Montague Burton Lecture with Herman Van Rompuy

On this occasion the Montague Burton Lecture will be delivered in association with the Europa Institute, and is timed to coincide with the 9th Europe Day celebrations.

Unlike previous Montague Burton Lectures, the format will be a discussion between Herman Van Rompuy and Sir John Grant on key current themes in European integration.

The discussion will be focused around:

• The COVID Recovery Fund - was it a “Hamiltonian moment”, and has the relative failure of the Commission’s vaccination programme undermined that sense of purpose and cohesion?
• Europe’s strategic autonomy. Is it a reality, and what reasonable tests can friends of the EU set as benchmarks? Especially in relation to the US, China and Russia.
• How worried is Herman Van Rompuy about the rule of law in EU Member States? Can the drift away from democracy be contained?
• Will the current dynamic between the Eurozone countries and the rest continue to “muddle through” or will there be a new institutional settlement, for instance an inner core with a distinct political and institutional identity, beyond Eurozone governance, in relation to the rest.

Following the discussion, there will be a Q&A session.

About Herman Van Rompuy

Herman Van Rompuy is a senior Belgian politician and served as Prime Minister of Belgium from 2008-2009. Between 2009-2014 was elected as the first President of the European Council – the format in which the Heads of State and Government of the EU meet. The post of President of the European Council was established by the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon and is elected by the Heads of State and Government. HVR was the first holder of that position. Presently HVR is Chair of the Strategic Council of the European Policy Centre, one of the leading EU focused think tanks in Brussels.

About Sir John Grant

Between 2003-2007 Sir John Grant was Permanent Representative of the UK to the European Union and principal EU adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair. Prior to his Brussels posting John had served as PPS to Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and later UK Ambassador to Sweden. John also sits on the First Minister’s Standing Council on Europe.

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