Europe in crisis? The EU as a crisis manager
Time and again the EU is confronted with complex policy problems and crises. Examples are the financial crisis, the refugee crisis, the outbreak of diseases such as Ebola, or the Brexit. Often the EU does not manage to respond to such situations timely and adequately. In this lecture, Prof. Versluis discusses why it is so difficult for a complex international organization to adequately deal with such crisis situations. She will illustrate that these types of ‘wicked problems’ can never be adequately tackled because the definition of the problem, and thus the proposed solution, will never be the same for different member states. We thus, Versluis argues, have to realize the necessity of a multi-speed Europe in order to be able to adequately regulate complex policy problems.
This lecture is part of traditional series of lectures for alumni; the UM Star Lectures. The other 12 lectures are organized in 12 different cities and 4 countries on the same day at the same time. This event is organized to reach out to and inspire alumni, share academic insights, experiences and memories and to create an interconnected UM Alumni Community.
Video: Fascinating discussions, nostalgia & remarkable encounters
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About the speaker
Prof. dr. Esther Versluis is professor of European Regulatory Governance at Maastricht University. She is the Director of Studies of the BA European Studies, and she teaches courses related to EU policy-making for which she wrote the student textbook ‘Analyzing the European Union policy process’ (Palgrave Macmillan). Esther published widely on the implementation of European Union (EU) legislation at the member state level. How can we explain and contribute to a better understanding of problems related to the national implementation of international policy? Her second core research line concentrates on how risks are being regulated in the EU. Focusing on key policy sectors such as chemical safety, food safety and GMOs, Esther explores how risks are being regulated at the European level via the use of agencies. Her research can be found in, amongst others, the Journal of Common Market Studies, the Journal of European Public Policy, and the European Journal of Risk Regulation.