This upcoming Edinburgh seminar, in partnership with the European Commission Representation in the UK and the University of Edinburgh, aims to examine the key details around the proposed renegotiation of competences, the options for reform of how the European Union operates and the planned 2017 EU membership referendum. The seminar will assess the objectives of different political and societal stakeholders as well as explore the key drivers of public sentiment, and explore areas of difference between the debate in Scotland and the wider UK. It will examine what reforms the EU is being asked to undertake by key business, NGO and union stakeholders on a regular basis through the development of ordinary EU legislation and where extra political impetus outside business as usual would be required to achieve key objectives. The seminar would explore the areas of EU competence that different stakeholders would like to see addressed as part of any UK renegotiation initiative. It will also review how such renegotiation proposals and the wider UK debate is regarded in other member states and how EU partners plan to respond to British requests.
Chair: Hugh Murdoch, President, Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA)
Speakers:
- Catherine Stihler MEP, Labour
- Alyn Smith MEP, SNP
- Struan Stephenson MEP, Conservative
- Professor James Mitchell, Professor of Public Policy, University of Edinburgh
- Christine Jardine, Liberal Democrat MEP Candidate and Journalist