November 21 (MRSH Amphitheatre) and November 22 (MRSH SH 027 Room)

Beyond the development of a specialized body of knowledge of the process and essential values of the buildingof Europe, beyond the progress made in terms of an autonomous legal framework specific to the development of the EU as an institution, the Jean Monnet Study Days of 21 and 22 November 2018, year of the 1918 Armistice Centenary, will consider the theme of “European Union and Peace: What are the Advances Towards a Federal Europe?”. Held at the MRSH Caen offices, these Study Days continue the work started during the previous edition of the Jean Monnet Study Days of 9 and 10 November 2017, ((https://jmonnet-ue-paix.sciencesconf.org/)) which were carried out in three successive series: Peace and the European Union’s Identity (session I), Instruments of Peace and EU Methods (session II); Achieving Peace through Economy and Currency? (session III).

The Study Days of 21 and 22 November 2018 continue to reflect on the conceptual approaches and instruments of peace "by", "within" and "outside" the EU, as well as its involvement – and perceptions – in mechanisms for resolving or preventing internal and external conflicts at its "borders". Like those of the 2017 edition, the Study Days are driven by the dialectics of the relationship between the European Union and peace, in light of the EU's unique nature and the question of progress towards a "European Federation". These Study Days reflect on the willingness of Member States to "jointly" pursue their efforts when facing such challenges and key issues of peace, in a context marked not only by the fragility of this peace, but also risk diversification, Brexit, crises and even the calling into question of the European project’s very essence. They highlight once again how the concept of peace, a value and a stated goal on the supranational level, and the closely linked evolution of EU policies call for confrontation with a wide range of tensions and realities. Realities that exist on multiple levels: political, geopolitical, economic, monetary, social, cultural, environmental… realities that require closer ties and more "joint" efforts, but that can also represent strong factors of "disunity" or division within the European Union.

During the 2017 and 2018 editions of the Jean Monnet Study Days, various European Union policies are reviewed, starting with the economic prism through which the building of Europe was achieved and also considering the transformations resulting from EU policies carried out in the Area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) and in the context of the EU's external action and Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP/CSDP). The Study Days also include reflections on the nature of the EU as well as its relations with the Council of Europe and relevant international organizations. They aim to broaden the perspective of the link between European construction and peace; of past, present and future challenges faced by the EU’s involvement in the peace process; of EU relations with its Member States; and of advances and eventual setbacks to a "European Federation".

The relationship between peace and EU values, most notably with the rule of law and the respect of fundamental rights, has led to choose the topic of human rights as an instrument of peace as the starting point for the 2018 Jean Monnet Study Days. With these perspectives in mind, the Study Days will bring together some 40 speakers from France and Europe during four successive series: the European Union, Peace and Human Rights (session I); Peace, Security and Cohesion of the European Union (session II); Multilateralism, Constitutionalism and the Need for a Wide-Ranging European Approach to Peace (session III); Peace and EU Foreign Policy (session IV).

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Academic coordinator of the Study Days: Laurence Potvin-Solis, Professor at the University of Caen Normandy, Jean Monnet Chair.
Academic contact person: Laurence.Potvin-Solis@unicaen.fr

Administrative and material coordination: William Messi
william.messi@unicaen.fr

Administrative contacts: Delphine Doutressoulles
delphine.doutressoulles@unicaen.fr

Information and registration: mrsh.accueil@unicaen.fr / 00 33 (0)2 31 56 62 00

Free and compulsory registration must be made before 5 November