Who can help us build the world? EU and the crisis of multilateralism

Will “the jungle grow back” and power politics replace the liberal order?

Guests

Sebastian Dullien – Senior Policy Fellow at ECFR and an expert on trade,
Bogdan Góralczyk – Director of the European Center of the University of Warsaw, political scientist, sinologist, diplomat and columnist,
Maaike Okano-Heijmans – Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute, expert on Japan and China,
Shujiro Urata – Professor of International Economics at Waseda University in Japan, expert on trade.

Chaired by

Lykke Friis – Berlin correspondent for Berlingske and chairman of the Danish Foreign Policy Society

We kindly invite you to the debate titled: “Who can help us build the world? EU and the crisis of multilateralism”

Tuesday, 26 February 2019, 16:00-17:30
ul. Krucza 28, Warsaw
Mercure Grand Hotel

European Union's – and therefore also Poland's – security and welfare depends on the continuing functioning of the liberal international order based on multilateral institutions regulating international security, trade regime, climate policy, development aid and many others. However, Donald Trump's presidency and his “America First” doctrine was cancelled the US guarantee to uphold this orded at the time, where it experiences an increasing number of challenges, including from China.

Faced with risk that “the jungle will grow back” and that power politics will take place of the liberal order, European Union is looking for partners that share its worldview and can become allies in the defence and reform of multilateralism. An example of this is the new EU-Japan trade agreement, in effect since February 1st, which is designed to reinvigorate international trade despite the progressive paralysis of the World Trade Organisation. There are of course many more areas, where countries valuing liberal order should cooperate closely, such asinternational security, human rights, development aid, new technologies.

In this debate we will take a look at how the European Union can responde to this challenge. How can it secure its vital interests? What coalitions are possible and in which areas? How will China react to new initiatives? What will the new international order look like and will the United States keep supporting it?

The debate will be held in English and Polish and will be translated simultaneously

Free entry. We kindly ask you to register.