European Strategic Autonomy: Will it fade into oblivion?

• Florence School of Transnational Governance

The STG Talks, held weekly, serve as a space for discussion for the STG community and beyond. Led by the STG Fellows, the talks are a place for informal learning and exchange on global issues affecting different areas of policymaking.

Since 2017, a series of events, such as Brexit, the Trump Presidency, and China’s assertiveness, have contributed to a growing sense of strategic autonomy within the European Union (EU). Supply chain vulnerabilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s energy weaponisation fortified the EU’s resolve to seek autonomy in almost all major policy areas.

During a period in which words regarding the urgency of European strategic autonomy dominated the European debate, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022 compelled the Union to put those words into practice. A mixture of potentials and constraints has influenced the EU’s response to the Ukraine war.

In light of ongoing debates regarding whether the war has enhanced or hampered the EU’s desire to be autonomous, the first-ever student-led STG Talk examines the state of play and the future trajectory of strategic autonomy – as the EU’s grand strategy – across a broad range of policy areas and issues, including technology, trade, agribusiness, rare earth elements, and EU enlargement.

Speakers:

• Anna Chiara Vigna, Master's student
• Clara Bullock, Master's student
• Tomiris Amirova, Master's student
• Emilie Sverdrup, Master's student

Moderator:

• Mahmoud Javadi, Master's student

The event will be held in a hybrid setting (in person in Palazzo Buontalenti's Elinor Ostrom Room and on Zoom). When registering please indicate if you wish to attend the event in person or online. Zoom link will be provided after registration.