The Identity Crisis of Europe: Euroscepticism in Border Regions

 

A new edition of the “Castle talks on Cross Border Cooperation” was held on 5, 6 and 7 November.

Following the great success of the six conferences organised as part of the Jean Monnet Project “Castle Talks on Cross Border Cooperation – Conflict and Cooperation at EU Borders”, Prof. Dr. Birte Wassenberg received new European funding to continue her work on borders and European integration. Under the title “European Crises and Border Regions” this new cycle of four conferences will be held at the Château de Pourtalès up until 2020

Entitled “The Identity Crisis of Europe: Euroscepticism in Border Regions”, this autumn’s edition was an opportunity for many researchers, students and practitioners to tackle the complex issue of European identity and Euroscepticism.

Resolutely multidisciplinary, the Castles Talks hosted renowned researchers from several disciplines – history, geography, political science, etc. – for two days. – without forgetting to leave a special place to the presentations of students and cooperation actors.

The event was also the occasion to celebrate at Strasbourg City Hall – in the presence of the Mayor and many personalities from the Upper Rhine – the inauguration of the first cross-border Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence between the University of Strasbourg and the Hochschule für Öffentliche Verwaltung Kehl, at the initiative of Professors Sylvain Schirmann, Birte Wassenberg and Joachim Beck.

To close this edition on the morning of the third day, a round table discussion on “No to Europe? The Rise of Euroscepticism in European Border Regions” was moderated by TEIN (Transfrontier Euro-Institut Network) members Martin Guillermo-Ramirez, Ruth Taillon, Fabienne Leloup and Mitja Durnik.