A total of twenty-five contributions divided into six thematic sections are featured in the two-day conference "European Union's Response to the Challenges of Modern Society." It is organized by the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in EU Law at the Faculty of Law in collaboration with the Czech Association for European Studies (CAES). The symposium will take place at the Faculty of Law on April 26-27 in a hybrid format, with English as the official language.
The international conference is the culmination of the project "European Union and the Challenges of Modern Society: Legal Issues of Digitalization, Robotization, Cyber Security, and Prevention of Hybrid Threats," which involves a total of five European universities and is coordinated by the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in Olomouc.
The organizers have divided the conference into six thematic sections. "I am pleased with both the number of contributions and the quality of active participants who will present the results of their scientific work and practical experiences. With my colleagues, we have put together a diverse and rich program. The conference will be a dignified conclusion to our project, which is very demanding in terms of scope and focus," said Naděžda Šišková, Head of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, President of CAES, and the main organizer of the conference.
The presented contributions will cover topics such as hybrid threats considering Russian aggression against Ukraine, robotization and responsibility for artificial intelligence, competition law in the digital economy, cybercrime, and consumer protection in the online world. "Among the speakers will be academics and doctoral students from universities participating in the project, members of the Czech Association for European Studies, experts from European institutions, Czech government authorities, and non-governmental organizations," listed Naděžda Šišková. Among the presenters are Petr Kolář, a former diplomat, manager, and close collaborator of President Petr Pavel, Emil Ruffer, Head of the Department of International Law at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Soňa Matochová, Head of the Analytical Department at the Office for Personal Data Protection, and Kamil Nejezchleb, Deputy Chairman of the Office for the Protection of Economic Competition.
During the conference, which is supported by the university's rectorate and is included among the events marking the 450th anniversary of Palacký University, awards from CAES will also be presented. "Four laureates will receive awards for their significant contributions to the development of science in the field of European law and the association itself," added Naděžda Šišková.
Entry to the two-day conference, which will be held in the Faculty of Law's A Building, is free. "We invite all those interested in the topic to the rotunda," added Naděžda Šišková.
The project "European Union and the Challenges of Modern Society: Legal Issues of Digitalization, Robotization, Cyber Security, and Prevention of Hybrid Threats" collaborates within the framework of the Jean Monnet Network with academics from Heidelberg University, Tallinn University of Technology, Comenius University in Bratislava, and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Over the course of three and a half years, they have successfully organized eight roundtables, a special lecture, three workshops, and three scientific conferences. "In these metrics, we significantly exceeded and surpassed our planned outputs. As a final step of the project, we are preparing a monograph where we will summarize the research results. The publication will also include selected contributions from the concluding conference," concluded Naděžda Šišková.