Page 92 - eplo 2016

EDUCATION / UNITS Seminar on Migration and the RefugeeThe central importance of the refugee/migrant crisis in Greek (and European) affairs made EKEME single this issue out for in-depth discussion. Following a preparatory session of the EKEME Curatorium in February 2016,a Seminar on Migration and the Refugee crisis was organized: it took place in the premises of the Bank of Greece on May 9, 2016 (Day of Europe) with the participation, i.a., of representatives of the Greek Church, of the Red Cross, of the UNHCR, of the EU HRFA and the Commission. Joined also the discussion ex-Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos, ex-Secretary General for Refugees Angelos Syrigos and ex-Minister for Civil Security V. Kikilias.The refugee/migrant issue was addressed both from a humanitarian angle (“Whenever there is war, refugees will come”) but also from that of the problems created to intra-EU cooperation and policy-forming. The closing of Greece’s borders with FYRoM, as well as the situation in certain Greek islands prior to the EU/Turkey Agreement - and the consequences of both - were debated at length; also, the international humanitarian law aspects of the EU/Turkey Agreement as well as the effective content of calls for “push- backs” in the Aegean. “All in all, a situation fraught with risks - not necessarily past its culmination point”.The ndings of this Seminar were presented by EKEME at the TEPSA Pre-Presidency Conference of Bratislava (June 2-3, 2016), prior to the Slovak Presidency.The publicationof “European Politeia”A further important activityEKEME is involved inis the publication of“European Politeia”, aJournal that is at its 3rd(twice yearly) issue. In thecurrent 3rd issue, in theTheoria part, dedicated toStatehood in the European Union, Professor Evangelos Venizelos (Aristotle Universityof Thessaloniki) deals with Statehoodand sovereignty: the dif cult equilibrium between the European Union and Member States in crisis management - Refugee crisis and Brexit. It follows in the same part an attempt to explore the rich ground of European Governance or Governance of Europe, taking as starting point an article by Professor Emeritus Nikos Scandamis, Professor Eleftheria Neframi introducesthe exploration whereas Professors Olivier Dubos (Université de Bordeaux), Emilios Christodoulidis (Oxford University), Michel Troper (Université Paris Ouest NanterreLa Défense) and Johan van der Walt (University of Luxembourg), all dwell into the genealogies and methodologies at the root of the juncture of the national state and the transnational Union and in what the project of a social Europe means today.In the Praxis section of the Journal, Professor Dr. Christos Gortsos (Panteion University) compares the Irish and the Greek scal and banking crises in orderto demonstrate their similarities, butmostly their differences and assesses the adequacy of the EBU initiative in respect of the achievement of its primary objective. Next issues will have as core subjects “Market Democracy: Wedge into Society?” and “Migration: Right or Plight?”, forwhich calls for papers have been already circulated.RECENT ACTIVITIES92ACTIVITY REPORT 2016