D T : H

kindly invite you to the lecture
DIPLOMACY TODAY: HOW TO MEASURE THE
WORLD? BELGIAN AND EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES
.
By
H.E. AMBASSADOR DIRK WOUTERS
Permanent Representative of Belgium to the EU
Tuesday 16 April 2013, 19:00 – 20:30
Auditory Zeger Van Hee
Room: DV1 91.56
Oude Valk, Law Faculty
Tiensestraat 41 – 3000 Leuven
Participation is free, but prior registration is required at
[email protected] before Friday 12 April 2013.
Just as 19th century scientists sought to measure the world with mathematical formulae and
cartographic descriptions, today’s diplomats have to constantly ‘measure’ the world in order to offer
appropriate choices to political decision-makers. Belgian diplomats and Belgian diplomacy are faced
with the same challenge. What is it exactly that they have to ‘measure’ in today’s world and how do
they go about doing this? To answer these questions, the speaker will address relevant economic and
trade questions facing Belgium and the EU, the evolution of the multilateral world, the fundamental
changes in the European Union’s integration process and will explore some more specific themes that
are important for today’s diplomat. He will then further discuss the instruments of measurement, both
at the level of the national and European diplomatic networks, taking fully into account the mixed
system of the EU’s foreign policy. He will refer to the difficulty in defining and quantifying the concept of
the EU‘s ‘actorness’ in the world, as well as the difficulty to develop the international role of Belgium
and of the EU in times of crisis. He will conclude with some remarks on the career of today’s diplomat.