This evening I gave a keynote speech at a conference to mark the beginning of the new academic year at the University Faculty of Saint Louis and the Catholic University of Louvain in the particular context of the two institutions’ joint programmes in European studies (Masters programmes). The theme of my speech was ‘Démocraties représentatives et participatives dans le traité de Lisbonne’ and I gave it to a group of about one hundred members of faculty and students in the ‘salle des examens’ of the Faculté de Saint Louis. My intention is to write up my notes and I’ll be sure to post the written-up version here in due course. I am trying to work up a number of themes that I hope to take further in my 29 November John Fitzmaurice Memorial Lecture (watch this space). The many pertinent questions from the audience afterwards demonstrated that I am on the right track, I think.