On February 28, 2024, within the framework of Jean Monnet Сhair in EU Single Market Law a guest lecture on the topic «The idea of European federalism and the future of Ukraine in it» was organized. The lecturer was Mr. Yannis Karamitsios, a legal officer for the European Commission, an active member of the European federalist movement and a founding member of Alliance4Europe, an organization that promotes European values and unity.

The lecturer offered the audience an interesting and dynamic working format. At the beginning of the lecture, Mr. Yannis drew attention to the fact that considering the European integration process as a continuous movement towards an ever closer union of European states and peoples, it is impossible not to note that its fundamental philosophy is the idea of federalism. The development of the European federalist movement could be traced back to ancient times, but it became most widespread after the Second World War - during the period of rapid development of Western European integration processes. The lecturer focused the attention of the audience on the fact that the modern EU actually has most of the features that define federal systems as such. Among them, in particular, the following can be named: two-level management system in the EU; supremacy of EU law over national legislation of EU member states; common EU citizenship; Eurozone; Schengen area, etc. In addition, Mr. Yannis provided arguments that in the conditions of modern geopolitical challenges, the formation of the European Federation should be the main priority.

During the discussion, Yannis Karamitsios presented his book «Time for a European Federation», which proposes the creation of a federated European state, that replace the EU, its member states and other European countries that would like to join. This is the only way for Europe to successfully overcome the challenges and remain at the center of world affairs in a century of globalization, climate change and the fourth industrial revolution.

The discussion that arose between the lecturer and the present teachers and students proved the considerable interest of the participants. Therefore, at the end of the lecture, the listeners had the opportunity to hear meaningful answers to questions about Ukraine’s path to EU membership and the challenges that may arise along the way; reforms to be implemented by the EU before future enlargement; the level of support of the EU member states of the concept of European federalism; practical legal steps to be taken by the EU to create a European Federation, etc.

The event was attended by students, PhD students and scientific and pedagogical staff of SUTE and other universities of Ukraine.

We sincerely thank Mr. Yannis Karamitsios for dedicating the time to meet with our teachers and students, as well as for a brilliantly conducted lecture, a relaxed atmosphere of communication and a great opportunity to expand the horizons of knowledge in the field of European federalism and the future of Ukraine in it.