Lord Owen on eurozone crisis

Lord David Owen

Former Foreign Secretary and one of the founding members of the Social Democratic Party Lord David Owen will deliver a public lecture on the Eurozone Reform and the British EU policy next week.

Lord Owen will argue that Europe’s crisis is not only about technical flaws in the adoption of a single currency, it is more fundamentally about the incompatibility of the different models that EU governments have been pursuing while claiming to be engaged in a common endeavour.

He maintains that countries that see their future as part of an ever closer union should be free to pursue that goal, but that those who favour a union of self-governing states should have their sovereignty respected while being able to remain in a restructured single market.

Lord Owen, who qualified as a doctor in 1962, before entering politics, will be taking questions from the audience as part of the event when he comes to Aberystwyth on 15 April. 

Dr Kristan Stoddart, Lecturer in International Politics and Cyber Security at the University said:

“The Department of International Politics is pleased and proud to welcome Lord David Owen to speak at the University. His timely lecture comes at a pivotal moment in Britain's relations with the EU on the back on the Eurozone Crisis as a consequence of the economic crash of 2008. The long-term results of this event has had repercussions throughout the EU and the rest of the world and this represents an opportunity to hear from one of the leading policy-makers of the past thirty years.

“Tensions between national governments and the EU in the wake of the economic crisis have been at the forefront of debates regarding the future of the EU and Britain's place within it. His talk, following the recent death of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who played a significant role in the transformation from a European Economic Community into what became the European Union, is indeed timely and a wonderful opportunity to hear from and engage with a tremendous and forthright public speaker. It promises to be one of the defining events of the 2012/2013 academic calendar.”

Eurozone Reform and the British EU policy by Lord Owen, Main Hall, International Politics Building, 6pm onwards.

The lecture, hosted by the Department of International Politics is part of a wide range of interesting and stimulating public lectures held throughout the year to pose thought provoking arguments and discuss a range of topical issues.

David Owen was a Member of Parliament for Plymouth for 26 years from 1966-92. Under Labour Governments, he served as Navy Minister, Health Minister and Foreign Secretary. He was co-founder of the Social Democratic Party and its Leader from 1983-87 and 1988-90. He was created a Life Baron – Lord Owen of the City of Plymouth – in 1992 and sits as an independent Crossbencher in the House of Lords. He was EU peace negotiator in the former Yugoslavia from 1992-95.  He was Chairman of New Europe founded in 1999 which existed until 2005 campaigning against Britain's membership of the euro.

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