Mr. Klemen Polak (First Counsellor, Delegation of the EU to Japan) gave a lecture at the class of Aspects of EU Economies (Advanced Lecture) (22 June)

It was a great pleasure to welcome Mr. Klemen Polak (First Counsellor from the Political, Press and Information Section of the Delegation of the European Union to Japan) to the graduate class of the Aspects of EU Economies (Advanced Lecture) on Wednesday 22 June 2022. Mr. Polak gave a lecture entitled “Japan and the EU: A Strategic Partnership in Turbulent Times”. The lecture was attended by seven student participants (including the five graduate students who are registered for this class) and by three faculty members from Kobe University.

In his talk Mr. Polak outlined the EU’s role as a global actor in tackling climate change, Covid-19 pandemic and promoting human rights and peace-building. He also emphasized the united response by the EU and G7 in enacting sanctions against Russia following the recent Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Polak also illustrated the wide-ranged EU-Japan cooperation by referring to the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) and EU-Japan Green Alliance. In addition, Mr. Richard Kelner (Academic Cooperation Officer from the Political, Press and Information Section of the Delegation of the European Union to Japan) informed the students about study opportunities in Europe. During the lecture students actively asked many relevant questions (for example, how the individual Member States engage in the EU’s defence missions abroad and how the EU reacts when its partners, such as Japan have different stance on issues like death penalty) and Mr. Polak gave detailed replies to each question.

This class had been focused on the economic aspects of European integration, therefore Mr. Polak’s lecture and the active class discussion became a very valuable opportunity for our students to broaden their perspectives on the important role that the EU plays in responding to the pressing global challenges.