Dr. Javier Roldán, a Professor of Public International Law and International Relations at the Universidad de Granada, gave a talk on «The Future of the European Union: Light and Shadow» as part of the conference cycle for continuing education organized by the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences.
In his talk, Dr. Roldán examined the birth and history of the European Union, its original objectives and the gradual addition of more Member States until the original eight countries became today’s 28.
“Europe must continue to be united, because none of its countries can achieve great things alone. The 28 Members States must act together and speak with one voice in order to be a major player on the international stage”, affirmed Dr. Roldán on the subject of maintaining the union.
In reference to the current economic crisis, the professor reminded those present that the European Union was originally conceived in order to achieve economic integration. “In these times of crisis, we have reached the conclusion that it is not such a good idea to have a single currency without a single banking system; a project which is being planned for 2014”, he said in relation to the creation of the euro. “However, although Europe is trying to be more than just an economic area, the majority of its citizens consider themselves to belong to their respective nation states rather than to Europe”, he added.
Dr. Roldán ended his talk by discussing the European Union’s relationship with the rest of the world and concluded that European influence is becoming increasingly more important.
