This roundtable will provide an informed and critical account of the first European Commission under president Ursula von der Leyen (2019-2024), based on research conducted in the framework of the edited book The European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen. Gender, Leadership, Policies, and Crises. The roundtable will examine von der Leyen’s exercise of political leadership in the European Union, the Commission’s substantive agenda-setting and policy-making, intra- and inter-institutional relations, its responses to the various European crises, and its impact on European governance. It aims at capturing both continuities and changes in agency, structural processes, and policymaking at the European level from a gender perspective. International experts will discuss the extent to which von der Leyen and her Commission provided proactive leadership in face of imminent crises, and what kind of leadership, as well as effectiveness in addressing long-term issues, particularly gender equality, LGBTIQ and minority rights, as well as migration, and social policy. Integrating gender, leadership, structures, policies, and crises, the roundtable will deepen the understanding of the role, challenges and limitations of the first von der Leyen Commission in the evolution of European integration and the process of European governance.

Speakers

1. Gabriele Abels (Tübingen Universität)
2. Johanna Kantola (University of Helsinki)
3. Henriette Müller (New York University Abu Dhabi)
4. Hussein Kassim (University of Warwick)
5. Emanuela Lombardo (Scuola Normale Superiore)
6. Jane Freedman (Université Paris 8)
7. Maryna Shevtsova (KU Leuven)
8. Anna Elomäki (Tampere University)

Discussants

1. Hans Jörg Trenz (Scuola Normale Superiore)
2. Marinella Belluati (Universitá di Torino)

Chair

1. Guglielmo Meardi (Scuola Normale Superiore)
2. Mario Pianta (Scuola Normale Superiore)

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