With a fragile economic recovery underway, what are the prospects ahead for eurozone stability? This question matters for Canada: the Euro area represents the second largest economy in the world and the European Union is Canada’s second most important trading partner after the United States, with nearly 10 percent of exports destined for this market. Canadian investment in the EU totals over 142 billion euros. In the wake of the 2014 European Parliament elections and with a new incoming European Commission President later this year, this panel discussion examines whether recent reforms of economic governance in the EU go far enough to provide a basis for stability and growth and how new sources of political risk may affect this.

The speakers are Dr. Adriaan Schout, Senior Research Fellow/Coordinator Europe from the Dutch think tank Clingendael, and Professor Kurt Huebner, Jean Monnet Chair at the Institute for European Studies, University of British Columbia, moderated by Dr. Lori Thorlakson, Director of EU Centre of Excellence, University of Alberta.

Dr. Adriaan Schout is Senior Research Fellow and Coordinator Europe at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’. He combines research and consultancy on European governance questions for national and European institutions. He has worked on projects addressing issues of the EU presidency, EU integration and Improving EU regulation. He is Honorary Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE) of the University of East Anglia (UK) and a member of the Dutch governmental advisory body on EU affairs. Prior to joining Clingendael, he served as an independent expert in the field of EU governance for the Economic and Social Committee and for the Directorate-General for Research of the European Commission.

Prof. Kurt Huebner is Chair for German and European Studies, Director at the Institute for European Studies, University of British Columbia, Jean Monnet Chair for European Integration and Global Political Economy. He received his PhD from the Free University of Berlin where he also started his academic career in the field of Political Economy. His research focuses on the interplay of institutions and capital accumulation, on the national as well as on the international level. Over the years his work concentrated on money and currency regimes, politics and economics of European integration as well as on contradictions and complementarities of sustainability and international competitiveness. He has authored and edited 15 books and a substantial number of articles. In 2008 he received the best paper award in EU Governance from ECSA-Canada.

Dr. Lori Thorlakson, Director of EU Centre of Excellence, University of Alberta and Jean Monnet Chair at the Department for Political Science.

Join us this lunch time discussion with international experts in the heart of Calgary: learn about the eurozone governance reforms and discuss their impact on global and Canadian financial markets.

Free admission

Lunch provided

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This event is organized by the European Union Centre of Excellence at the University of Alberta and has been co-funded with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this announcement are the sole responsibility of the EU Centre of Excellence at the University of Alberta and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission.