On Monday, 27 March 2023, the College of Europe in Natolin hosted a guest High-level Lecture titled Thinking About the Long Term in Foreign Policy, by Baroness Catherine ASHTON, regarding her experience in leading the diplomacy of the European Union.
During the years that I led European foreign policy efforts, I learned that some common elements improved the chances of a successful outcome. I also came face to face with some of the real dilemmas of foreign policy – above all that decisions are rarely clear-cut and easy to take. So often there is no prefect solution. I have tried to capture something of what it was like to be there and how small pieces of history are made.
- Baroness Catherine ASHTON, from 'And Then What?: Inside Stories of 21st-Century Diplomacy'.
About the Speaker
Baroness ASHTON served as the EU's first High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy from 2009 to 2014. She is a life peer and former Leader of the House of Lords and has also served in the UK Government in the Education and Justice Departments. She is a Distinguished Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC, Senior Policy Advisor to Chatham House, and a Consultant to the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.
The event was live-streamed below, as well as on our YouTube channel and Facebook. It was organised in co-operation with the Center for International Relations and the ThinkTank analytical center.
Please find selected images of the event (sourced from our Flickr account) below, along with a YouTube highlight from the proceedings.