UKPEN.EU

European Unity Walk in Greenwich Park
2024-05-12 14:00 - 16:00 (Europe/London) | Greenwich Park, Charlton Way, London, SE10 8QY
Let’s celebrate European Unity with a spring walk in Greenwich Park. It is a time of new beginnings and growth. Choose between two distances according to fitness level.
We will finish in the Pavillion Cafe between 3 and 3.30 for a refreshing cuppa and a chat.
If the weather allows, we can sit outside.
Family and dog friendly walk.
Parking is available.

EU Strategic Autonomy Two Years into the War in Ukraine
2024-05-14 16:00 - 17:30 | Online
This event will take stock of the evolution of EU trade, investment, and industrial policy in light of the war in Ukraine, and the increased emphasis on economic security ahead of the EU elections.
It will be opened by a keynote address by Her Excellency Dalia Grybauskaitė (former President of Lithuania) who will be introduced by Prof. Daire Keogh, President of DCU. This will be followed by a panel, chaired by Una Mullally (Irish Times) featuring experts in this area, including Prof. Ming Du (Professor in Chinese Law and the Co-Director of the Global Policy Institute, Durham University), Dr. Cécile Pelaudeix (Senior Researcher, Sciences-Po Grenoble), and Dr. Niall Moran (Assistant Professor in Economic Law at the School of Law & Government at DCU & Deputy Director of the Brexit Institute).

Opinion board & street event in Leatherhead
2024-05-18 10:30 - 12:30 | High Street, Leatherhead KT19 8AA, United Kingdom
We’ll be sounding out how local people are feeling about a range of issues with a WHAT DO YOU THINK? question board and raising awareness on our relationship with Europe and with the European Movement. Come and join the conversation highlighting the Benefits of rejoining the EU. Our Street Question Board / Eurometer will be asking the question: Is it Time for a Change in direction?

The fight for the ECHR: What is at stake?
2024-05-29 18:30 - 19:30 | Online
Now, the people responsible for Brexit want to remove the UK from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the international court set up in the aftermath of the Second World War to protect people from tyranny.
Since the UK became a member of the ECHR, the court has intervened 466 times to uphold human rights against the government.
We are calling on Rishi Sunak to commit to our membership of the European Court of Human Rights because it is the last line of defence of our rights and freedoms. To support this mission, we launched the petition to keep the UK in the ECHR.
To discuss this vital issue, we have brought together three of the leading experts on the ECHR:
Dominic Grieve KC PC – Dominic is a British barrister and former politician. Today, Dominic is Vice President of European Movement UK (Source: Wiki).
Jessica Simor KC – Jessica is recognised as one of the country’s leading specialists in public/regulatory, EU and human rights law. (Source: Matrix Chambers).
Andrew Cutting – Andrew is Spokesperson and Media Officer at the Council of Europe, a role he has held for almost 14 years. (Source: LinkedIn).

Meet the Leaders Forum with Will Hutton and Vicky Pryce
2024-05-30 18:00 - 19:00 | Online
How would an alternative economic and political philosophy remake a better Britain?
Join author and commentator Will Hutton in conversation with leading economist and Chair of Fellows at Radix Big Tent, Vicky Pryce, about Will’s new book This Time No Mistakes: How to Remake Britain.
Will Hutton’s passionate book gives us plenty to discuss: Capitalism must be repurposed to work for the common good. And our degraded democracy, the necessary means for such change, must be reformed.

Dance Europa! Fundraising dance gala in aid of Ukraine
2024-06-08 08:00 - 17:00 | Commonweal C6 Auditorium, The Mail, Old Town, Swindon, SN1 4JE, United Kingdom
Support Ukraine! Come and enjoy a colourful international Dance Gala in aid of Ukraine. Enjoy dances from Ukraine, Georgia, the Balkans, Greece, England, and Spain, plus Dance Europa’s new thoughtful ballet ‘Continental Drift’ about current issues in light of traditions…
All proceeds will be donated to Swindon Welcomes Ukraine and Swindon Humanitarian Aid Partnership.

Brexit and the UK election, with Chris Grey
2024-06-09 17:00 - 18:15 | Online
The author of the Brexit and Beyond blog https://chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/ and Brexit Unfolded (Biteback , 2nd ed 2023) discusses the ongoing impact of Brexit on UK politics.

Between Putin and Trump: The chance for an UK-EU Reset
2024-06-13 18:00 - 19:00 | Online
Webinar with Professor Timothy Garton Ash, Professor of European Studies & Isaiah Berlin Fellow Emeritus at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford & Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University
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European Movement Staffordshire at Stoke-on-Trent Pride
2024-06-15 12:00 - 16:00 | Stoke-on-Trent Pride Hanley Park Cleveland Road Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 4DX​
The European Movement Staffordshire will have a stall at Stoke-on-Trent Pride

EU|UK Annual Conference 2024
2024-06-17 10:30 - 17:00 | Online
The annual EU-UK Forum conference will address the evolving dynamics of EU-UK relations in a period marked by improved dialogue and cooperation. It will focus on issues such as the development of diplomatic and trade relations, boosting Europe’s economy and competitiveness and the growing importance of security and defence cooperation.
Keynote speaker: Maroš Šefcovic, Executive Vice-President, European Green Deal, Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, European Commission

UK in a Changing Europe Annual Conference 2024
2024-06-18 09:00 - 17:00 | 1 Great George St, London SW1P 3AA
Join us in Westminster for the UK in a Changing Europe annual conference. Because most of the political parties aren’t, we will be reflecting on the future of the UK and its relationship with the European Union. Eight years on from the decision to leave the EU and just two weeks out from the general election, we are assembling expert panels of leading academics, policymakers and journalists to discuss the changing economic, political and social landscapes of both the UK and Europe.
It will include a keynote speech from Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King’s College London, and an introduction to UK in a Changing Europe’s latest report on UK-EU relations from UKICE Director Anand Menon.

Talking Europe, Ethics & Standards in Public Life
2024-06-24 19:30 - 20:30
with Dominic Grieve KC, former MP and Attorney General, Vice-President of the European Movement
livestream on X (Twitter), Facebook and YouTube

After the Elections, Where Now for Relations between the EU and Brexit Britain? with David Henig
2024-07-15 19:00 - 20:15 | Online
David Henig is Director of the UK Trade Policy Project. A leading authority on the development of UK Trade Policy post Brexit, he places this in the context of developments in EU and global trade policy on which he also researches and writes.

Parliamentary Recess
2024-07-30 08:00 - 2024-09-02 17:00

Grassroots for Europe Round Table #48: Brexit and After, Views from Ireland
2024-09-10 17:00 - 18:30 | Online
For this session, involving views from Ireland, we agreed it would be good to talk with friends in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Our colleague Jane Morrice, Hon. President of the European Movement Northern Ireland, former Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and former Head of the European Commission Office in Northern Ireland has kindly agreed to chair.
Registration is free but donations are welcome. We’ll share the Zoom link with all who are registered 24 hours before the event.

Party Conferences
2024-09-12 08:00 - 2024-10-07 09:00

Power-to-the-People Webinar “All aboard! – How can citizen assemblies shape our democracies?”
2024-09-12 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
This next “Power to the People” webinar will introduce the European Peoples’ Assembly, set up by the Democratic Odyssey, which will start on 27th September in Athens. The initiative is supported by a broad coalition that includes Another Europe is Possible, European Alternatives, European University Institute, Europe Calling, Mehr Demokratie, Citizens Takeover Europe, and ECI Campaign.
Speakers are:
Art O’Leary, Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission of Ireland who has organized the Ireland’s assembly on abortion rights
Professor Kalypso Nicolaidis, Chair in Global Affairs at the Florence School of Transnational Governance and co-lead of the Democratic Odyssey project
Niccolo Milanese, founding director of European Alternatives, a civil society organisation promoting democracy, equality and culture beyond the nation state
Sarah Händel, Board member of Mehr Demokratie e.V., one of Germany’s leading NGOs for deliberative democracy
Brett Hennig, Co-founder and director of the Sortition Foundation, campaigning to institute the use of democratic lotteries (also called sortition) in government
Alexiane Terrochaire – – Barbançon, Executive Board Member of the Young European Federalists (JEF Europe)
Clare Farrell (tbc), co-founder and spokesperson of Extinction Rebellion
David Van Reybrouck (tbc), writer, playwright, journalist, archaeologist and historian who founded the G1000 initiative, which campaigns for democratic innovation in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain.
A citizen representative from the EU’s Conference on the Future of Europe (tbc)
The event will be interpreted in English, German, Greek, Italian, French, Czech, Portuguese, Polish, Lithuanian and Bulgarian.

BREMAINERS ASK – SPECIAL ONLINE WEBINAR
2024-09-19 17:00 - 18:00 | Online
We are delighted to feature our first member of the House of Commons – Labour MP for Walthamstow, and Chair of the Labour Movement for Europe, Stella Creasy.
Stella has suggested a special webinar, hosted by our chair, Sue Wilson. The Zoom call link will be supplied in due course.
We are most grateful to Stella for making herself available for this very special online Bremainers Ask session and we hope you will join us.
Please register your interest in attending by email by Tuesday 17 September to allow for the administration of this event. enquiries@bremaininspain.com

What can Labour really do about #Brexit? with Peter Foster
2024-10-07 19:00 - 20:15 | Online
Peter Foster, author of What Went Wrong with Brexit, and What We Can Do About It (Canongate, 2023), explores how far the recently elected Labour government can reset relations with the EU given the ‘red lines’ set by Sir Keir Starmer ruling out rejoining the EU single market, a customs union or accepting Free Movement.
Peter Foster is the public policy editor of the Financial Times. His current brief covers all aspects of UK policy, including higher education, skills, investment and the implementation of Brexit.

EU-UK relations: Towards deeper cooperation in defence and security
2024-10-17 10:00 - 11:00 | Zoom, United Kingdom
This online Policy Dialogue will discuss the prospects and options for a deeper EU-UK relationship on defence and security, access to defence markets, and the strengthening of NATO’s European pillar.
With Juha Jokela (Programme Director, European Union and Strategic Competition, Finnish Institute of International Affairs) & Richard G Whitman (Professor of Politics and International Relations, University of Kent)

Brexit and British Farming, with Liz Webster (Save British Farming)
2024-11-17 17:00 - 18:15 | Online
Liz Webster is the founder of Save British Farming, a group which represents farmers, consumers and members of the food production industry. The group campaigns against the lowering of food and animal welfare standards by trade deals which will savage Britain by handing away control to global producers to dump their low standard food on the British public.

A Closer UK-EU Relationship, with John McStravick
2024-11-27 19:00 - 20:15 | Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA
What next for post-Brexit UK under a new government? At a time where there is increasing media speculation of a UK-EU reset, this talk will explore the current relationship, look at recent public polling and political positions on Brexit-related matters, and consider the prospects of closer ties between the UK and EU.

Bath for Europe welcome John McStravick who will give a talk and answer your questions at what promises to be a fascinating evening.

Britain is still in Europe
2024-11-27 19:00 - 21:00 | https://oxfordforeurope.org/events/britain-is-still-in-europe/
Prof Timothy Garton Ash will ask where Britain will stand in relation to Europe under a new British government, and with a new US president – and where it should stand.
Timothy Garton Ash CMG FRSA is Professor of European Studies at the European Studies Centre, St Anthony’s College, Oxford, and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is internationally known as an expert on the recent history of Europe, with special reference to Central and Eastern Europe. He has the unusual distinction of being celebrated as an academic, as an author and as a journalist. He is renowned for his passionate belief in the cause of Europe and his articulate opposition to Brexit.
At the meeting some of his books will be available for sale and Prof Garton Ash has kindly agreed to sign them.

Autocracy, Inc: with Anne Applebaum
2024-12-02 19:00 - 20:00 | Online
In the 20th century most autocrats were brutal dictators whose main goal was to control a domestic population. But in the 21st century autocracy has become much more sophisticated and ambitious in its scope. Having reported on different forms of authoritarian power over the past three decades, from the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe to the threat of 21st-century disinformation, Pulitzer-Prize winning author Anne Applebaum is a leading authority on autocracy. Join us for an alarming account of the rise of the autocrats, how they work together to undermine the democratic world, and how we should organise to defeat them.
The conversation will be followed by a live Q & A.

Europe's Democracy in Deeper Danger
2024-12-03 17:00 - 18:30 | Zoom, United Kingdom
Within the EU, autocratic contagion, recently checked in Poland, has spread from Hungary to other neighbouring countries. Authoritarian populist parties of the Right have made gains at European and national levels and threaten to make more. Trump’s recent victory in the USA poses a lethal threat to America’s democracy, fractures Western support for Ukraine and borders on open collusion with Putin’s genocidal imperial aggression. The new UK government appears to understand the challenge, but Brexit and its legacy continue to hamper the response. For pro-Europeans in the UK, regaining the trust of Europe may have seemed the key condition for ending the blight of Brexit; now, the priority may shift towards urgent, committed solidarity with democratic Europe (and democrats worldwide) in the defence of Europe’s democracy.
Our three panellists each bring highly relevant insights, engagement and experiences to our discussion of this tangle of dangers.
Peter Geoghegan is an outstanding, award-winning Irish investigative journalist who has done groundbreaking work on the US-UK (and US-UK-Russian) nexus of dark money and oligarchic business power, notably as key drivers of Brexit.
Dr Nina Shengelia is in the forefront of citizen efforts, notably in the digital domain, to combat current Russian hybrid assaults on Georgia’s democracy and defend its geopolitical independence as a candidate for EU membership.
Wojciech Przybylski, a Polish political scientist and journalist is editor-in-chief of Visegrad Insight, a major investigative, reporting and analysis site for politics across the Central European countries.

Violence against Women and Girls
2024-12-04 18:00 - 19:30 | Online
An opportunity to hear from three speakers who bring expertise from diverse fields, including academia, activism, journalism, and media. Followed by Q&A.
Chair: Dorothy Herson, YEM Vice President
Author, former lawyer, journalist and Editor at Cambridge University Press
Panellists:
Catherine Joy White – gender advisor for the United Nations (UN); advocate for gender equity in media and storytelling
Dr Fiona Vera Gray – academic at London Met University, currently working on UKRI-funded research into the harms of sexual violence; campaigner against violence towards women and girls
Cecilia Jastrzembska – president of the Young European Movement (YEM), journalist and feminist advocate.

The Next Chapter; Where is Europe headed? Who leads it?
2024-12-05 17:00 - 18:30 | Online
Today (27 Nov 2024), the European Parliament has confirmed the new EU Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen. This concludes a five-month-long power struggle and sets Europe on a new path.
Where that path leads and who will actually lead the EU on it, is still unclear.
Here’s why: The new and old Commission President von der Leyen made clear that she intends to lead the EU with a democratic platform, consisting of her conservative EPP, the social democratic S&D, the liberals in Renew, and, the Greens/EFA group. At the same time, her EPP with its leader Manfred Weber has repeatedly created majorities against this very platform with the three far-right groups in the Parliament. Raffaele Fitto, a member of the right-wing extremist Fratelli d’Italia gets a top position in the new EU Commission, despite his group voting against von der Leyen.
What sounds like an episode of House of Cards will very much determine the lives of every single European in the next four years.
Because, on topics like action against climate change and nature destruction, on a social Europe with its own resources, on the defence of individual freedoms and on the rule of law, the EU is deeply divided.
This is why we invited Professor Alberto Alemanno to our next Europe Calling webinar. Alberto is Jean Monnet professor of EU law, at HEC Paris, and the founder of The Good Lobby. He is one of the most outspoken voices when it comes to European democracy, and how to defend and improve it. In July, he wrote, “Ursula von der Leyen has lost Europe’s trust. She doesn’t deserve a second term”.
We want to hear from Alberto, what he thinks about the path the EU took over the last year, where it will head and who will lead it. And maybe most importantly, what the role of citizens like all of us can be here.

Common Ground: Scotland’s European Path
2024-12-05 19:00 - 20:30 | Online
An exclusive online discussion with former Labour MEP David Martin and Alyn Smith, for the former SNP MEP and MP.

In a time of political division, this event shines a spotlight on one of the few spaces in Scottish public life where individuals from diverse political backgrounds come together in unity. David and Alyn will discuss their shared belief that Scotland’s future lies at the heart of Europe and how we can work across party and constitutional lines to achieve that vision.
David Clarke, chair of the European Movement in Scotland (EMiS) says:
“Alyn and David are passionate Europeans who share similar views about building an unstoppable momentum that sees us eventually rejoin the EU. They will discuss how that momentum is built and the competing claims of independence or union as the most likely route back to Europe.”

The UK EU reset - what would be an ambitious outcome?
2024-12-10 09:00 - 11:00 | Scotland House Brussels 6 Rond-Point Robert Schuman 1040 Bruxelles Belgium
Our panel of EU and UK experts will delve into the possibilities and challenges ahead, exploring what an ambitious outcome could include. We will be joined by David McAllister MEP, Vladimir Dlouhy (Eurochambres), Tanja Buzek (Vice-Chair of the EU Domestic Advisory Group, EESC) and Federica di Sario (Politico). Mike Buckley (Independent Commission) will present outcomes from our work. Please join us for the discussion and networking after the event. Tea and coffee will be provided.

Eradicating VAWG; Empowering Europe
2025-01-07 17:00 - 18:30 | Online
A panel discussion on the prevalence of and increase of violence against women and girls (VAWG) across the UK and Europe before YEM’s campaign launch on 23rd January. Panellists will discuss how to mitigate this rise and how eradicating VAWG can empower both women and society as a whole. Followed by Q&A and discussion.
Chair: Cecilia Jastrzembska, YEM President & Co-Director, European Movement Board & National Council.
Speakers:
Dorothy Herson: YEM Vice President, Editor, Cambridge Press, author and former lawyer.
Hannah Phillips: Intersectional gender equality policy expert, Civility Commission Manager, Jo Cox Foundation, former Gender Parity Consultant, United Nations.
Sara Harris: Domestic Violence and Abuse Practitioner at Leeds Women’s Aid. Women’s Night Safe Space Support Worker for ‘Women Friendly Leeds. Former Ask for Angela Leeds Coordinator.
