8. November 2021 18:00
Stefanie Bolzen, Prof Tanja Bueltmann and Sir Simon Fraser
Over recent weeks, we have seen many pictures of long queues at UK petrol stations, empty supermarket shelves and newspaper headlines such as “Buy Christmas dinner now and freeze it”. Short term visas for lorry drivers have been issued as an attempt to quickly fix the problem. At the same time, some have tried to convince the British public that rather than being a Brexit-induced problem, petrol and food shortages are rampant across Europe.
When the B-word is mentioned, it is most often in discussions revolving around potential unilateral suspension of the Northern Ireland protocol or the triggering of Article 16 and thus a worsening of the UK-EU relationship.
All of this leads to the question: what is going on in the UK? Are the shortages and price increases due to Brexit, or perhaps more of a global supply chain problem caused by the pandemic, which is only really dawning on the world now? What is it like to be living in the United Kingdom right now? And what is next for the bilateral, as well as the UK-EU relationship?
We will pose these and other questions to Stefanie Bolzen, UK correspondent for WELT, Prof Tanja Bueltmann, Chair in International History at the University of Strathclyde and Sir Simon Fraser, Managing Partner at Flint Global and former Permanent Secretary in the UK Foreign Office.
The event will be chaired by Rupert Graf Strachwitz, Vice-Chairman of the Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft.
Please join the event by using this link: (No prior registration required!) https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82888210251
Stefanie Bolzen is the UK and Ireland correspondent for WELT and WELT am Sonntag. Stefanie is a regular commentator for British media on Brexit and European politics. Prior to taking up her London role, Stefanie was WELT’s Europe Correspondent in Brussels, covering EU and NATO affairs. She started her journalistic career as a foreign news editor in Berlin while also reporting on EU enlargement and the Balkan conflicts.
Professor Tanja Bueltmann holds a Chair in International History at the University of Strathclyde, specialising in migration and diaspora history. In her current research, Tanja examines the role of immigrant associations in shaping the collective actions and identity of Europeans in the UK, taking a longitudinal perspective from c1850 to the present.
As part of the wider research for that project, Tanja has also been working with external stakeholders, including the3million NGO, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the EU Delegation to the UK, to assess different Brexit impacts on EU citizens. Most recently, Tanja conducted the two largest surveys of EU citizens in the UK to date, capturing their experiences since 2016. The surveys document both the specific impact of the EU Settlement Scheme—the application process EU citizens had to go through to secure their status in the UK—and a deeper general impact of Brexit, documenting a rupture in the sense of belonging of EU citizens at home in the UK.
Sir Simon Fraser is a co-founder and Managing Partner of the business consultancy Flint Global. He advises clients on policy, political and regulatory issues in the UK and Europe. Simon is an influential public commentator on international affairs.
From 2010 to 2015 Simon was Head of the UK Foreign Office and Diplomatic Service. As the UK’s senior diplomat, he ran the global network of British embassies and was on the National Security Council.
In 2009-2010, as Permanent Secretary, Simon led the UK Department for Business (BIS) in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, playing a central part in planning for recovery.
Prior to that Simon was for four years Chief of Staff to the European Commissioner for Trade in Brussels. He was closely engaged in EU trade negotiations with the United States and China.
Simon is Deputy Chairman of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), a member of the UK board of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Honorary President of BFPG, the British Foreign Policy Group.
8. November 2021 18:00
Stefanie Bolzen, Prof Tanja Bueltmann and Sir Simon Fraser
Venue
via Zoom
Over recent weeks, we have seen many pictures of long queues at UK petrol stations, empty supermarket shelves and newspaper headlines such as “Buy Christmas dinner now and freeze it”. Short term visas for lorry drivers have been issued as an attempt to quickly fix the problem. At the same time, some have tried to convince the British public that rather than being a Brexit-induced problem, petrol and food shortages are rampant across Europe.
When the B-word is mentioned, it is most often in discussions revolving around potential unilateral suspension of the Northern Ireland protocol or the triggering of Article 16 and thus a worsening of the UK-EU relationship.
All of this leads to the question: what is going on in the UK? Are the shortages and price increases due to Brexit, or perhaps more of a global supply chain problem caused by the pandemic, which is only really dawning on the world now? What is it like to be living in the United Kingdom right now? And what is next for the bilateral, as well as the UK-EU relationship?
We will pose these and other questions to Stefanie Bolzen, UK correspondent for WELT, Prof Tanja Bueltmann, Chair in International History at the University of Strathclyde and Sir Simon Fraser, Managing Partner at Flint Global and former Permanent Secretary in the UK Foreign Office.
The event will be chaired by Rupert Graf Strachwitz, Vice-Chairman of the Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft.
Please join the event by using this link: (No prior registration required!) https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82888210251
Stefanie Bolzen is the UK and Ireland correspondent for WELT and WELT am Sonntag. Stefanie is a regular commentator for British media on Brexit and European politics. Prior to taking up her London role, Stefanie was WELT’s Europe Correspondent in Brussels, covering EU and NATO affairs. She started her journalistic career as a foreign news editor in Berlin while also reporting on EU enlargement and the Balkan conflicts.
Professor Tanja Bueltmann holds a Chair in International History at the University of Strathclyde, specialising in migration and diaspora history. In her current research, Tanja examines the role of immigrant associations in shaping the collective actions and identity of Europeans in the UK, taking a longitudinal perspective from c1850 to the present.
As part of the wider research for that project, Tanja has also been working with external stakeholders, including the3million NGO, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the EU Delegation to the UK, to assess different Brexit impacts on EU citizens. Most recently, Tanja conducted the two largest surveys of EU citizens in the UK to date, capturing their experiences since 2016. The surveys document both the specific impact of the EU Settlement Scheme—the application process EU citizens had to go through to secure their status in the UK—and a deeper general impact of Brexit, documenting a rupture in the sense of belonging of EU citizens at home in the UK.
Sir Simon Fraser is a co-founder and Managing Partner of the business consultancy Flint Global. He advises clients on policy, political and regulatory issues in the UK and Europe. Simon is an influential public commentator on international affairs.
From 2010 to 2015 Simon was Head of the UK Foreign Office and Diplomatic Service. As the UK’s senior diplomat, he ran the global network of British embassies and was on the National Security Council.
In 2009-2010, as Permanent Secretary, Simon led the UK Department for Business (BIS) in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, playing a central part in planning for recovery.
Prior to that Simon was for four years Chief of Staff to the European Commissioner for Trade in Brussels. He was closely engaged in EU trade negotiations with the United States and China.
Simon is Deputy Chairman of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), a member of the UK board of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Honorary President of BFPG, the British Foreign Policy Group.