Marta Pérez Gabaldón (Vice Dean of Political Science at UCH-CEU) and Nuria Hernández García (Adjunct Professor in the Department of Political Science, Ethics and Sociology at UCH-CEU) organized the second edition of the seminar “Challenges and Threats to the European Union”, with the aim of creating a space for dialogue and reflection among professors from the Departments of Political and Legal Science and the Ángel Ayala Institute of Humanities.
Both professors are members of the research team Crisis of the Rule of Law in the European Union, led by Professor Susana Sanz, and this seminar continues the work begun in the first edition, where both faculty and doctoral students reflected jointly on the current challenges facing the EU.
From a clearly multidisciplinary perspective—philosophical, cultural, religious, legal, and political—the seminar explored the threats that call into question the stability and future of the European project. This pluralistic approach enriched the debate and broadened the analytical frameworks of the researchers participating in the event.
For further details, the list of participants and the titles of the presentations delivered during the forum can be consulted at the following link
Both Nuria Hernández and Marta Pérez presented their respective research developed within the framework of the project. Nuria shared a recently published article co-authored with Marta Pérez and Carlos González Tormo on democratic backsliding in the European Union, analyzing the factors that influence perceptions of corruption before and after the pandemic. Meanwhile, Marta Pérez presented a work in progress focused on the relationship between the perception of corruption and the digitalization of public administrations in Spain.
However, perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the seminar was the inclusion of a panel composed exclusively of doctoral students, providing a unique opportunity for them to present their work and receive feedback from more senior researchers.
In this context, research team doctoral students Almudena Del Castillo, Zitan Peng, and Carlos González Tormo participated and received valuable input from other team members, including the project’s principal investigator Susana Sanz, and Leopoldo García.
As part of the seminar, Almudena Del Castillo presented the progress of her doctoral thesis, which focuses on attacks on judicial independence within the European Union, with particular attention to the interference of the executive branch in judicial functions. Zitan Peng shared his research aimed at identifying possible solutions to the current values crisis that threatens the cohesion of the EU project. Finally, Carlos González discussed the development of his thesis on parliamentary inquiry committees in Spain, highlighting their theoretical role as parliamentary oversight tools, as well as the limitations and challenges arising in their practical application.
In short, the seminar provided a valuable opportunity for academic discussion around ongoing or recently published research, during what is typically a demanding period in the academic calendar: the end of the academic year.
