The European Union Centre of Excellence project housed at CCGES along with the Centre for Refugee Studies and CERIS – Ontario Metropolis Centre are pleased to present a talk by Aga Szewczyk, a PhD candidate in the Geography at Loughborough University, U.K. Aga’s major research interest lies in graduate migration within the European Union. She holds Masters Degrees from Leicester University (Sustainable Management of Natural Resources) and Jagiellonian University (Human Geography) in Krakow, Poland.

The lecture is entitled “Polish graduate migrants in the U.K.”, this talk will address issues of career trajectories of Polish graduate migrants in theUK, with a focus on their skills attainment through education and work experiences both in Poland and in the UK, influencing their employability. In particular, it sheds light on the usefulness of higher education and further training in the labour market advancement of this cohort.

All are welcome and light refreshments will be served.

Date: Thursday, March 29th
Time: 12:30 to 2:00 pm
Location: 626 York Research Tower

The European Union Centre of Excellence project housed at CCGES is pleased to present Prof. Nikos Skoutaris (Assistant Professor, International and European Law, Maastricht University), an EUCE Visiting Scholar, for a lecture entitled “Accomodating the Cyprus issue in the European Union’s political and legal order” on Wednesday, March 7th from 12:30 to 2:00 pm in room 305 York Lanes (building #24 on the map found here).

Abstract: Despite the partial normalisation of the relations between the two ethno-religious segments on the island, Cyprus’ accession to the EU neither meant its reunification nor the restoration of the human rights or the complete lift of the political and economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community. Ironically enough, the accession of the island to the EU added a new dimension to its division. According to Protocol 10 on Cyprus of the Act of Accession 2003, the application of the acquis is ‘suspended in those areas of the Republic of Cyprus in which the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not have effective control.’ The scope of the talk is twofold: on the one hand it provides for a concise but accurate analytical framework of the derogations to the suspension of the acquis and on the other, it assesses the pragmatic approach that the Union has adopted when dealing with issues arising from the conflict such as the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, the “settlers” etc. The main thesis of the paper is that although the application of the acquis is suspended in northern Cyprus, the territorial character of the suspension has allowed a limited integration of those Areas within the EU.  In addition and with regard to a possible future settlement of the Cyprus issue, the paper argues that the Union is ‘ready to accommodate the terms of such a settlement in line with the principles on which the EU is founded.’

Nikos obtained his LL.B. from the University of Aberdeen, his LL.M. from Maastricht University and his Ph.D. from the European University Institute (Florence). He has worked at Amnesty International, the Council of the EU, the Academy of European Law and Tilburg University. At the moment he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International and European Law of Maastricht University where he teaches EU External Relations law and comparative constitutional law. He is an academic expert in the fields of EU constitutional law, EU external relations, comparative federalism and conflict resolution theory.

All are welcome and light refreshments will be served.

Date: Wednesday, March 7th
Time: 12:30-2:00 pm
Location: 305 York Lanes

The European Union Centre of Excellence project housed at CCGES is pleased to present a lecture by Nikos Skoutaris (Assistant Professor, International and European Law, Maastricht University) entitled “Federalism: The European Union’s Uncommon Principle”. The talk will be held on Tuesday, March 6th, in Leith Room (004), Atkinson College (building #33 on the map found here) from 12:30 to 2:00 pm.

An abstract for this lecture is found here.

Nikos obtained his LL.B. from the University of Aberdeen, his LL.M. from Maastricht University and his Ph.D. from the European University Institute (Florence). He has worked at Amnesty International, the Council of the EU, the Academy of European Law and Tilburg University. At the moment he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International and European Law of Maastricht University where he teaches EU External Relations law and comparative constitutional law. He is an academic expert in the fields of EU constitutional law, EU external relations, comparative federalism and conflict resolution theory.

All are welcome and light refreshments will be served.

Date: Tuesday, March 6th
Time: 12:30-2:00 pm
Location: Leith Room (004), Atkinson College

The European Union Centre of Excellence project housed at CCGES is pleased to present Prof. Nikos Skoutaris (Assistant Professor, International and European Law, Maastricht University). Prof. Nikos Skoutaris will deliver a lecture in the series “Whose (De)Fault is it Anyway? – The E.U. Crisis in Historical and Comparative Perspective” on Thursday, March 8th from12:30 to 2:00 pm in room 2003 Ignat Kaneff Building/Osgoode Law School (building # 32 on the map found here). Entitled “On Sovereign Debt Crisis and Sovereignty: A Consitutional law perspective”, this lecture will be the fourth contribution to a highly-successful lecture series which is intended to explore the intimidating dimensions of the European financial crisis from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.

Abstract: Legal theory often differentiates between external and internal sovereignty. The former denotes state’s power to act independently from an external or higher authority while the latter is usually understood as “the ultimate source of authority within a state”. In this talk, I will argue that while signing the Memorandum has been nothing more than a voluntary act made by a sovereign state that failed to effectively meet its economic obligations by reference to the markets, still, the ratification and implementation of the Memorandum impedes the very foundations of popular sovereignty as described in the Greek constitution. In order to achieve this, my analysis will focus on the legislative procedures used to ratify the relevant treaties that undermine the Greek Rechtsstaat and the implications of the signing of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the EMU.

Nikos obtained his LL.B. from the University of Aberdeen, his LL.M. from Maastricht University and his Ph.D. from the European University Institute (Florence). He has worked at Amnesty International, the Council of the EU, the Academy of European Law and Tilburg University. At the moment he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International and European Law of Maastricht University where he teaches EU External Relations law and comparative constitutional law. He is an academic expert in the fields of EU constitutional law, EU external relations, comparative federalism and conflict resolution theory.

All are welcome and light refreshments will be served.

Date: Thursday, March 8th
Time: 12:30-2:00 pm
Location: Room 2003 Ignat Kaneff Building/Osgoode Hall Law School

The European Union Centre of Excellence project at York along with York’s Centre for Refugee Studies and CERIS – The Ontario Metropolis Centre are pleased to present Stefan Kok of the Legal Commission of Ontario (formerly Senior Policy Officer, Dutch Council for Refugees). The lecture will be held at York’s Keele campus on Thursday, February 16, 2012 from 12:30 to 2:00 in room 519 York Research Tower (building #95 on the map found here). Subject of his lecture will be “Europe’s Borders and Refugee Protection”.

Abstract: European border management raises many humanitarian and human rights concerns.  In 2011, almost 2000 people died in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe.  Detention practices, asylum standards and return practices at the EU’s external borders have been widely criticized.  Yet, the Dublin II-system, which allocates the responsibility for dealing with an asylum request to the states of entry (often the EU-states at the external land and sea borders), remains the basis for the Common European Asylum System.  Is there a ‘Fortress Europe’ and what are its effects on refugee protection in the EU?

This event is presented by York’s Centre for Refugee Studies, CERIS – The Ontario Metropolis Centre and the European Union Centre of Excellence at York.
All are welcome and refreshments will be served:
Date: Thursday, February 16th
Time: 12:30 to 2:00 pm
Location: 519 York Research Tower