The State of Europe: lecture by Mathieu Segers

On March 28 Prof. dr. Mathieu Segers give the second lecture in The State of Europe series in which we examine the condition of a continent.

Segers states: ‘Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, Europe feigned confidence. It was a believable act. European integration achieved historic victories: especially over German and European divisions. Europe became a global power bloc. But this led to big questions. What is Europe? What does it stand for? Where are its boundaries? But the answers to these questions were anxiously put forward, as if the questions didn’t exist or would disappear.’

In his lecture Mathieu Segers explores today’s troubled Europe, its history, and Europe’s future opportunities. He does this in the middle of the ‘thriller-year’ of 2017 in which there are elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany, the first real decisions will be taken on Brexit, and security will be re-tested.

If the current problems and challenges prove anything, it is that the European holiday from history and politics is over. Europe’s ideas and power are once again key issues. This is both compelling and disruptive. It requires self-awareness as a counterweight and the need to look ahead. What is Europe, and what can it do in the twenty-first century?

Mathieu Segers
Since 1 June 2016, Mathieu Segers is the Dean and Professor of European History and Integration at University College Maastricht. Segers received his doctorate from the Radboud University in 2006 with a thesis on French-German relations during Europe’s integration in the fifties. He was previously an advisor working in the ministries of Social Affairs and Employment, and of Finance. He was also a lecturer at Radboud University, associate professor in European Integration at the University of Utrecht, and a Fulbright Schumann Fellow at the Center for European Studies at Harvard University. In 2013, he became a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of International Studies at the University of Oxford.

Astrology of a Friday
Before the lecture, there is a screening of Astrology of a Friday by artist Teresa Cos, a former Van Eyck resident. This film was shot in the Council Chamber of the Province of Limburg, where, on 7 February 1992, the Maastricht Treaty was signed.

Following the lecture, Saskia van Stein, Bureau Europa’s director, moderates a conversation between Mathieu Segers and the public.

Date: 28 March, 20:00 – 22:00
Language: English
Admission: Free
Location: Bureau Europa