Lecture Series The European Union as Global International Actor: strategic autonomy in a changing international context

The Department of Law of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance of the University of Luxembourg, with the support of the Luxembourg National Research Fund and the Erasmus + Programme of the European Commission, and in collaboration with the Luxembourg Centre for European Law, is organising this lecture.

Prof. Isabelle Van Damme, World Trade Institute and University of Bern

Discussant: Dr. Thomas Verellen, Utrecht University

(Supported by the Luxembourg National Research Fund, RESCOM/2024/LE/18832235 and the Erasmus + Programme of the European Union, ERASMUS-JMO-2024-HEI-TCH-RSCH)

Opening : 11h45

A lunch will be served on site.

Abstract

This lecture will trace the emergence of the concept of (open) strategic autonomy and its development over time. It will assess the operation of that concept and how it offers a framework through which to understand and assess the European Union’s resort to more unilateral (or autonomous) instruments. Notably, in reaction to challenges posed by shifting international trade and investment patterns, more complex supply chains, and the green and digital transitions of its economy, the European Union has developed new ways of extending trade defence instruments beyond their conventional confines and purposes. Furthermore, in the context of geoeconomic tensions and a fractured rules-based global order, the European Union is relying ever more on autonomous instruments to achieve its policy aims and actively enforce existing rules. In recent years, it has adopted a wave of autonomous instruments that both respond to and pre-empt the challenges of the new international trade and investment reality.

Speaker

Isabelle Van Damme is a Professor of International Economic Law and Director of Studies at the World Trade Institute and the University of Bern, and of counsel at Van Bael & Bellis. She also serves as the Executive Vice-President of the Society of International Economic Law and teaches EU trade law and policy at the College of Europe in Bruges. She has represented States and individuals before various courts and tribunals, including the CJEU, FTA panels, WTO panels and the Appellate Body. Dr. Van Damme has also served as a référendaire in the chambers of Advocate General Sharpston at the CJEU, worked at a Geneva-based firm specialised in WTO law and taught at the University of Cambridge. Her main publications include a monograph on Treaty Interpretation by the WTO Appellate Body (OUP), A Commentary on the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement (CUP), and a book on The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (Concurrences). She is also co-editor of the first and second editions of The Oxford Handbook of International Trade Law (OUP). She holds degrees from the University of Ghent (Bachelor of Law, Master of Laws), Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M.) and the University of Cambridge (Ph.D. in Law). Dr. Van Damme is included in the European Union’s “List of Candidates for Appointment as Arbitrators and TSD Experts”.

Discussant

Thomas Verellen is an assistant professor in EU law at Utrecht University, focusing on how geopolitical changes affect EU trade policy governance. His current research delves into the accountability and legitimacy challenges arising from the EU's 'unilateral turn' in trade and investment policy. He has held visiting positions at KU Leuven, the University of Michigan Law School, and the Université de Montréal. His PhD on EU Foreign Relations Federalism was published by Oxford University Press in 2023.

Location

University of Luxembourg

Campus Kirchberg - Weicker Building

Room B001 (ground floor)

4, rue Alphonse Weicker, L-2721 Luxembourg

Language

English

RESCOM/24/18832235

The European Union as global international actor: strategic autonomy in a changing international context

Past lectures

27 January: Greening International Investment Law, Prof. Joanna Lam, University of Copenhagen. Discussant: Dr Günes Ünüvar, Luxembourg Centre for European Law (LCEL)

10 March: European Strategic Autonomy and European Values in the Context of Crisis, Prof. Federico Casolari, University of Bologna. Discussant: Prof. Ramses Wessel, University of Groningen

4 April: Digital Strategic Autonomy in the EU’s External Action, Prof. Elaine Fahey, City University of London. Discussants: Prof. Stefan Braum, University of Luxembourg, Prof. Herwig Hofmann, University of Luxembourg

Upcoming lectures

19 May: Facing the Security Challenge, Prof Isabelle Bosse Platière, University of Rennes, Discussant: Prof Peter Van Elsuwege, University of Ghent, Dr Luigi Lonardo, University College Cork

5 June: The Foreing Subsidies Regulation: The External Dimension of EU Competition Policy, Prof Wolfgang Weiss, University Speyer

16 June: Sustainable Development and Strategic Autonomy in the EU’s Bilateral Relations, Prof Francesca Ippolito, University of Cagliari, Dr Jed Odermatt, City University of London