Online two-day Conference “Immediate and Wider European Security Considerations”– January 13 and 14, 2022
Immediate and Wider European Security Considerations
The EU Security Watch Spot, pillar of the Jean Monnet Project (Erasmus+) entitled “Enhancing the Debate about Intercultural Dialogue, EU Values and Diversity-EUVaDis”, at the Department of International and European Studies of the University of Macedonia organizes an online two-day conference entitled “Immediate and Wider European Security Considerations”. The conference will be held in English via the online platform Zoom, on Thursday 13 January (15:30-19:20) and Friday, 14 January 2022 (16:00-20:20).
A welcome greeting will be made by Professor Ilias Kouskouvelis, Head of the Department of International and European Studies at the University of Macedonia at 16:00 on Thursday, January 13th.
The conference is honored to have as a Keynote Speaker, General (ret.) Mikhail Kostarakos, Honorary Chief of Staff of the HNDGS and former Chairman of the European Union Military Committee.
The five thematic topics of the conference will be addressed by a number of academics, subject matter experts and young researchers, as follows:
First Session: Culture and Norms in the EU External Relations (13/01/2022, 16:30- 17:50)
– Kjell Engelbrekt, Professor of Political Science, Swedish Defense University – Konstantina E. Botsiou, Professor Elect of Contemporary History and International Policy, Department of International and European Studies, University of Piraeus – Dr. Chris Kremidas-Courtney, Senior Fellow for Peace, Security, and Defense, Friends of Europe
– Konstantinos Ifantis, Professor of International Relations, Department of International, European and Regional Studies, Panteion University
Second Session: Exporting the Values of the Union in the Context of the EU Foreign Policy (13/01/2022, 18:00-19:20)
– Dr. Konstantinos Balomenos, Director General, Directorate for Civil Defense and International Relations, Ministry of National Defense
– Revecca Pedi, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Department of International and European Studies, University of Macedonia
– Panagiota Manoli, Assistant Professor of Political Economy International Relations, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Peloponnese – Dionysia Tsolaki, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of International and European Studies, University of Macedonia
Third Session: The EU and the Mediterranean – Past Experience and Future Challenges (14/01/2022, 16:00-17:20)
– Dr. Daniel Beaudoin, Executive Director, International Society for Military Ethics in Europe
– Alexandros Mallias, Ambassador ad honorem
– Konstantinos Tzanetakos, First Lieutenant, Hellenic Air Force
– Konstantinos Zarras, Assistant Professor Elect, Department of International and European Studies, University of Macedonia
Fourth Session: Cultural Awareness in EU Missions and Operations (14/01/2022, 17:20- 18:40)
– Kalliopi Hainoglou, Assistant Professor of International Law, Department of International and European Studies, University of Macedonia
– Evangelia Kiosi, Lieutenant Colonel, Deputy Director of the College of the Legal Corps, Hellenic Armed Forces
– Fotini Bellou, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Department of International and European Studies, University of Macedonia, Head of EU Security Watch Spot, Jean Monnet Project “EUVadis”
– Ioannis Pateras, BGen. (ret.), PhD Candidate, Department of International and European Studies, University of Macedonia
Fifth Session: Religion, Terrorism, and the New Fundamentalism (14/01/2022, 18:50- 19:50)
– James Gow, Professor of International Peace and Security, Department of War Studies, King’s College London
– Vasilios Koutsoliakos, Police Lieutenant Colonel, Hellenic Police Force – Arthur Atanesyan, Professor, Head of the Department of Applied Sociology, State University of Armenia
– Imankalyan Lahiri, Professor, Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University, India
– Christos Nikas, Professor of International Economic Relations and Economic Integration, Department of International and European Studies, University of Macedonia
The working language of the event will be English while no interpretation or translation services will be available.
There is no Conference attendance fee whereas registration is required through the following link:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJclfu2vrzwrGtXTp8ARqXbMWV8h-VyIPGW7
After the completion of the abovementioned registration process, registrants will receive the live streaming event link in the e-mail used during their respective online signup. The streaming link will be identical for both days of the Conference.
Attendees will be awarded Certificates of attendance via the email used for their event registration.
More information can be found on the Jean Monnet EU Vadis project website: https://jmpeuvadis.uom.gr or on the relevant Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/JMP.EUVaDis/.
For any further questions or additional information please contact jeanmonnetproject-euvadis@uom.edu.gr.
“Aspects of Hybrid Security Threats Within the EU and its Wider Vicinity” – January 21, 2021
Third Guest Lecture Event of the EU Security Watch spot
"Aspects of Hybrid Security Threats Within the EU and its Wider Vicinity”
The EU Security Watch Spot, unit of the Jean Monnet Project “Enhancing the Debate about Intercultural Dialogue, EU Values and Diversity”, Department of International and European Studies, University of Macedonia, organized its third online Guest Lecture Event entitled “Aspects of Hybrid Security Threats Within the EU and its Wider Vicinity” on the 21st of January 2021.
The Welcome Speech was delivered by Professor Ιlias Kouskouvelis, Head of the Department of International and European Studies of the University of Macedonia, who stressed the importance of examining and discussing the different aspects of security and highlighted the need to critically evaluate ideas and concepts in order to enhance academic debate and clarity.
Dr. Ofer Fridman, Guest Speaker of the event, Lecturer in War Studies at King’s College, London, UK, elaborated on the nature of hybrid threats in the European context while his critical perspective sparked considerable and much-needed debate among the online attendees. Academics and subject matter experts had the opportunity to analyze various aspects of security challenges facing the E.U. More specifically, Dr. Konstantinos Lambropoulos, Associate Fellow in the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, focused on the regional perspective of hybrid threats in East Mediterranean, followed by Professor Dimitrios Triantaphyllou from Kadir Has University in Istanbul, who made an in depth analysis on the security considerations in the wider E.U. region, while Mr. Michalis Mathioulakis, Academic Director at the Greek Energy Forum and Ph.D. Candidate at the Department of International and European Studies of the University of Macedonia, addressed the energy sector as an area of security considerations for regional powers in East Mediterranean. The discussion was moderated by the Head of the EU Security Watch Spot, Assistant Professor Fotini Bellou.
The Guest Lecture Event was attended by more than 240 participants consisting of university students, military personnel, and subject matter experts from Greece and abroad. The active discussion that followed in the Q&A session revolved around the conviction, shared by speakers and participants, about the need for continued research not only on the character of events that challenge E.U. security, but also on the wider strategic context in which these events take place. Moreover, the importance of enhancing the response capabilities of E.U. Member States was stressed in the discussion. Speakers and participants shared the view that the multifaceted character of threats currently facing the E.U. requires well-coordinated responses as well as a unified purpose to address those threats effectively. Yet, it was acknowledged that such conditions are still pending from the E.U., which still struggles to defend its own strategic identity.
“Women in Diplomacy” – December 16th, 2020
Second Guest Lecture Event of the EU Security Watch Spot
"Women in Diplomacy”
The EU Security Watch Spot of the Jean Monnet Project “Enhancing the Debate about Intercultural Dialogue, EU Values and Diversity”, Department of International and European Studies – University of Macedonia, successfully organized its second online Guest Lecture Event entitled “Women in Diplomacy”, on 16nth of December 2020. The Event was conducted in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair “Women, Peace and Security: Building Opportunities and Resilience through Education and Research” of the University of Macedonia.
The Welcome Greeting was delivered by the Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts of the University of Macedonia, Professor Athanasios Zervas, Department of Music Science and Art, who not only stressed the importance of women in diplomacy but also emphasized on the attendance at the conference of distinguished guests who promote female representation.
The Keynote Speaker, Ms. Elizabeth K. Lee, U.S. Consul General in Thessaloniki, elaborated on the role that women have portrayed in U.S. diplomacy over the years. The subject was thoroughly discussed by academics from the Departments of International, European and Area Studies of the Panteion University and International and European Studies of the University of Macedonia, at the roundtable discussion that followed. More specifically, Assistant Professor Chara Karagiannopoulou focused on the role of women as diplomatic partners, followed by Assistant Professor Kalliopi Chainoglou who presented the lack of extensive female representation in international organizations and law- making bodies. The concluding remarks were addressed by Assistant Professor Fotini Bellou, Head of the EU Security Watch Spot and Director of the UNESCO Chair, who highlighted the need of female mediators’ representation in all stages of peacemaking procedures.
The successful event was attended by more than 130 university students, military personnel and subject matter experts who also had the opportunity to take part in the discussion that followed, in which subjects such as the importance of the continued efforts for more inclusivity to the foreign policy bodies and a more extensive female representation in all spheres of policymaking were highlighted; the significance of the promotion of the Women, Peace and Security Policy Agenda, in light of the 20th anniversary of the fundamental U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 was equally emphasized during the aforementioned discussion with the audience.
“Security in Europe: Asymmetries, Threat Character and Power projections” [in Greek] – 23rd of October 2020
First Guest Lecture Event of the EU Security Watch spot
Contemporary security issues in Europe:
Revisionism, Identities, Asymmetric Threats and Power Relations The EU Security Watch Spot of the Jean Monnet Project “Enhancing the Debate about Intercultural Dialogue, EU
Values and Diversity” of the Department of International and European Studies of the University of Macedonia
organized with great success its first virtual Guest Lecture Event, on “Contemporary security issues in Europe:
Revisionism, Identities, Asymmetric Threats and Power Relations” on 23rd of October 2020.
The Keynote Speaker was Dr. Konstantinos Lambropoulos, Senior Strategic Analyst and Partner of the Geneva
Center for Security Studies, who spoke about security in Europe, asymmetric threats and power projections. A
roundtable discussion followed with a number of academics from the Department of International and European
Studies who discussed various angles of international security. More specifically, Professor Georgios M.
Spyropoulos focused on the extended nature of international security, Professor Spyridon M. Litsas discussed
security and power in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as notions related to climate change and their effect on
security, Assistant Professor Revecca Pedi, presented security issues of small states of the European Union, and,
finally, Assistant Professor Fotini Bellou, Head of the EU Security Watch Spot, looked at the conditions under which
European security has become the victim of an evolving revisionism.
The event was organized in Greek and was attended by more than 300 university students, military personnel and
subject matter experts. The discussion that followed with the audience highlighted the importance of key EU policy
areas, such as security and defence. It also emphasized the need for continued academic interest and research in
order clarify a number of uncertainties and to shed light on the important questions pertaining European security
