Bringing the EU to San Francisco… and San Francisco to the EU!
Federica Bicchi, Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, London School of Economics, f.c.bicchi@lse.ac.uk
At the beginning of April 2024, I had the pleasure to organise in the framework of RENPET a seminar with students and staff from RENPET partners and the University of San Francisco (USF) on the theme of “Quo Vadis? EU-ropean Foreign Policy in a Post-Western Modern World”. It was followed by a meeting at the EU Office in San Francisco in which RENPET partners and USF students and staff entered into a dialogue with the Senior EU Envoy to the US for the Digital about the role of the EU in addressing changes connected to digital technologies. It was a fascinating experience in many respects.
The first surprise was the diversity of our host, the programme of International Studies at USF, both in terms of staff and of studentship. USF praises itself to be the most diverse campus in the United States, and it did show. Professor Nora Fisher-Onar was the lead contact, but many more participants to the event brought diverse experiences to the table. Presentations were by Professors Robert Kissack of IBEI, Kolja Raube of Leuven University, Helene Sjursen of ARENA and Niels Willigen of Leiden University, with Niklas Bremberg of University of Stockholm providing additional comments from outside the RENPET network. But this was just the start of a really good grilling about the EU’s significance and relevance. The first question, from a mature student, asked what precisely the EU had to say about Tonga, where the student was from. While the panel stressed the issue of migration and free trade, the key issue of the true global reach of the EU was in plain sight. The debate continued and roamed freely, including the possibility to ‘decolonise’ the EU foreign policy, the future of the global liberal order and the role of EU civilian/military missions. An informal reception followed, sponsored by RENPET and USF, which provided the opportunity to discuss mobility grants for students, the benefits of studying in the EU -and making some lasting connections with students and staff members. Let’s hope we meet again, maybe in Europe!
Two days later we brought the debate about Europe right to the heart of the EU, in the form of the EU Office in San Francisco. RENPET partners, as well as USF students and staff, gathered for an introduction to what the EU does in relation to digital technologies. We started well enough, with staff in the EU Office administering a quiz to USF students on EU essential – and USF students were definitely up to the par! That bag of EU goodies was severely contested. But then the real discussion begun and Gerard de Graaf, the Senior EU Envoy to the US for the Digital, gave a thorough and inspiring tour of the horizon in terms of why the EU matters in digital politics. Starting from personal anecdotes and recounting his own experience as negotiator, Gerard offered the most comprehensive and user-friendly introduction to the topic, which was appreciated by everyone in the room. He then graciously answered the multitude of questions that were raised. The conversation continued after the students left, inspiring the remaining academics to explore potential research avenues for their future research agendas. Interestingly, it was the first time that students had been welcomed to the EU Office and Gerard was particularly happy about this important development.
This “intercontinental outreach” that RENPET sponsored with the aim to foster promotion of EU studies and EU foreign policy scholarship beyond the EU was a resound success. While it seemed artificial to interview and film individual students, given the little time to get to know each other, there was a lovely recording of the both the event at USF and at the EU Office on LinkedIn by one of the students. Thank you, Sofia Zazueta, I hope that your dream to come to study in the EU will soon become reality!
Picture: EU Office in San Francisco