Thread by @dice_h2020

We're 🔴LIVE at the #DiCEConference on #Brexit!

Follow along on @YouTube and get all the highlights here⤵️

/THREAD

#InDivEU @tepsaeu @EU3Dh2020 @arena_uio @IdeaEu @IAIonline @EU_H2020 #H2020 #CoFoE #FutureofEurope

.@BrigidLaffan leads the welcomes to the #DiCEConference along with her fellow DiCE partner-project leaders @NicolePirozzi and @JohnErikFossum

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

.@NicolePirozzi is telling us all about @IdeaEu's work to monitor and assess the #Brexit process, "but also to understand the impact the impact of Brexit in external cooperation in economy, security, and migration"

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

.@JohnErikFossum and @EU3Dh2020 are looking at the EU from the unique Norwegian perspective, which gives the @arena_uio-led project a useful vantage point from which to observe #Brexit

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

Following these brief introductions of the #DiCEConference partner projects (#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu), @JohnErikFossum from @arena_uio introduces our keynote speaker: Jean-Claude Piris (@piris_jc)

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.@piris_jc, our keynote speaker at the #DiCEConference, is a distinguished scholar, practitioner, and former Director-General of the EU Council's Legal Service

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

First, @piris_jc argues that a hard #Brexit was unavoidable after the 2016 vote: the EU could not offer more #differentiation than the UK already enjoyed

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

"The UK had so many opt-outs as a member that it was already nicknamed a 'half member' before 2016"

- @piris_jc speaks at the #DiCEConference

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

Secondly, @piris_jc argues that the EU in its current form is not able to face the urgent tasks it ought to be able to accomplish: meeting the needs of the 27 under unanimity or compromise is simply more difficult - even on the basic mathematical level

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#InDivEU #EU3D @IdeaEu

Thirdly, @piris_jc argues that we ought to transform the Euro area into an avant-garde of the EU with the means to decide quicker and move forward in coordination

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

"There was a possibility ten or eleven years ago, but now it is positively utopian"

- @piris_jc at the #DiCEConference

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

"Fourthly, @piris_jc argues for the creation of four new optional clubs, where the work would be intergovernmental, and the participation in the Council would vary based on the participation in these clubs: EMU, Migration/Schengen, Security, Other"

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#InDivEU #EU3D @IdeaEu

"But what would represent the true EU? It looks impractical in this way"

- @piris_jc speaking at the #DiCEConference

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

Finally, @piris_jc argues that we need to keep and strengthen the unity of the EU, protect the #RuleofLaw, and resolve the divisions of Migration policy before the next crisis

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

"The veto should be strictly reserved for VITAL decisions. As it currently exists, it allows the tiny majority of citizens to prevent the will of the vastest of majorities"

- @piris_jc speaking at the #DiCEConference

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

"We must encourage the @EU_Commission to be more flexible by allowing temporary - or even permanent - opt-outs for Member Statess having difficulties"

- @piris_jc speaking at the #DiCEConference

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

"The day has come to recognise that genuine reforms are necessary"

- @piris_jc ends his stimulating Keynote Speech at the #DiCEConference

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

Now, @JohnErikFossum from the @EU3Dh2020 project of @arena_uio moves to the Q&A session

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

The first addresses the fractious atmosphere between the UK and EU over the last years, particularly with regards to N. Ireland, and the recent vaccine distribution fracas

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

"We measures are democratically adopted, the UK must apply them. On September 9th, the British government put forward the Bill on a British Internal Market, a blunt violation of the exit treaty...

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... the excuse was that the government was 'obliged' to break the Treaty. But if the British government has decided to tell its public that everything that happens wrong in the UK is the fault the EU, then that is how trust is not built"

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

"We cannot have a Union which is only economical"

- @piris_jc speaking at the #DiCEConference

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#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu

What incentive is there for MSs to give up the veto?

"They should realised that the Internal Market, migration policy, and more are not finished, that the EU is not yet an international actor. It's now or never"

- @piris_jc at the #DiCEConference

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#InDivEU #EU3D @IdeaEu

The Keynote Session of the #DiCEConference closes

Thanks to our three project leaders for welcoming us virtually: @BrigidLaffan (#InDivEU), @JohnErikFossum (@EU3Dh2020), and @NicolePirozzi (@IdeaEu)

Thanks also to our Keynote Speaker @piris_jc

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Roundtable 1: "Brexit in Comparison: Models of Differentiated (Dis)Integration" starts in the next minutes! 💪

#InDivEU @EU3Dh2020 @IdeaEu @tepsaeu @IAIonline @arena_uio @EU_H2020 #H2020 @RobSchuCentre @EuropeanUni @EGPProg

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Roundtable 1 is LIVE🔴

Follow along here for the highlights from the panel: @KalypsoNicolaid (Mod), Meltem Müftüler-Baç (@sabanciu), @JohnErikFossum (@EU3Dh2020), Christian Frommelt (Liechtenstein Institute), and @NanetteNeuwahl

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#InDivEU #EU3D @IdeaEu

"Trade, Security, and Migration are the three key considerations for Turkey-EU relations, and will translate onto the UK-EU relations before long"

- Meltem Müftüler-Baç from @sabanciu

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#InDivEU #EU3D @IdeaEu

"The Canada model is the most similar: it is a deep trade agreement going beyond the elimination of obstaclesand comprising regulatory cooperation, it covers significant policies, it contributes to rules-based international trade"

- @NanetteNeuwahl

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#InDivEU #EU3D @IdeaEu

"It is also a question of politics: if you look at the governments of Norway and the UK, their priorities are different. The UK wants to diverge more, Norway wants to reduce uncertainty but getting closer to the EU"

- @JohnErikFossum from @EU3Dh2020

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#InDivEU #EU3D @IdeaEu

"New institutional procedures will come up in future, inspired by the models of #Brexit differentiation"

- Christian Frommelt, speaking at the #DiCEConference

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#InDivEU #EU3D @IdeaEu

After these initial interventions, @KalypsoNicolaid encourages our speakers to speak in comparison and contrast to the question of centrifugal or centripetal forces in #DifferentiatedIntegration

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#InDivEU #EU3D @IdeaEu

How can the EU resist the accusation of cherry-picking in external relations, and the temptation for MSs to seek externally differentiated relationships which better suit their preferences?

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#InDivEU #EU3D @IdeaEu

"The EU cannot continue expanding forever, so finding different modalities of incorporating those who are external but seek cooperation, can also be a good thing for the EU"

- Meltem Müftüler-Baç from @sabanciu

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#InDivEU #EU3D @IdeaEu

"The EU in some ways is treating the EEA states as if they were economic members, so perhaps this questions of cherry-picking misses the mark"

- @JohnErikFossum from @EU3Dh2020

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#InDivEU #EU3D @IdeaEu

Our first question of the Q&A session concerns the deep divisions in British society in relation to #Brexit as well as a number of wider social issues

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#InDivEU #EU3D @IdeaEu

After a dynamic Q&A session at the end of Roundtable 1 of the #DiCEConference, we draw Day 1 to a close

Thanks to all who participated, and be sure to tune in tomorrow for Day 2! Featuring two more roundtable sessions and our Witness Panel

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#InDivEU #EU3D @IdeaEu

Special thanks to @BrigidLaffan, @JohnErikFossum, @NicolePirozzi, @piris_jc, @KalypsoNicolaid, Meltem Müftüler-Baç, Christian Frommelt, and @NanetteNeuwahl

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#InDivEU #EU3D @IdeaEu

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