The role of the European Parliament in external affairs is little known and less understood. Given the evolution of the Parliament from its early days as an appointed body to its present status as a directly elected body, this is perhaps not surprising.
This seminar will consider the fundamental questions of to what extent are its activities in the field of external affairs constrained or enhanced by recent Treaty developments and to what extent has its role grown over recent years. Beyond its formal legislative role, what other roles can this institution play on the global stage and how does it interact with the Council and Commission in this respect.
About the Speaker
Stephanie Mitchell is a lawyer by training.She obtained a BA in Asian Studies at Cornell University, followed by a JD degree there and later obtained an LLM in EU law at the University of Leicester. Her professional career has taken her from Washington DC (both private practice and public sector work) to Beijing, where she opened a law office in the early 1980s, and around the US and the Asia-Pacific region, where she worked on anti-counterfeiting issues in the 1990s.
She also taught law, edited a legal journal and has been an independent consultant on international trade and business issues. From 2000-2002 she was responsible for legal and civil society projects in the EU Delegation in Beijing and then spent ten years in DG Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission. Her duties there included handling automotive industry legislation, being team leader for intellectual property rights issues, and later Deputy Head of Unit for Entrepreneurship. Since early 2015 she has been an Administrator with the Directorate for External Affairs of the European Parliament, where she works with the Parliament’s Delegations for Relations with India and with China.
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