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Brussels workshop on the role of confidentiality in international negotiations

On Friday 12 February, CERIM (Maastricht) will host a workshop on ‘The Law and Politics of Confidential EU Negotiations’ at the UM Campus in Brussels.

The workshop is organised by dr. Abazi and dr. Aedriaensen (both CERIM). Central questions that will be asked at this workshop are: Why does the European Union negotiate (part of) its external negotiations in secret? To what extent is secrecy necessary in the context of EU negotiations and what are the consequences in terms of democratic accountability?

The aim of the workshop is to advance the understanding of the ‘necessity’ of secrecy for attaining candour and efficiency in negotiations as well as the arising consequences of the alleged trade-off between democratic accountability and efficiency. In addition, the workshop questions whether EU oversight institutions, such as the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman, challenge unnecessary secrecy practices or otherwise contribute to public debate on salient issues affected by negotiations in secret, such as fundamental rights. In this respect, speakers will focus on EU practice of negotiations, particularly on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

More information, including on how to register, can be found here.