Conference NILG: Law and governance in the European Union

The European Union currently faces severe challenges, socially, politically, and financially. These challenges are often perceived as "crisis". For decades, national politicians have justified socially unpopular measures such as welfare cuts by their alleged necessity in order to comply with EU obligations or standards. This has made the EU increasingly unpopular. The fears scattered by migration from both outside and inside the EU, the precarious financial situations of banks (especially in Southern Europe), the continuous flow of money from the EU to the most indebted member states, the lack of a convincing EU strategy against unemployment, tax evasion, criminality, and terror, and the widening gap between the rich and the poor in all member states, have nurtured the discontent of the EU citizens, who increasingly express their protest by voting for populist, anti-EU political parties. Brexit is just the top of the iceberg.

Are the current EU laws and governance arrangements fit for these challenges? To what extent do these laws and governance arrangements contribute to solve the most pressing societal problems, and to what extent do they contribute to create further problems? How should conflicting EU fundamental rights and freedoms be best balanced against each other in order to achieve good governance, for example in migration, finance, and consumer related issues? What effects will the planned Brexit have in these areas?

Law and governance in a crisis-ridden European Union

These and other questions will be addressed by the 8th Annual Conference of the Netherlands Institute for Law and Governance (NILG): 'Law and Governance in a Crisis-Ridden European Union'.

Organised by the University of Groningen (Faculty of Law) the conference takes place in Amsterdam (West-Indisch Huis) on Friday, 18 November 2016. It is structured in two plenary sessions and three parallel sessions: (1) Migration and Refugee Law and Governance, (2) Financial Law and Governance, and (3) Consumer Law and Governance. More information about the programme.

This article was published by the Faculty of Law.

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