On 7 September EXACT Marie Curie researchers Marlene Gottwald, Vanessa Boas, Leonhard den Hertog, Marco Siddi, Niklas Helwig, Andrew Byrne and James Nyomakwa-Obimpeh participated in the EXACT Ph.D. workshop “The EU and its neighbourhood – current challenges and conflicts”, which took place at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA).
The event started with a welcome speech by FIIA Director Teija Tiilikainen and the introductory presentation of Jukka Salovaara, Director General of the Department of Europe in the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Mr. Salovaara presentation focused on domestic and foreign aspects of Finland’s EU policy and was commented by Mr. Juha Jokela, FIIA Programme Director of the EU Research Programme.
In the first session of EXACT presentations, Marco Siddi and Vanessa Boas analysed the Eastern dimension of the EU’s neighbourhood. Marco Siddi presented the paper “Bystander in its neighbourhood? The European Union’s involvement in protracted conflicts in the post-Soviet space”, while Vanessa Boas’ paper focused on “Civil unrest in Europe’s last dictatorship: a window of opportunity for EU-Belarus relations?”
During the second round of presentations, Leonhard den Hertog and Niklas Helwig analysed the Southern dimension of the EU’s neighbourhood. Leonhard den Hertog’s presented a paper titled “Revolution and war on Europe’s doorstep: Migratory movements from North Africa and implications for the EU’s common immigration policy”, while Niklas Helwig’s paper focused on “Leadership in CFSP – Potential and performance of the High Representative in the immediate reaction to the crises in Egypt and Libya”.
The workshop sessions were chaired by FIIA researchers and also attended by other Ph.D. students from Finnish Universities.
On 8 September the EXACT researchers attended Andrew Moravcsik’s lecture at the University of Helsinki, which took place on the occasion of the European Studies Day. After the lecture, the EXACT fellows had a guided tour of the Finnish parliament.
The success of the EXACT event at Helsinki was ensured by the excellent organizational work done by Marlene Gottwald, the EXACT researcher currently based at FIIA, and the kind hospitality of Mr. Juha Jokela, who accompanied the EXACT fellows for the whole duration of the event.
