Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger sees a great opportunity to renew the EU. What does the future of European security look like?
Monday, 27. November 2017, 18:30 – 20:00 h
At the University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 71, 8006 Zurich, KOH-B-10
Crises continue to dominate the general perception of the European Union. However, we have before us a great opportunity to renew the EU: The French-German tandem has gained fresh momentum with the election of Macron. The advance of right-wing populists has been put on hold for the time being, and the idea that Europe has to become an accomplished player on the world stage and greatly strengthen its foreign and security policy is also rapidly gaining ground – not least because of the decisions of the Trump administration. At the same time, the security challenges from Europe’s neighbours to the south and east are also mounting. What does the future of European security look like?
Discussion after the lecture.
Wolfgang Ischinger, born in 1946, is Chairman of the Munich Security Conference (MSC, since 2008) and a senior professor at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. He advises companies, governments and international organisations. After studying law and international relations he worked in the cabinet of the UN General Secretary before entering the German Foreign Service in 1975. He was Secretary of State for the Foreign Office and then Ambassador to the USA and the UK. Ambassador Ischinger represented the EU in the troika negotiations on Kosovo in 2007, and in 2014 represented the OSCE Chairmanship in the efforts for national dialogue in Ukraine. In 2015 he chaired the ‘Panel of Eminent Persons’ to strengthen Europe’s security structure.