Pitt to Host Conference on International Security April 7

PITTSBURGH-The University of Pittsburgh will host a one-day conference to discuss how the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are coping with evolving defense and security environments in Europe and their impact on transatlantic relations with the United States. The conference-The EU and NATO in the 21st Century: Security Collaborators or Competitors?-begins at 8 a.m. April 7 in the Pennsylvania Room of the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, 4215 Fifth Ave. Oakland.

Both the EU and NATO face significant challenges in international security operations at present, largely as a result of the rise of insurgencies and terrorism. The conference will discuss the EU and NATO's options for addressing change and modernizing tactics.

The conference will feature four discussion sessions focusing on transatlantic security from European and American perspectives. Speakers include Ambassador Robert E. Hunter, senior advisor with RAND Corp. and former U.S. permanent representative to NATO; Frédéric Bozo, professor of European history at The Sorbonne; Eric Remacle, head of the political science department and director of the Bernheim Chair for the Study of Peace and Citizenship at the Université libre de Bruxelles; and Ambassador Kurt Volker, U.S. permanent representative to NATO. Question-and-answer sessions will follow the discussions.

The conference is sponsored by Pitt's European Union Center of Excellence and European Studies Center, University Center for International Studies, Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies, and the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs as well as by the European Commission.

The conference is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Beverly Brizzi at 412-624-7884 or brizzi@gspia.pitt.edu.

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