Chinese and European Scholars Meet in Chengdu

During May 7-8, 2010, the European Studies Center at the Sichuan University in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, hosted a seminar titled “The EU after the Lisbon Treaty: Opportunities and Challenges”. This was part of a research program undertaken by the Center for EU Studies at the Renmin University of China, one of the most prestigious universities in China.

Seven scholars from the IES attended the seminar. On behalf of Director Zhou Hong, Jiang Shixue, Deputy Director of IES, spoke at the opening ceremony of the conference, expressing interest in strengthening academic relations between IES and its counterparts in Europe as well as between IES and China’s domestic counterparts like the Sichuan University and Renmin University.     

After the opening ceremony, four key-note speakers addressed at the plenary session. Prof. Emil Kirchner from the University of Essex, U.K., focused on the topic of security governance in EU. He said that, in spite of states reluctant to give up sovereignty, the EU has international presence, both at regional and global levels, and a noticeable degree of actions, even though it is not a state. “However, it is stronger in trade, aid and development, regional cooperation, enlargement low-intensity conflict resolution measures, and peace keeping and peace building efforts. Stress is still on preventive engagement rather than military intervention,” said Kurchner.

Dr. Sven Biscop from the Royal Institute for International Relations, Brussels & College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium, addressed the implications of the Lisbon Treaty for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) of the EU. He focused on three dimensions: institutions, strategy, and capabilities. 

According to Biscop, at the institutional level, the Treaty brings great innovations, notably the creation of a single European External Action Service, bringing together Council and Commission officials as well as national diplomats. For the Service to be successful, three conditions have to be fulfilled: Its structure needs to reflect the strategic priorities of the CFSP; it must recruit “the best and the brightest” among the national diplomats; and it ought to include a strong policy planning branch. The other major institutional innovation is the strengthening of the position of the High Representative, who is now also Vice-President of the Commission, thus making a truly holistic approach possible, and who chairs the Foreign Affairs Council, which might fundamentally change the dynamic of decision-making in the CFSP.

Biscop believed that pursuing an ambitious strategy requires capabilities. In this regard as well the Treaty has great potential, especially for the Union’s military capabilities, through Permanent Structured Cooperation in Defence (PSCD). Setting real but realistic binding criteria for participation in this PSCD will allow Member States to invest more, better, and together in deployable capabilities. For the first time, participating Member States would create a binding commitment in the field of defense and allow an EU body, the European Defense Agency, to assess their performance.     

Prof. Elżbieta Kawecka-Wyrzykowska from the Warsaw School of Economics, Poland, and also Jean Monnet Chair of European Integration, discussed the current economic situation of Europe and its future prospects.  She said that Poland is enjoying relatively the best performance.  It is the only EU country with a positive growth rate. The worst situation is found in the Baltic Republics.

According to Kawecka-Wyrzykowska, Europe’s 2020 Strategy has three priorities: The first one is smart growth, i.e., developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation; the second is sustainable growth, i.e., promoting a more resource efficient, greener and more competitive economy; and finally, it is inclusive growth, i.e., fostering a high-employment economy delivering social and territorial cohesion.     

Kawecka-Wyrzykowska summarized five targets which are set by the 2020 Strategy: 75 % of the population aged 20-64 should be employed; 3% of the EU's GDP should be invested in R&D; the "20/20/20" climate/energy targets should be met; the share of early school leavers should be under 10% and at least 40% of the younger generation should have a degree or diploma; and 20 million people should get out of poverty.     

Prof. Song Xinning from the Renmin University discussed China’s relations with the EU. He said that bilateral relations between China and the EU have been developing rapidly over the past decade.  However, some Europeans are skeptical about the “comprehensive strategic partnership” between China and the EU. Therefore, both sides should take actions to make the partnership more meaningful and more concrete, said Song.

In the group discussions, the participants discussed a wide range of issues such as the EU-China relationship, the Lisbon Treaty and its competitiveness, EU’s social and economic governance, UK’s general election, EU’s multi-cultural diversity and integration, the political and economic diplomacy of EU, etc.     

Regarding China-EU relations, the Chinese and European scholars failed to reach conclusions on the following issues: What does the “comprehensive strategic partnership” really mean?  What are the major problems of the current EU-China relations? And, how should the bilateral relationship be promoted further?

More than ten European scholars came from Spain, the U.K., Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland.