International conference on regional integration in times of pandemic

On June 3, the School of International Studies of the Faculty of Legal Sciences held an on Regional Integration processes, where the possibilities, perspectives and post-pandemic challenges were analyzed.

In the videoconference, the visions of the European Union were discussed with Professor Leonce Bekemans, from the University of Padua, and the situation in America with Michel Levi, from the Simón Bolívar Andean University.  

"The objective of the discussion was to provide an academic perspective on the future of regional integration processes after the COVID-19 pandemic, analyzing their present and future challenges and their development possibilities," said Mónica Martínez, Coordinator of the School.

At the opening of the event, the Rector of the UDA, Francisco Salgado, indicated that "the issue of regional integration is fundamental in this time that we are living" and expressed his desire to receive in the future Professors Bekemans and Levi in ​​the University campus.

The Dean of the Faculty of Legal Sciences, José Chalco, thanked all the organizers of the event, the invited academics, professors and students “for dedicating their time to these activities that seek to point out new directions to understand and act before the new realities and difficulties ”.

Professor Bekemans, speaking from Bruges, Belgium, pointed out that the European Union is today a “dynamic, not static entity, which today presents itself as a diverse social and economic model, seeking a role in these complex times, between internal and external tensions. ”.

The professor added that this model has never been so necessary, and it has never been more in danger.

For his part, Professor Levi focused on the American continent, and on the criticism received by regional blocs in the treatment of emergencies, such as that generated by the coronavirus.

“The states interact within the blocks to define policies based on their interests, that is, the blocks are subject to those that the states propose to them; that is why it is wrong to speak of the blocs as if we were not part of those regional integration processes ”.

At the end of the event, Mónica Martínez especially thanked Damiano Scotton for his initiative and the two exhibitors.