International Symposium Waseda-Strasbourg – European Citizenship and the (Re)Appearance of Borders

Anthony Soares, the Centre’s Director, has attended an international symposium on European Citizenship and the (Re)Appearance of Borders.

The symposium took place on 23 and 24 January in Strasbourg and the title of Anthony’s presentation was “Being and not being an EU citizen on the island of Ireland”.

Anthony said: “Brexit not only removed a shared EU framework operating across the island of Ireland, it also fundamentally changed people’s relationship with the concept of EU citizenship. At the very moment the UK legally left the EU those in Northern Ireland of British citizenship were stripped of their identity as EU citizens. Those in Northern Ireland of Irish citizenship kept their EU citizenship, as did those from other EU Member States who had been living there, but from that point on they were all doing so within a space on the island of Ireland that was – and is – outside the EU.”

The programme included a wide range of speakers including representatives from Waseda University, University of Aegean, University of Piraeus, Saarland University, University of Strasbourg, University of Luxembourg and University of Applied Sciences Kehl.

Day 1

Opening remarks:

Hiroyuki Uchida – General Consul of Japan

Consul General Uchida opened the seminar by referring to the historical ties between Japan and the European Union. He stressed the importance of cultural and economic exchanges, while highlighting the issues of immigration and the impacts of Brexit. His speech recalled that the two regions share common values and expressed hope that these exchanges will deepen mutual understanding.

Jeanne-Marie Tuffery-Andrieu – Dean of the Law Faculty, University of Strasbourg

The Dean emphasised the evolution of the European Union as an area for the fluidification of trade. She referred to Japan’s growing interest in the EU, beyond academic issues, and stressed the importance of agreements between the two regions to encourage fruitful and sustainable exchanges.

Introduction:

Birte Wassenberg – Sciences Po Strasbourg

Speakers:

Noriko Suzuki – Waseda University: European citizenship for British residents in France after Brexit

Ryoko Tamai – Waseda University: Does the geographical cross-border mobility of local civil servants contribute to the development of a European consciousness?

Anthony Soares – Center for Cross-Border Cooperation, Armagh: Being and not being an EU citizen on the island of Ireland

Panos Grigoriou – University of Aegean: European citizenship: its perspectives and its added value

Foteini Asderaki – University of Piraeus: European citizenship and the EU’s Knowledge policies: open spaces and borders

Florian Weber & Julia Dittel – Saarland University: Crisis-proof? Municipal perspective on cross-border relations in the Franco-German SaarMoselle region

Round Table with Moderator: Joachim Beck – University of Applied Sciences Kehl

Michael Grosser – Infobest 4.0

Martin Guillermo – Association of European Border Regions

Frédéric Siebenhaar – Pamina

Anne Thevenet – Euro-Institut

Christian Tiriou – European Consumer Center

Hiroyuki Uchida – General Consul of Japan

Day 2 delved deeper into issues related to border management, European governance and European identity, while addressing complex legal issues.

Introduction:  

Pierrick Bruyas opened the day by addressing the linguistic and economic obstacles that complicate relations between EU countries. He stressed that linguistic diversity and economic disparities require better coordination to facilitate cross-border cooperation and communication.

Frédérique Berrod discussed the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the closure of the EU’s internal borders for health reasons. She explained how these new “health borders” have been managed by police and health controls, and pleaded for health authorities, not the police, to take charge of the management of these borders.

Frédérique Berrod – University of Strasbourg: A citizen friendly sanitary border?  

Peggy Ducoulombier – University of Strasbourg: The right to nationality and the ECHR: protection through the back door  

Julie Rondu & Aude Bouveresse – University of Strasbourg  

Anca Ailincai – University of Grenoble: Democratic citizenship in the larger Europe (Council of Europe)  

Machteld Venken – University of Luxembourg: Chronoferencing Borderlands – Citizen Sciences, Digital Hermeneutics and Output Criticism  

Pierrick Bruyas – University of Strasbourg  

Michael Frey – University of Applied Sciences Kehl  

Conclusion: Noriko Suzuki – Waseda University, Professor 

From left to right: Anthony Soares (Director of the CCBC), Birte Wassenberg (Director of the Franco-German Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence), Noriko Suzuki (PhD in Sociology from Waseda University), Hiroyuki Uchida (Consul General of Japan in Strasbourg), Jeanne-Marie Tuffery-Andrieu (Dean of the Faculty of Law in Strasbourg)