The Summer Program intends to cope with one of the main challenges constitutionalism and representative institutions are currently facing in Europe, namely ensuring transparency and accountability at the time of a polycrisis (due to the pandemic and the related economic troubles, the crisis of the rule of law, the never-ending migration crisis, the war at the borders and the humanitarian crisis). By bringing together an interdisciplinary group of renown international scholars, in particular in the fields of constitutional and EU law and in political science, as well as professionals, the Summer program will try to untangle the following problematic knots: What are the standards of transparency, accountability and secrecy that we are to use at EU and at national level? How similar they are? What consequences are triggered by the increasing complexity of the procedures developed between the EU and the Member States on transparency and accountability? What is the acceptable trade-off between openness and secrecy that we can tolerate when multiple crises are happening at the same time and for how long? What can Parliaments do to enhance democracy accountability in the present context?
Monday 11 July
Morning
10.30-11.00 - Introduction to the course
11.30-13.00 – Opening lecture on “Rule of law principles in the EU and the question of transparency”
Laurent Pech (Middlesex University London)
Afternoon
14.00-15.30 Lecture on “The law and politics of secrecy in the EU” (online)
Vigjilenca Abazi (Maastricht University)
16.00-17.30 - Group working and discussion on the Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 on public access to documents in the EU
Tuesday 12 July
Morning
9.30-11.00 Lecture on “The challenge of accountability and transparency for the European Commission”
Thomas Christiansen (Luiss University)
11.30-13.00 Workshop on “Transparency in the EU institutional framework: Theory and practice”
Emilio De Capitani (Fundamental Rights European Experts Group) and Sabina Lange (European Institute of Public Administration)
Afternoon
14.00-15.30 Lecture on “Trilogues in the EU legislative process”
Giacomo Rugge (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public and International Law, Heidelberg)
16.00-17.30 Workshop on “National Parliaments’ scrutiny of their executives in EU affairs: Practices and developments”
Bruno Dias Pinheiro (COSAC Secretariat) and Elena Griglio (Senate of the Italian Republic)
17.30-19.00 Presentations by the participants
Wednesday 13 July
Morning
9.30-11.00 - Lecture on “Transparency in the EU external action: The effects of the Union’s constitutional architecture” (online)
Christina Eckes (University of Amsterdam)
11.30-13.00 – Lecture on “Parliamentary accountability and the role of codes of conducts”
Julien Navarro (University of Lille)
Afternoon
14.30-16.00 Lecture on “Lobbying regulation in the EU and in the Member States and the issue of transparency”
Silvia Sassi (University of Florence)
16.30-18.00 Lecture on “Revisiting the Dignity of Legislation” (online)
Vlad Perju (Boston College Law School)
Thursday 14 July
Morning
9.30-11.00 - Lecture on “The responsibility of the executives and the question of parliamentary accountability”
Olivier Rozenberg (Sciences Po-Paris)
11.30-13.00 Lecture on “Accountability problems in the Economic and Monetary Union”
Adina Akbik (University of Amsterdam)
Afternoon
h. 15.00 Visit to the Italian Chamber of Deputies
h. 18.30 Visit to the Senate of the Italian Republic
Friday 15 July
Morning
9.30 – 11.00 – Written test
11.30-13.00 - Lecture on “The governance of the national recovery and resilience plans: A test-bench for Euro-national parliamentary accountability?”
Nicola Lupo (Luiss University)
Afternoon
15.00 Resuming the session, distribution of questionnaires
15.30-16.30 Closing lecture on “Accountability for atrocity crimes. Role and limits of international criminal jurisdictions.”
Rosario Salvatore Aitala (International Criminal Court and LUISS University)
16.30- Commencement of diplomas
PARTICIPANTS
The Summer Program is designed for:
- graduates, doctoral students and post-docs active in the field of constitutional law, human rights, political science, parliamentary and legislative studies, European studies, international affairs (preferably with a background in social sciences)
- civil servants from European institutions and bodies, from international organizations, and from national and subnational institutions in the EU Member States and from third countries
professionals working for NGOs, think tanks and interest groups who want to acquire advanced knowledge on how the EU and its Member States are coping with the challenge of openness, transparency and democratic accountability.