[MGSA-L] Invitation to the conference: North-South Relations in the EU: Clashes of National Stereotypes in a Period of Economic Crisis

[athanasios grammenos]

Dear members of the list,

I would like to invite those of you who will be in Athens on Friday, to a
very interesting conference, organized by the "Forum for Greece", the
"Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom" and the "European Expression
Youth".

More information follow below.

Best,
Athanasios Grammenos.

-- -- --
*
North-South Relations in the EU: Clashes of National Stereotypes in a
Period of Economic Crisis

*Athens, April 12, 2013
Royal Olympic Hotel, Room Kalliroe
Athanasiou Diakou 28

One of the most unwelcome effects of the crisis has been the breaking up of
the fragile lines of EU unity. The crisis either revealed or enhanced the
existence of national stereotypes. Most characteristic of all was probably
the emergence of a "dividing line" between Germans and Greeks. Even though
this re-emergence has been mainly of an emotional character and in response
to the new burdens the two nations had to carry because of the crisis, it
has lead to policies being formulated in accordance with the notion of the
"other" prevailing in each country.

The insistence on policies of austerity for the indebted countries of the
South on the part of Germany and “the North" in general, as well as the
emergence of more or less extremist parties in Greece who do not only
target the Memorandum, but indulge in high anti-German rhetoric, are the
most characteristic examples of this dangerous new trend which has gathered
new momentum after the recent bailout of Cyprus. Therefore, Forum for
Greece and Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) with the
assistance of European Expression Youth will host a thorough discussion on
this issue that affects EU Unity, Greek-German relations and policy
decisions at the European, Greek and German level.


Programme

09.30        Introduction:
        Maria C. Choupres, Director of Public Affairs & Policy, Forum for
Greece

Welcoming remarks:
Dr. Wolf-Dieter Zumpfort, Vice-Chairman of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation
for Freedom (FNF) and fmr. Member of Parliament
Dimitrios K. Katsoudas, Director, Forum for Greece, fmr. Secretary General
for European Affairs, MFA Greece


10.00        Keynote Speech-Introduction:
Prof. Dr. Kevin Featherstone, Professor, Eleftherios Venizelos Chair in
Contemporary Greek Studies, London School of Economics

10.30-12.00    Panel 1: "Resolving the EU Crisis: More or Less EU?"
(political panel)

        Speakers:
H.E. Kostis Hatzidakis, Minister for Development and Infrastructure of the
Hellenic Republic
H.E. Wolfgang Dold, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the
Hellenic Republic

Moderator:
H.E. Andreas Andrianopoulos, President, Forum for Greece and fmr. Minister

Interventions:
Konstantinos Fasoulis, Board Member of “European Expression Youth”
Despina Afentouli, Member of the Regional Government of Attica and Press
Officer of the Governor

Discussion

12.00-12.30    Coffee Break

12.30-14.00    Panel 2: "Lazy Greeks and Workaholic Germans: Notions of
“the Other" in the Two Cultures" (cultural panel)

Speakers:
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis MEP, German Member of the European Parliament
Aristos Doxiades, economist and author, Athens

Moderator:
Dimitrios K. Katsoudas, Director, Forum for Greece, fmr. Secretary General
for European Affairs, MFA Greece

        Interventions:
Stefan Zeidenitz, Author of the “Xenophobe’s Guide to the Germans”
Alexandra Fiada, Author of the “Xenophobe’s Guide to the Greeks”

Discussion

14.00-15.00    Light Lunch


15.00-16.30    Panel 3: "Resolving the Economic Crisis: Methods for
Economic Convergence of North and South" (economic panel)

Speakers:
Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Paqué, Chair of International Economics, Otto von
Guericke University Magdeburg, fmr. Minister
Michael Mitsopoulos (Ph.D.) & Prof. Theodore Pelagidis, Authors of
“Understanding the Crisis in Greece: From Boom to Bust”

Moderator:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis MP, Member of Parliament (Greece)

Interventions:
Epameinondas Gousopoulos, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH),
Zurich
Konstantina Zoehrer, Co-Founder of “Loft2 Social Enterprise”, Athens

Discussion

16.30         Closing remarks


-- 
*-- --*
*And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.*
*Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,*
*you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean. *
*
*
*Constantine Cavafy*
*
*
*«Εσμέν Έλληνες το γένος, ως η τε φωνή και η πάτριος παιδεία μαρτυρεί»*
*Πλήθων Γεμιστός*
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