Lecture of San Pablo University (Spain) professor Antonio Alonso Marcos was held at the faculty of the international relations

On October 28, 2018, a lecture by San Pablo University (Spain) professor Antonio Alonso Marcos on the topic “EU - Central Asia relations: two strangers with a lot of opportunities” was held at the Eurasian National University in the faculty of the international relations. The professor at the beginning of his lecture mentioned that the Eurasian National University and the University of San Pablo began bilateral cooperation with the signing in 2013 of a joint agreement. At the moment, the university in Spain in which classes are also held in English is ready to welcome ENU students with pleasure.

The lecture covered the main institutions of the European Union. Moreover, Antonio Alonso Marcos mentioned that the exit of Great Britain from the EU will positively affect the other members of the union, as they will be able to start pursuing their common policy. The professor stressed that in the European Union there are three main players, but one of the most important is the EU Council. Regarding the relationship between the EU and Central Asia, the professor said in his lecture that they began to form after the collapse of the USSR with the signing of the Partnership Document and a cooperation agreement.

Today, the Central Asian region is one of the important partners of the European Union, due to the greater amount of energy source. Cooperation between Central Asia and the EU is conducted in various areas such as the economy, which aims to stabilize the Central Asian region; education - Erasmus + academic programs, etc. Moreover, the EU is helping the Central Asian region through two programs such as BOMCA - the Border Management Facilitation Program in Central Asia and the Drug Trafficking Prevention Program in Central Asia (CADAP). The professor also mentioned that an Expanded Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation was signed between Kazakhstan and Central Asia. With regard to future relations, Antonio Alonso Marcos   stressed that at this stage, the implementation of the EU strategy towards Central Asia is underway. The issues of the program “One belt, one way” and the position of the EU in this area was also touched.