JM MODULE 'EU CLIMATE POLICY AND DIPLOMACY IN SEE'

The Jean Monnet Module ‘European Climate Policy and Diplomacy in Southeast Europe’ (EU-ClimaPoDi-SEE) focuses into a subject that has been neglected in the past decades. The region of Southeast Europe (SEE) presents a perplexed and interesting case of Europeanization, as half of its countries are EU Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania and Cyprus), and the other half have either the status of EU candidate country (Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia) or potential candidate (Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo). Thus, much attention has been given to the course of Europeanization of these countries, in order to enter the Union and be compliant with its acquis. Nevertheless, little attention has been given to one of the most crucial topics of our times, i.e., climate change – which has now evolved into what is described as climate crisis. Climate crisis affects each aspect of everyday life globally, even more so it does so in the SEE area. This proves an undeserved oxymoron, as the area has not contributed much to the acceleration of the climate crisis, however it is highly vulnerable to its impacts and thus has to adapt disproportionally to this situation. Towards this end, the adaptation to the new reality, the European Union (EU) and all its current developments (in particular the European Green Deal, the European Climate Law and the REPowerEU) have a special role to play.

The Module's activities revolve around three annual educational actions. The first is a new post-graduate course, titled Climate Crisis: EU Policies and Diplomacy in Southeast Europe which will mainly focus on the impact the EU has on the development of climate policies in this region and their respective implementation and challenges, as well as the EU’s international efforts to convince the said countries for the need to act to combat climate change. The second is a research & methodological seminar on climate change policies that is addressed to undergaduate students of all disciplines. The third is a workshop on disinformation regarding climate policies which is mainly addressed to civil servants and journalists but also open to the general public.

The Module is co-funded by the European Union and it runs for three years, i.e., 1/1/2024 to 31/12/2026.