The Undergraduate Conference on the European Union: Challenges and Prospects for the European Union in a Globalizing World

April 24-25, 2003

Co-sponsored by the European Union Center at the University of California, Berkeley and the European Union Center of California, Scripps College.

Location
Pitzer College, Gold Student Center (upstairs) in Claremont, California unless otherwise indicated. This conference was open to the public.

Thursday, April 24, 2003

3:00-5:00pm - Check-In and Registration (Shilo Hilltop Suites Hotel)

5:15-5:45pm - Transfer from Hotel to Claremont

5:00-6:00pm - Registration continued (McConnell Living Room, Pitzer College)

5:45-6:00pm - Introduction (Nancy Y. Bekavac, President, Scripps College)

6:00-7:00pm - Keynote Speaker (Ambassador Linn Williams, former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, McConnell Living Room, Pitzer College)

7:00-8:00pm - Dinner

8:00-9:30pm - Panel 1 on EU Capital Market Integration, EMU, and the Decision-Making Process in the ECB (Panelist: Manfred Keil)
  • "EU Capital Market Policy: Benefits of an Integrated Financial Market." - John Haron Feiertag (Pitzer College)


  • "European Monetary Union: Consensus Building in a Multi-State Monetary Agreement." - Matt Cohen (UC Santa Barbara)


  • "European Central Bank: A Two-Tier Veto Player Analysis." - Petula Tse (UC Los Angeles)


  • "CFA and the Euro: Cost-Benefit Analysis." - Job Musangu (Pitzer College)

Friday, April 25, 2003

7:30-8:30am - Breakfast (Shilo Hilltop Suites Hotel)

8:30-9:00am - Transfer from Hotel to Claremont

9:00-10:30am - Panel 2 Regulatory Approaches to the Bioscience and Energy Sectors (Discussant: Georgina Moreno)
  • "Transatlantic Differences in the Regulation of Genetically Modified Foods: A Comparative Study Between the US and the EU." - Jenoa Cohn (Scripps College)


  • "From the Ground Up: The Grassroots Anti-GMO Movement and its Effects on Current European Union Legislation." - Kerstin Millius (UC Los Angeles), Karen Studarus (Harvey Mudd College)


  • "Nuclear Energy and National Preferences: Germany, France and Bulgaria." - Julia Terlinchamp (Pitzer College)

10:30-10:45am - Break

10:45-12:15pm - Panel 3 Immigration Policies and Labor Markets in the EU (Discussant: Nigel Boyle)
  • "Immigration in the European Union, with a look on France." - Shogik Oganisyan (UC Los Angeles)


  • "Foreigners Out-The Rise of Extreme Right Party Support in Europe." - Timea Zentai (UC Davis)


  • "Citizen E.U. A Retrenchment of Rights for Third-Country Nationals." - Elizabeth Klebaner (Pomona College)


  • "A Common EU Immigration Policy and its Effect on Domestic Economies of Member States: A Comparative Analysis." - Amartya De (UC Berkeley)


  • "The Construction of a Common EU Asylum Policy, Building a Foundation." - Sarah Bullock (Claremont McKenna College)

10:45-12:15pm - Panel 4 Regional Conflict and Nationalism in the EU (Discussant: Elizabeth Crighton)
  • "European Integration from Below: Cohesion Policy and the Regions" - Benjamin Sauter (Pomona College)


  • "Economics, Politics, and Socioeconomic Development: An Analysis of the Structural Actions of the European Union." - Anil Kumar Bhargava (UC Berkeley)


  • "Regional Issues within the EU: The Catalan Case." - Mary Palisoul (UC Los Angeles)


  • "Nationalism & Regional Conflict: ETA & IRA." - Aneesa Moheyuddin (UC Los Angeles)

12:15-1:30pm - Lunch

1:30-3:00pm - Panel 5 Shaping EU Institutions for More Effective Governance (Discussant: Nigel Boyle)
  • "The Emerging Political Economy of the 21st Century and its Ramifications for European Union Institutions." - Stephen Smith (UC Los Angeles)
  • "Predicting Voter Turnout in EU Countries." - Bryan R. Fernandez (UC Los Angeles)


  • "A New Middle Age: A Post-Westphalian Approach to the European Union." - Henri Alexandre Bohas (UC Davis)

1:30-3:00pm - Panel 6 Economic and Political Challenges of EU Enlargement (Discussant: Valentina Padula)
  • "Europe at the Margin: Political and Economic Ramifications of EU Expansion." - George Vassilev (UC Berkeley)


  • "Euro-Atlantic Enlargement in Regards to Hungary" - Vaughn Shain Alexander(UC Los Angeles)


  • "Challenges of EU Enlargement: will the CAP be uprooted?" - Monica Boduszynski (Pomona College)


  • "European Union Enlargement: The Prospect of a Bigger and Better Future." - Leslie Clithero (UC Santa Barbara)

3:00-3:30pm - Break

3:30-5:00pm - Panel 7 Turkey: EU membership and Islam (Discussants: Nüket Kardam and Thomas Ilgen)
  • "The AKP and the Copenhagen Political Criteria:
    A New Era of Credibility?" - Elizabeth Hillmann (Claremont McKenna College)


  • "Inconsistencies in accession European Union-The case of uneasy neighbors." - Lana Lunskaya (UC Berkeley)


  • "Europe Reconceptualized: Turkey, Islam, and the Challenges to Identity." - Puneet Kakkar (UC Berkeley)


  • "Turkey: Gateway to the Middle East." - Luis Coiffait (UC Los Angeles)

3:30-5:00pm - Panel 8 Post-communist Transition and EU Enlargement (Discussant: Patricia Dillon)
  • "EU Enlargement: Down the Yellow Brick Road, or Are the Blind Leading the Blind?" - John Reilly (Claremont McKenna College)


  • "Lustration, Decommunization, and European Union Enlargement 2004." - Gail R. Farley (CSU San Bernardino)


  • "Cooperation or Rivalry: Bulgarian and Romanian Accession to the EU." - Elena Zaharieva and Sarah Hersh (Scripps College and Pitzer College)

5:00-6:30pm - Panel 9 EU Foreign Policy and CFSP (Discussant: Thomas Ilgen)
  • "Rapid Reaction Force: is it a force at all?" - Rebecca Urland (UC Los Angeles)


  • "Convergence of Interests: Peace-Keeping Operations as a Means of Strengthening CFSP." - Daniel Weggeland (UC Davis)


  • "Transatlantic Relations and European Security Relations: A History of Ambiguous Relationships." - Matthew Maggiore (UC Santa Barbara)

5:00-6:30pm - Panel 10 The Role of the EU in International Relations (Discussant: Gerlinde Bernd)
  • "Malign Neglect? Democratization and EU Response to the West Balkans, 2000-2003." - Michael Moreno (Pitzer College)


  • "Franco-German relationship revisited: Reacting to Global Power Balances." - Katja Hildebrandt (Scripps College)


  • "The European Single Market: Europe's Channel for Autonomy." - Javier E. Collazo (UC Los Angeles)

6:30-8:30pm - Closing Remarks and Dinner (Nigel Boyle, Director, EU Center of California, in the McConnell Living Room, Pitzer College)

8:30pm - Transfer from Claremont to Hotel

Saturday, April 26, 2003

Breakfast (Shilo Hilltop Suites Hotel), Check-out and Departure



A total of 38 students from 9 campuses participated in the Conference. The following is a list of participants by school:

UCLA 11
Pitzer College 5
UC Berkeley 5
UCSB 3
UC Davis 3
Pomona College 3
Scripps College 3
Claremont McKenna College 3
Cal State San Bernardino 1 (no funding was provided for this student)

Student participants were selected by the conference coordinator in consultation with Professors Nigel Boyle and Patricia Dillon. No student application was rejected since all applicants have shown a history of coursework in the relevant area of the European Union and sustained interest in European affairs. The selection committee attempted to accommodate every applicant.

Best panel papers of the conference were also acknowledged and will be rewarded. Best panel papers were nominated by each panel discussant. From these, two best papers of the conference will be selected. Valentina Padula (UCSB) will select the best paper from the Claremont Colleges and Nigel Boyle (Pitzer College) will select the best paper from the UC campuses.

Faculty Participants

A total of 9 faculty members participated in the conference as discussants; each in his or her area of specialization. These were: Manfred Keil (Claremont McKenna College); Georgina Moreno (Scripps College); Nigel Boyle (Pitzer College); Elizabeth Crighton (Pomona College); Valentina Padula (UCSB); Thomas Ilgen (Pitzer College); Nuket Kardam (Monterey Institute of International Studies); Gerlinde Bernd (UC Davis), and Patricia Dillon (Scripps College).

Conference Evaluation

The conference began on Thursday evening after a welcome from Nancy Y. Bekavac, President of Scripps College, and a keynote speech by Linn Williams, former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. The two days of the conference were organized into 10 panels covering various topics relevant to EU affairs (see conference schedule for panel topics). Each panel was composed of 3-4 students and a faculty discussant, who critiqued each panelist's paper and presentation.

The conference was a highly interactive experience. Student participants received constructive feedback from the discussants on how to improve their work. They were also able to interact with each other and the discussants on an individual basis and establish important contacts for the future. In addition to facing the critique of the discussants, student participants answered questions from the audience composed of students, faculty, and the public. The quality of research presented and the professionalism of the students' conduct made the conference comparable to other academic conferences of the highest quality. Based on the feedback received from student and faculty participants, the conference was an invaluable experience for the students in preparing for their future careers and a very rewarding one for the faculty. The results of the conference, in the form of student papers, will be published on a CD and sent out to all participants.

Future events of this type would benefit from even closer cooperation between faculty mentors, discussants, and students prior to the conference by encouraging feedback on early drafts of student research. Awareness of the opportunity to participate in the conference among the UC campuses should also be increased. A regular scheduling of the conference would significantly contribute to such efforts.