Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Lord William Hague, delivered the 2026 Europaeum Annual Lecture at the Sheldonian Theatre on 4th November. Hague called for closer UK-EU ties as a matter of urgency, including strengthening cooperation on technology, defense, and climate change, whilst upholding democracy and doubling down on multilateralism. 

Hague’s wide-ranging speech is the second ever Europaeum Lecture. The series brings together high-profile speakers from top European universities to discuss Europe’s challenges. Describing the current era as “the most dangerous period since 1945”, Hague outlined his vision for Europe to escape decline by rebuilding through renewal and resilience. In response to Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s call for the UK to eventually rejoin the EU, Hague expressed scepticism about the move’s feasibility, but declared that “our fate is as entangled with the fate of the continent as it has ever been”.

On technology and the rise of artificial intelligence, Hague warned that Europe risks becoming either a “digital colony of the US or a tech dependency of Beijing”. He urged the continent to “take back control”, including by ensuring the “free cross-border flow” of global talent. The Chancellor portrayed universities as “engines of ideas” crucial to spurring innovation. Oxford ranks as Europe’s leading university for spinout value creation, accounting for 20% of all investment into spin-outs across Europe.

Noting Britain’s record summer temperatures, the Chancellor called for new measures to adapt to the effects of climate change and greater investment into “novel technologies”. These included  carbon capture, geoengineering, and genetic engineering. Citing Greece’s recent launch of a satellite system for wildfire prevention, Hague urged the UK and EU to work together on a similar scaled-up Europe-wide solution. He also encouraged both sides to unify carbon markets and simplify trading of electricity.

Cherwell asked the Chancellor about possible reductions in tuition fees for EU students at UK universities, currently under consideration as part of UK-EU negotiations. In his reply, Hague told Cherwell: “We’d love to see it easier for EU students to come to our universities, but it does require governments to reach agreement.” He expressed support for a youth mobility scheme enabling young British and EU citizens to live and work in each other’s countries. However, Hague also referred to negotiating conflicts over equalising tuition fees for EU nationals with British citizens to pour cold water over a deeper UK rapprochement with the EU.

In exchange for a youth mobility scheme, the Chancellor encouraged the EU to involve Britain in its “Made in Europe” industrial policy. He also endorsed closer defense cooperation through the EU’s €150 billion Security Action for Europe (SAFE) loan scheme, as well as joint UK-EU leadership on international governance of new technologies, including creating guardrails against artificial intelligence.

Founded in 1992 by former Oxford Chancellor and the only-ever British President of the European Commission, Roy Jenkins, Europaeum offers postgraduate programmes to students across 17 European universities. The network describes itself as “an alliance of pre-eminent universities” focused on interdisciplinary learning to tackle Europe’s major issues. The University of St Andrews is the only other UK member of the organisation, which continues to be headquartered at St Antony’s College, Oxford.

When I sit down to interview second-year Ancient and Modern History student Robin Munday, he happens to be wearing his Swiss Glacier Pistol Club fleece. The Oxford University Pistol Club (OUPC) captain is right to sport his discipline with pride. In his first year at the club, the team beat Cambridge twice: in an official varsity match in Hilary, and an unofficial competition in Switzerland during the long vacation. A few further victories against other university teams in the summer also contributed to OUPC’s “moderate success” last year, he tells me. 

This year does not look set to disappoint either. Competition has not started yet, but since an appearance at Freshers’ Fair, the club’s weekly training sessions at Iffley Road Sports Centre are fully booked, and its group chat has over 200 members. “There are some very talented freshers,” Munday tells me. “By and large most have never touched a gun before, but some of them have and are very promising shots.” Munday mentions how some of the new members are getting to grips with trickier techniques, like aiming at targets that collapse when the bullet hits. 

The incoming pistol shooters could not be in safer hands. “I’d always grown up around shooting,” Munday says. “The first time I was on a shooting range I was a few weeks old, and I started shooting aged five, with an air pistol I got for Christmas. When I was six, I was on centre-fire, more powerful revolvers.” Munday started competitive shooting at the 2015 Swiss Federal Shooting Festival aged ten, the youngest of around 35,000 competitors. He went on to win the under-21 division of the Swiss Feldstich contest in 2024, and a year later placed third.