Direct Democracy and the European Unification Process

When:
25th May 2021 @ 9:00 am – 10:00 am
2021-05-25T09:00:00+02:00
2021-05-25T10:00:00+02:00
Where:
Online
Contact:
Schuman Centre

Organised by the Swiss Chair with the Embassy of Switzerland in Italy and the Istituto Svizzero

Building on the insights of Professor Kreis’ book ‘Why Italy Was For Europe: On the History of the 1989 Advisory Referendum’ a roundtable discussion on the role of referenda in the European unification process.

What is the role of referenda in the advancement of the European unification process? Why do some EU member states employ them to decide about EU matters whereas others do not? Focusing on the case of Italy and its oft-neglected 1989 ‘Referendum for Europe, Professor Georg Kreis (University of Basel) delves into these questions in his last book titled ‘Why Italy Was For Europe: On the History of the 1989 Advisory Referendum’ (Publisher: Schwabe Verlag, Basel, 2021).

The event will start with a brief address by the Swiss Ambassador in Rome, the Honorable Rita Adam. The discussion will be moderated by Elias Dinas, Swiss Chair in Federalism, Democracy and International Governance.

The Swiss Chair – joint chair of the EUI Department of Social and Political Sciences and the Robert Schuman Centre – organises this event with the Embassy of Switzerland in Italy and the Istituto Svizzero, in collaboration with the European Governance and Politics Programme of the Robert Schuman Centre and the Cluster on Democracy in the 21st century.

In order to receive the zoom link please contact: rscas.conferences@eui.eu. It will also be possible to watch the livestream on Youtube on the day of the event.

Speakers:
Ambassador Rita Adam (Swiss Embassy in Rome)
Prof. Georg Kreis (University of Basel (CH))
Francesca Piazza (Segretario della Commissione Affari esteri e comunitari della Camera dei deputati)
Prof. Daniele Caramani (European Governance and Politics Programme – EUI)
Prof. Lucy Riall (EUI – HEC)

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