On March 22nd, we welcomed Professor Frank Hoffmeister, (Brussels School of Governance | Director for General Affairs and Head of the Legal Department of the European External Action Service) as an invited professor at the Rio School on Global Governance, Democracy and Human Rights, an activity organised by the FGV Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on EU-South America Global Governance, co-funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Programme.

Professor Frank Hoffmeister gave his lecture about "The European Union’s contribution to the upholding and development of international law". The lecture provided an overview on the EU legal foundation, its trade and foreign policy as well as an explanation on recent EU practices in applying international law principles, in particular as a reaction to the Russian aggression towards Ukraine. Professor Hoffmeister also presented various initiatives to further develop international legal mechanisms to ensure full accountability and to uphold respect for International Law by the belligerent states.