On 10-11 December 2020, Riga Graduate School of Law (RGSL) hosted the online conference "On our way to 2030: delivering for resilient and prosperous societies". The conference provided the opportunity to discuss the most relevant issues within the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and Central Asian region through an interdisciplinary approach. The conference intended to facilitate debates at various levels by engaging experts from the regions, high-level politicians, diplomats, and civil society representatives.
On 10 December, the conference presented a publication containing articles written by the graduates of the Advanced and Intensive Programmes in European Law and Economics, implemented by Riga Graduate School of Law. Articles in the publication are intended to be of particular interest to academics, policymakers, and practitioners, as well as national and international governmental and non-governmental institutions.
The Advanced and Intensive Programmes in European Law and Economics are short-duration training programmes, developed for professionals coming from the European Neighbourhood Policy Countries, Central Asia and the Western Balkans. Both Programmes provide a knowledge transfer that is based on the experience of Latvia and other donors in their international relations.
On 11 December, among the participants of the conference were Dr. Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Parliamentary Secretary of the Foreign Ministry, Dr. Ineta Ziemele, Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union, Dr. Jan Zobec, Judge at the Constitutional Court of Slovenia, and others. The conference also included a special address by Jutta Urpilainen, Commissioner for International Partnerships, and an honorary video address by the Director of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, Mr. Michael O’Flaherty.
The event was organised in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway.
The video recordings of the conference are available at the RGSL YouTube channel:
Links to video:
Opening of the Conference. Pietro Sullo, Rector of the Riga Graduate School of Law, Dr. Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia, and H.E. Kristian Ødegaard, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to the Republic of Latvia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1hTHMTJtJw
Panel session I: The Role of Good Governance, Rule of Law and Public Administration Reform. Speakers: Peter Goldschmidt, Director of the European Centre for Judges and Lawyers, EIPA’s Centre in Luxembourg, Lolita Čigāne, International Consultant in Good Governance, Election and EU Affairs, Mārtiņš Krieviņš, Regional Manager EU Neighbourhood East, SIGMA, OECD. Moderated by Dr. Jānis Ikstens, Chairman of the Board of Riga Graduate School of Law. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmevpijC1zY
Panel session II: Sustainable Economic Development as The Cornerstone for Regional Stability. Speakers: Jānis Mažeiks, Under-Secretary of State, Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia, Prof. Inna Šteinbuka, Professor at University of Latvia, Former Head of the European Commission in Latvia, Juergen Klaus, Team Lead of Funding & Investor Relations Derivatives and Market Intelligence at the European Stability Mechanism. Moderated by Dr. Kārlis Bukovskis, Deputy Director of the Latvian Institute of International Affairs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ziSaE_vBBc
Panel session III: Importance of Fundamental Rights in a Democratic Society. Speakers: Dr. Ineta Ziemele, Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union, Dr. Jan Zobec, Judge at the Constitutional Court of Slovenia, Dilfuza Kurolova, Legal Consultant in the Europe and CIS programme at the International Commission of Jurists. Moderated by Dr. Pietro Sullo, Rector of the Riga Graduate School of Law. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3JtvWFwAsI
Keynote speech by Jutta Urpilainen, Commissioner for International Partnerships. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDTVeO61I9k
An honorary video address by the Director of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, Mr. Michael O’Flaherty. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jlc2Ue6h4TM
Daniel Goinic (Moldova) “Article 18 ECHR as a Warning Shot for Non-Democracy in Eastern Europe”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kylw9FOvZg4
Lucia Leontiev (Moldova) “Normative Power Europe: Tracing the Union’s Normative Power Approach in the Case of Eastern European De Facto States”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eme971mkFU
Rahim Rahimov (Azerbaijan) “Presidential Discourse Analysis of Azerbaijan’s EU Policy Over 2003‒2019”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SyCypaRNhY
George Lomtadze (Georgia) “Constitutional Requirements of Rational Law-making and Regulatory Reform in Georgia”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-2ukr7McMU
Zhengizkhan Zhanaltay (Kazakhstan) “Role of the Eurasian Economic Union in Trade Dynamics between the European Union and Kazakhstan”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NuSDpUXeyg
Anastasiya Griadasova (Kyrgyzstan) “Out-of-country voting in Estonia and Kyrgyzstan: Alternative Voting for Voters Abroad”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYn_8w5Mc6U
Closing remarks by Dr. Pietro Sullo, Rector of the Riga Graduate School of Law. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OSdYLYUVyg