Policy & Practice Seminar: Europe at a Crossroads

Since its inception in the 1950s, the European Union has sought to establish a single common market, promote peace and democracy among member states, secure its borders from external threats, and address global challenges such as climate change. Yet over the past decade, the bloc has faced a growing range of security and economic challenges, from the Eurozone crisis and the UK’s withdrawal to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. The breakdown of the US-EU relationship following Donald Trump’s return to office has further complicated matters given the EU’s long-standing reliance on the US for security cooperation and access to export markets.

What comes next for the EU in terms of security, cooperation, and defence? How can the bloc balance greater strategic sovereignty with shifting geopolitical alliances? What’s next for UK-EU relations ten years after the Brexit vote? And how has the rise of far-right populism across member states influenced the development and direction of the Union? Our expert panel will explore these questions and consider what the future may hold for Europe in an increasingly uncertain geopolitical landscape.

is a former British diplomat with roles in London, Bangkok, Bogota, New Delhi, Washington and Tbilisi, where she was Ambassador from 2013-2016. Her final diplomatic posting was as Brexit spokesperson at the British Embassy in Washington from 2018-2019, a position from which she resigned after concluding that she could no longer represent the government’s positions on Brexit with integrity. She frequently comments on transatlantic relations and co-hosts the foreign policy podcast Disorder.

is Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King’s College London. He is also director of the UK in a Changing Europe. He has published extensively on UK and EU politics, including his co-authored book Brexit and British Politics. Anand also frequently comments on UK-EU relations in various media outlets including The Times and Le Monde.

is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government and Senior Research Fellow at UK in a Changing Europe, King’s College London. She worked at the IfG as a Programme Director from 2009 to 2019, leading work on Brexit, policy making and arm’s length bodies. Before joining the Institute she spent most of her career in the civil service, working at HM Treasury, No.10 and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

is Associate Professor of European Studies and Director of the UCL European Institute. As Global Strategic Academic Advisor (Europe), she also works to shape UCL engagement with the European university sector. Her research sits at the intersection of modern European thought, culture, and politics. She is the co-editor, inter alia, of Parliament Buildings: the Architecture of Politics in Europe (2023), Brexit: Past – Present – Future (2021), and Brexit and Beyond. The Future(s) of Europe (2018).

Chair: is a Lecturer in European Institutions, Politics and Policy in the UCL Departent of Political Science. His research focuses on judicial politics, European integration, and Central and Eastern Europe. Prior to joining UCL, he worked as a researcher at universities in Sweden and Belgium and as a political advisor in the European Parliament.

This seminar is jointly hosted with the .

This event will be recorded and the video will be uploaded to our YouTube channel.

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Seats are allocated on a first come, first served basis. We cannot guarantee you a seat, but it is very unusual that we have to turn someone away.

• The corridor outside the lecture theatre(s) is sufficiently wide enough (150cm+) to allow wheelchair users to pass.
• There is step free access (Platform lift) into the lecture theatre(s).
• The door opening width(s) is/are 75cm+ for the lecture theatre(s).
• There are no designated spaces for wheelchair users within the lecture theatre.
• There is no space for an assistance dog.
• There is no hearing assistance system for the lecture theatre(s).

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2026 is the year in which we celebrate UCL’s Bicentenary, marking 200 years since UCL’s establishment as the first University in London.

UCL Political Science and School of Public Policy are celebrating with a programme of seminars that relate to one of UCL's core research themes: Fairer Futures

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Wilkins Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, UCL, Gower Street, London, United Kingdom

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