A New Year message from
Peter Luff, Chairman of the European Movement UK

You can also see Peter Luff's earlier comments on the new European Treaty, with links to further background sources.

Monday 21 January 2008
the Annual General Meeting
was held in Brighton, at the Brighthelm Centre.

Home study days
Study Days are usually 3 hour afternoon events, held in a private house.
Check here for any plans during 2008.
The visit of colleagues from Aumühle involves several study topics (below).

Presidency lunches

It is a tradition that the branch organises a lunch or dinner twice a year, with an expert speaker to review the work taken on by the country holding the current Presidency of the European Council.

Slovenija held the EU Presidency from January to June 2008,
this summer's event was an evening dinner, held on 17 July (more below).

From July to the end of the year the EU Presidency is held by France. This year's AGM lunch on 30 October is followed by a talk on issues confronted during the French Presidency.

Friday 23 May 2008
Life after Lisbon ?

a one-day special event, organised in association with the European Institute
of Sussex University, looked at issues in the future of Europe after the Treaty of Lisbon.
The event also commemorated the life of François Duchêne – a man close to the founding of what has now become the European Union.

Click here to see the full programme.

François Duchêne who died in 2006 was an administrator, a policy analyst, an academic, a published poet, a keen musician and an enthusiast for a united Europe. He was present at the birth of modern integrated Europe as an assistant to Jean Monnet when he was setting up the European Coal and Steel Community, a precursor to and an inspiration for the European Union as we know it today. He was founding director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, professor and Director of the Centre for European Studies and finally emeritus professor in the University of Sussex. He was author of a hugely admired and influential biography of Jean Monnet. All of his life he was an enthusiastic member of the European Movement and the Sussex branch in particular.

The commemorative event also launched a Bursary for travel and research expenses
for Research Students of the University of Sussex in any discipline to:

Pursue field work in continental Europe connected with their thesis on issues of European Integration broadly construed or,

Contribute to a collaborative project in another European country and connected to their research.

This bursary has been set up with funding from Sussex European Institute, friends of François
and from members of the Sussex branch of the European Movement,
and is being administered by the Sussex European Institute.

Click here to see more about the awards given on 23 May.

European events in neighbouring areas

This panel will show events in Kent, London and Surrey which might be interesting for members from Sussex.  We also list separately events planned by the Eastbourne branch.

Tuesday, 16 December, 2 pm to 5.30 pm
at the London Metropolitan University, 31 Jewry Street, London  EC3N 2EY

   

Social Reality Stocktaking ?
– Social Models: British, European, or not that different

Speakers will be

Frédéric Lérais, Bureau of European Policy Advisers, European Commission
Jorma Karppinen, Director, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Henning Meyer, Head of European Programme, Global Policy Institute
Neal Lawson, Chairman, Compass
Will Hutton, Chief Executive, The Work Foundation

to register, contact Ulrike Rüb-Taylor - 0207 320 3045
download an A4 poster (PDF)

Saturday 10 January, 10.30 am to 3.30 pm
at the Roberts Building, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1

a European Movement conference for members

10 years of the euro
– will the financial crisis lead Britain into the euro ?

Speakers include Graham Bishop, John Stevens, Peter Luff and Brendan Donnelly.

£20 if you are an EM member and £10 if you are a YEM member (non-members welcome),
this includes conference papers, lunch and refreshments.

Download the registration form here
you can then either send it with a cheque payable to "European Movement", at:
European Movement UK, room 203, Southbank House, Black Prince Road, London SE1 7SJ
or e-mail your registration.

June 2008
 
Study weekend with guests from Germany

From 26 to 30 June the branch hosted guests from Aumühle, near Hamburg, for a study weekend.

The wide range of topics discussed included:
   the UK and euroscepticism - similarities and differences in attitudes to Europe
   European education (how it is introduced into the German school curriculum,
and comparisons with "citizenship" courses in Sussex)
   problems and opportunities in handling migration into Europe
   Europe after the Treaty of Lisbon, and how to handle the Irish referendum result;
would a two-speed Europe be possible?
   issues arising from German relations with Poland and towards Turkey

Click on the picture for a fuller report of the three discussion sessions that weekend.

Citizenship in schools

The Sussex branch has been working with the advisory teams of West Sussex Children and Young People Services to support the Europe theme included in the secondary school citizenship curriculum.

Launched at a teachers' training conference in Crawley on 27 March, an opportunity was organised by Sarah Leigh for a group of teachers to go to Brussels on 15-16 July to see how the EU works and consider how to engage with it in their teaching.  The group was able to visit the three most important institutions - the Council of the European Union, the European Commission and the European Parliament.

Click for more about the visit

It is hoped to extend this partnership to East Sussex and Brighton & Hove in future.
We would be glad to hear from anyone with an interest in this next step.  Just send us a note.

Presidency dinner

held in the Sussex Room of the Birch Hotel, Haywards Heath
on Thursday 17 July 2008

Slovenija held the EU Presidency from January to June 2008,
Francis King, the first Director of the British Council in Slovenija spoke at the dinner.

Read about what Francis King had to say about Slovenija - click on the picture.

Later in the autumn we hope to arrange a similar event
focussed on the current EU Presidency of France.

Sussex branch, lunch and talk open to guests

Thursday 30 October 2008
held in the Saxon Room of the Steyning Centre
Fletcher's Croft, Steyning

Annual General Meeting
click for the Agenda, Minutes of the previous AGM, Education report
click for the draft Minutes of this AGM (PDF)

followed by a buffet lunch and talk on
the French Presidency of the European Council

Our guest speaker was Diégo Colas Conseiller politique - Ambassade de France à Londres Political counsellor - French Embassy in London. Click on the image for a report of the talk