European Institute

On September 7, The European Institute welcomed Jørgen Abild Andersen, Director General for Telecoms at the Danish Business Authority, to a breakfast discussion on the recent developments in the ICT sector including the internet policy-making principles agreed to at last year’s OECD high-level meeting on the internet economy, which he chaired, and progress made during the Danish EU Presidency towards a European Digital Single Market. Mr. Abild Andersen stressed the importance of ICT’s contribution to economic growth. He also underlined the need for robust communications infrastructure and consumer trust and confidence in eCommerce in order to facilitate the continued development of the digital single market in Europe. The discussion was moderated by Jacquelynn Ruff, Vice President, Public Policy and International Regulatory Affairs, Verizon Communications, Inc.

On June 27th, The European Institute welcomed back The Honorable John Dalli, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy to discuss the impending EU proposals for ensuring product safety and strengthening market surveillance. Mr. Dalli also elaborated on the EU’s efforts to bolster supply chain security for food, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other consumer products, as well as the prospects for further cooperation in ensuring the safety and security of goods in the transatlantic marketplace. Francine Lamoriello, Executive Vice President for Global Strategies for the Personal Care Products Council, moderated the discussion.

Click here to read Commissioner Dalli's remarks.

On July 18, The European Institute welcomed a delegation from the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) to a breakfast discussion on the Parliament’s role in the ongoing reform of the European Union’s public procurement policy. The committee members focused on the main aspects of the European Commission’s proposal to modernize the EU’s public procurement agreement, as well as the potential implications of these reforms for transatlantic trade. Michael Smart, Vice President at Rock Creek Global Advisors LLC, moderated the discussion with The Honorable Malcolm Harbour, Chairman of the IMCO Committee and The Honorable Heide Rühle (Germany – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance) and The Honorable Edvard Kožušnik (Czech Republic – European Conservatives and Reformists Groups), Members of the IMCO Committee and Shadow Rapporteurs for public procurement. 

On June 19th, The European Institute, in partnership with Sanofi, convened a meeting of the Transatlantic Roundtable on Innovation and Research in Boston, Massachusetts. Held on the margins of the BIO 2012 Convention, the meeting focused on the challenges facing the sustainability of biomedical research at a time of potent scientific promise and increasingly limited financial resources. Christopher Viehbacher, Chief Executive Officer at Sanofi, opened and moderated the discussion with Dr. Elias Zerhouni, President of Global Research and Development at Sanofi; Dr. Arnd Hoeveler, Head of Unit for Advanced Therapies and Systems Medicine for DG Research and Innovation at the European Commission; Dr. Vicki Seyfert-Margolis, Senior Advisor for Science and Innovation in the Office of the Chief Scientist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; and Robert Wells, Head of the Biotechnology Unit in the Directorate for Science and Technology at the OECD.