Skip to main content
Support
Event

Launch of Baroness Cathy Ashton’s New Book: “And Then What?: Inside Stories of 21st-Century Diplomacy”

Date & Time

Thursday
Feb. 23, 2023
10:00am – 11:00am ET

Location

6th Floor Flom Auditorium, Woodrow Wilson Center

Overview

During her distinguished career, Baroness Ashton served as the European Union’s first high representative for foreign affairs and security, and the first female European Union commissioner for trade.

In conversation with Ambassador Philip Reeker and Global Europe Program Director, Robin Quinville, Baroness Ashton will share insights and anecdotes from her new book, which includes her negotiating the “Brussels agreement” between Serbia and Kosovo and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, and harrowing meetings with some of modern history’s most influential leaders. “And Then What?” offers a unique vantage point into how modern diplomacy works, looking at the tools needed to address the challenges facing Europe and the world.

“And Then What?” will be available for purchase at the Wilson Center. We hope you will join us at 11:00 am following the discussion for a coffee reception with Baroness Ashton, where she will sign copies of her book. If you are joining us virtually, you may purchase a copy of her book from Politics & Prose Bookstore, by using this link.

Select Quotes
Baroness Cathy Ashton

 

  • “Everything that we do in diplomatic life should be about making people’s lives better.” 
  • On Brexit “What I am absolutely sure of is that we need to be on the journey to a stronger and deeper and better relationship with the EU.” 
  • On negotiations: “Decide what it is you are trying to do in this negotiation and stick to it.” 
  • “I did four and half years of negotiations both with the Ahmadinejad regime and the Rohani regime to try and get this done and I don’t regret a single day of it. What I regret is what came afterwards.” 
  •  “When I took over there were four or five women heads of delegation, when I left there were 49, the reason for that, in part, was they saw somebody who looked like them.” 

 


Hosted By

Global Europe Program

The Global Europe Program addresses vital issues affecting the European continent, US-European relations, and Europe’s ties with the rest of the world. We investigate European approaches to critical global issues: digital transformation, climate, migration, global governance. We also examine Europe’s relations with Russia and Eurasia, China and the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Our program activities cover a wide range of topics, from the role of NATO, the European Union and the OSCE to European energy security, trade disputes, challenges to democracy, and counter-terrorism. The Global Europe Program’s staff, scholars-in-residence, and Global Fellows participate in seminars, policy study groups, and international conferences to provide analytical recommendations to policy makers and the media.  Read more

Thank you for your interest in this event. Please send any feedback or questions to our Events staff.