By Dr. Aaron Matta, Senior Researcher in EU Law Academic Programme Coordinator ofCLEER, T.M.C. Asser Instituut.CLEER special lecture on ”The experiences of the Lithuanian Presidency of the EU Councilin the field of external relations”, 20 February 2014, T.M.C. Asser Instituut, The Hague.The Centre for the Law of EU External relations (CLEER), hosted by the T.M.C AsserInstituut, has played since its inception in 2008 an active role in focusing on one of the mostdynamically changing areas of EU law, offering a platform for discussion and implementingvarious activities through which to connect those interested in the European Union’s actionson the global plane.LEER Presidency lecture series, initiated in 2011, complements the events organised byAsser Instituut and CLEER focusing on a specific segment of EU external actions: the role ofthe incumbent presidencies in coordination and leadership in regional and global issues.The forthcoming lecture is devoted to reviewing the experiences of Lithuania, during itsPresidency at the Council of the European Union from July to December 2013, in the areaof EU external relations. His Excellency, Mr. H.E. Mr Darius Jonas Semaška Ambassadorof Lithuania to the Kingdom of the Netherlands will give a presentation on the majorchallenges and achievements in representation, negotiation and coordination at the helm ofthe EU Council. Prof. Dr. Peter van Elsuwege, Professor of European Union law at GhentUniversity will complement the presentation as a discussant providing a critical analysis ofthe Lithuanian Presidency’s impact from an EU external relations point of view.The Presidency lecture series has been organised with great success to review the experiencesof the Hungarian (2011), Polish (2012), Danish (2012), Cypriot (2013) and most recentlyIrish (2013) presidencies of the EU Council in the field of EU external relations with the aim to assess how each country has fulfilled its aspirations and what its actions mean for theEuropean Union’s international relations.The lecture series has been particularly successful in engaging the diplomatic contingentof incumbent Presidencies posted in The Hague, giving them the opportunity to share theirexperiences with the broad networks of the T.M.C. Asser Instituut and CLEER.The T.M.C Asser Instituut and CLEER continue to count on the kind cooperation by the embassies of the EU Member States in The Hague, and hope to welcome members of thewider diplomatic community as well.For more information on the Lithuanian Presidency lecture http://www.asser.nl/events.aspx?id=399Information regarding forthcoming lecture series may be found on the CLEER website
www.cleer.eu
