Johannes Stenbæk Madsen, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Kyrgyzstan, delivers lecture on EU Global Strategy

November 11, 2016

On November 3, 2016 Johannes Stenbæk Madsen, the head of cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Kyrgyzstan, gave a lecture at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA).

Madsen discussed European Union Global Strategy, a topic provoking several questions from students. “I have been here once before for another presentation. I liked it so much and was thinking if you have a course on European studies and I am here,  someone who has been working for the EU for a decade, maybe I have something to offer. I found it very interesting to answer the questions that came from the students after the presentation. It was also a good reason for me to study the  EU Global Strategy more carefully myself. I find very interesting tool answer the questions I came after the presentation. It was good opportunity for me to read a document that I have not read totally at least,”- said Mr. Johannes Madsen.

The lecture was organized by the European Studies department with the aim of increasing students’ awareness of foreign affairs vis-à-vis the EU. Madsen general spoke on international relations between countries in the EU towards different global questions.

Laziz Abdulazizov, senior student of Liberal Arts and Sciences department, said, “It is not a secret that the EU is overwhelmingly influential because it contains G8 countries and two permanent members of the UN Security Council (without considering the Brexit). Therefore, it is interesting to learn about the long term goals of the union. The speaker explained the main factors determining the EU’s foreign policy. Moreover, he discussed the influence of the European historical context (i.e. the Warsaw Pact and NATO) on the current situation. 

“I was very much exited by the speaker’s frank responses to students’ questions. In many cases, according to my personal experience, diplomats and representatives from either countries or these unions try to avoid complicated questions out of a fear of being misinterpreted. However, Mr. Johannes Stenbæk Madsen gave us clear answers to any of the questions we asked. I believe people in the audience did actually know quite a lot about the EU’s global strategy for the future. But, there were some issues which required detailed explanation. For example, I was able to get answers to important questions relating to the situation in Ukraine and Syria. What are their attitudes towards the crisis and what sort of actions are they planning to take in order to avoid further worsening of the problem? I guess the speaker himself was pretty surprised by the knowledge AUCA students have about the EU’s foreign affairs!

“These sorts of sessions are particularly useful for students planning to study or live in any European countries. Moreover, students can discuss topics with the person who has been working in this particular sphere and who knows the system from the inside. In these contexts, people can share their ideas and express their thoughts about the drawbacks and advantages of new projects. For example, a person may have a particular point of view on an issue due to a lack of information. But, by participating in conferences, there is a huge potential for hearing out and comparing other ideas about the same topic. So, I believe that organizing these kinds of lectures is very important for students’ personal and academic development.”

*Mr. Johannes Stenbæk Madsen is the Head of Cooperation at the European Union (EU) Delegation in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. In this capacity he supervises the management of all EU financial assistance to the Kyrgyz Republic, which in 2015 amounted to some EUR 34 million. Before joining the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) he worked as Team Leader at the European Court of Auditors (ECA), which is the independent EU institution responsible for auditing the European Commission and the EEAS. Before joining ECA he worked as Sr. Financial Management Specialist at the World Bank and before that at the OECD and the National Audit Office of Denmark. At the World Bank and the OECD he was responsible for assessments of and managed technical assistance projects on Public Financial Management in Europe and Central Asia. During his time at the ECA he led a number of high profile performance audits, including on EU development assistance to education in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the Turkish Cypriot Community and EU Direct Financial Support to the Palestinian Authority.

<< go to news list