael Tilahun (University of Essex) 
• Caroline Omari Lichuma (University of Luxembourg)
• Aravind Ganesh (University of Sussex)