The UACES (University Association for Contemporary European Studies) 55th Annual Conference was held from 31 August to 3 September 2025 at Liverpool John Moores University, bringing together scholars, practitioners, and policymakers from across Europe to reflect on the EU’s position in an evolving global order.

Our Cluster Coordinator, Dr Edoardo Celeste, contributed to the closing plenary debate, “Navigating Transatlantic Turbulence: Europe’s Role in a Shifting Global Order.” His intervention focused on the digital dimension of transatlantic relations and the implications for European integration.

Dr Celeste highlighted the ongoing concerns surrounding EU–US data transfer frameworks and the wider consequences of weakened privacy protections in the United States during Trump’s administration. Against this backdrop, he argued that the EU must respond by reinforcing its digital sovereignty. This includes reducing dependence on foreign technology providers, ensuring greater consistency in regulatory approaches among Member States, and promoting competitiveness while remaining anchored in fundamental European values.

By placing digital regulation at the centre of a debate often dominated by trade, defence, and geopolitics, Dr Celeste emphasised that questions of law and technology are now inseparable from Europe’s broader role on the global stage.