‘You want to fight terrorists? Educate!’: EU ambassador to U.S. speaks at USC
The European Union’s ambassador to the United States, Stavros Lambrinidis, visited USC Wednesday for a talk hosted by the Center for the Political Future, where he discussed issues ranging from the war in Ukraine to economic integration and modern global interconnectedness.
Lambrinidis, who was born in Greece, studied economics and political science at Amherst College and law at Yale University before going on to hold a variety of prominent roles in the Greek government and European Union. He has served as foreign affairs minister of Greece, the EU special representative for human rights and vice president of the European Parliament, among other roles.
“Human rights is not a footnote in our foreign policy,” said Lambrinidis of the European Union. “It’s not soft politics. It is hardcore foreign policy as far as we are concerned because preventing major conflicts or resolving them once they start is hugely important for the security of Europe.”
Speaking on the special relationship between the U.S. and EU that he focuses on in his current role, Lambrinidis characterized the two as the “strongest open economies in the world” while recognizing the dislike of some citizens toward the partnership.
“There are complaints on both sides of the Atlantic about unfair competition,” Lambrinidis said. “The vast majority of that economic relationship is supremely beneficial. In this country alone, about seven to eight million jobs have been created by European Union company investments.”
Another popular foreign policy issue discussed was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has greatly impacted lives across the EU and U.S. While, in the U.S., 40% of Republican and 15% of Democratic members of Congress believe the U.S. has given too much aid to fend off attacks from the Russian military, much of Europe is united in their unwavering support for their neighbor.
Lambrinidis said the difference in support originated from the European psyche following the events of the Holocaust and World War II.
“Europeans made a decision that we would never ever allow ourselves either the means or the desire to perpetrate such atrocities against us or anywhere else in the world,” he said. “Putin today … made an entirely different decision that it will continue using force to expand and bring us back to the bloody days over the past.”
Lambrinidis pushed for more American empathy toward the war and consideration of the broader global implications of the conflict.
“Please mark my words,” he said. “There’s no safe distance when an autocrat sitting on nuclear weapons is convinced that he can bend the will of our leaders and our people through force. If he succeeds, this [will become] a very different world than the one that we know. America’s and Europe’s capacity to project our democracy and our power around the world will be destroyed for decades to come. This is not a war that is far away.”
Lambrinidis said it was important for young people in the U.S. to find common identity and shared values in the EU in order to aid the continuation of such a historic partnership.
U.S. and EU citizens “are not just somewhere out there, but fundamentally intertwined into the fabric of what we have been building together for the past centuries,” he said. “This is an alliance that is so much deeper than money.”
Lawrence Sung, a sophomore majoring in international relations global business, said in an interview with the Daily Trojan that he was deeply inspired by Lambrinidis’s words.
“The biggest thing I took away from [the talk] is that there’s still hope, in terms of upholding the values of human rights, democracy and liberty,” Sung said. “Despite everything that’s going on right now, we should continue to aspire to hold ourselves up to these awesome values and keep on fighting the good fight.”
Kamy Akhavan, CPF executive director, said he was thrilled to be able to host Lambrinidis on campus and bring his message to students.
“He showed us how much we have in common as human beings even though we’re an ocean apart,” Akhavan said. “I found that unity very enlightening and even comforting … Through empathy and education, the things that we’re promoting here at USC, we can make the world a better place.”