March 16, 2026
EURISGA Jean Monnet Lectures
EURISGA Jean Monnet Lecture 2026
The European Parliament’s Role in Mediation in times of Geopolitical Crisis: Some personal reflections and views from the field
Dr. Joanna Kaminska, Policy Advisor for Mediation and Democracy, European Parliament, Brussels
In this third edition of the EURISGA Jean Monnet Lectures, Professor Joachim Koops was joined by Dr. Joanna Kaminska. Dr Kaminska, whose career spans both work in European and Polish politics as well as academia, focused in her lecture on her experiences as a mediator for the European Parliament in Ukraine and provided wider reflections and insights on the EU’s role in mediation and diplomacy in a context of increasing geopolitical tensions. Dr. Kaminska – an EU foreign and security specialist with more than 15 years of experience in EU policy advising across key institutions provided personal insights about her extensive experience in mediation, most recently as part of the Jean Monnet Dialogues in Ukraine. In addition, she shared her lessons learned from local and European grass-root politics. In this Jean Monnet Lecture, Joanna focused on the European Parliament’s role in mediation, but also on her own personal journey and provided insights for students and young professionals wishing to leave their mark in the fields of peace, diplomacy and progressive politics.
The Lecture was co-organised by the Jean Monnet Chair on the European Union’s Role in Security and Global Affairs (EURISGA), the FGGA Honours Programme ‘A better world is possible’ and the Student Association of the MA in Diplomacy and International Relations (MIRD). The event rounded off with an informal reception, where students and the lecturer continued their in-depth conversations and exchanges.
About the speaker
Joanna Kaminska has facilitated confidential, high-stake dialogue between political party leaders, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe and advised on security and democracy building Europe’s top decision-makers for over 15 years. She has served as foreign and security policy advisor to the President of the European Parliament David Maria Sassoli, and worked on coalition making and consensus building between European political forces for over a decade. Political negotiations, democracy building and fostering dialogue between difficult political personalities are her passion. Currently she works as an advisor on mediation at the European Parliament’s mediation team, where she forges the culture of compromise between political parties in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine during the war. Joanna holds a PhD from the University of London, Royal Holloway College. She has extensively published on the foreign policy and Eastern neighbourhood issues. Her last book published with Palgrave Macmillan is entitled Poland and the EU Enlargement: Foreign Policy in Transformation. Between 2018-2024 she was also a Brussels municipal council member. Since 2021 she is a National Council member of the Polish Green Party Zieloni. She had run as a party lead candidate in the European elections of 2024, gaining 30 000 votes in Warsaw, the highest in the party history for a single candidate. In December 2024 she got elected to the European Green Party (EGP) committee, political body managing green parties in Europe, where she is responsible for building new security and defense narratives.
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Date
March 16, 2026
Location
Wijnhaven Campus, Leiden University, The Hague (Room 2.17)
Related course
A better world is possiblea-better-world-is-possible-the-future-of-human-security-and-global-governance