Economic and Political Implications of Europe’s Financial Crisis Is Subject of Jan. 17 Videoconference at Pitt

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh’s European Union Center of Excellence/European Studies Center (EUCE/ESC) will discuss the economic and political implications of the European debt crisis during an interactive videoconference titled “Is the Future of the Eurozone the Future of Europe?” The videoconference will be held at noon Jan. 17 in Room 211, David Lawrence Hall, 3942 Forbes Ave., Oakland.

“Both the Eurozone and the larger European Union are at a crucial decision point—one that is no less significant than earlier times of formation, enlargement, and structural change,” said Ronald Linden, director of Pitt’s EUCE/ESC and a professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Political Science. “The way forward will have significant political and economic implications, not only for Europe and its immediate neighbors, but also for its largest economic and strategic partner, the United States.” 

Moderated by Linden, the conference locally will feature Alberta Sbragia, Pitt vice provost for graduate studies, the inaugural holder of the University of Pittsburgh Mark A. Nordenberg University Chair, Jean Monnet Chair ad personam, a political science professor, and former director of Pitt’s EUCE/ESC. She is one of the world’s foremost experts on European politics and economics and a leading authority on the teaching of international affairs.

Sbragia will be joined remotely by two top EU experts: Christian Lemke, professor of political science at Leibniz University and the Max Weber Chair at New York University, participating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s EUCE, and Larry Neal, emeritus professor of economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and visiting professor at the London School of Economics, participating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s EUCE.

The Bayer Corporation also will be participating via videoconference as a part of Bayer’s Public Affairs outreach that the company offers its employees.

The event is the first in the series of Conversations on Europe being planned by Pitt’s EUCE/ESC. For more information on the EUCE/ESC, visit www.ucis.pitt.edu/euce/

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