Past Event

CES, EURUS, and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung present as co-sponsors
The Syrian Civil War and the Refugee Crisis: Options for the EU
with Arne Lietz and Markus Kaim

Now in its fifth year, the civil war in Syria has turned into one of the world’s most egregious humanitarian catastrophes, a major challenge to international security, and a main trigger of the refugee crisis currently facing Europe. This talk discusses the European Union’s policy response to the Syrian conflict as well as its attempts to deal with the resulting refugee movements. It outlines the internal and international constraints that have complicated EU decision-making on the issue, and develops policy options for a more effective EU response.

About the Lecturers:

Arne Lietz has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2014. Elected for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), he is a member of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Social Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D). He serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development, and the Delegation for Relations with Israel. His main fields of parliamentary activity are currently issues of international trade policy as well as the resolution on the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and Syria.

Dr. Markus Kaim is Senior Fellow in the Research Division “International Security” at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin and Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Zurich. He has published widely on various foreign policy issues, including German and European defence and security policy, Euro-Atlantic security, EU-Canada relations, and multinational military operations.

For up-to-date information, please see the Centre for European Studies website.