On December 17, 2012, The European Institute held its Annual Ambassadors' Dinner honoring The Honorable Robert Hormats, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment. Under Secretary Hormats highlighted key opportunities for greater U.S.-EU economic cooperation in the coming year, including the prospects and challenges of reaching a comprehensive trade agreement. The event was co-hosted by the 36 European Ambassadors of the Ambassadorial Host Committee.

Click here to read Secretary Hormats's remarks.

On December 13, 2012, The European Institute, in cooperation with the Embassy of Portugal, held a seminar on the opportunities for greater transatlantic cooperation on blue growth, as both sides of the Atlantic seek to make the most of economic and innovation opportunities offered by the oceans. The transatlantic implications of the Panama Canal's expansion on U.S. and European maritime infrastructure,shipping sectors and global trade were also examined. Speakers included: Professor Manuel Pinto Abreu, Portugal’s Secretary of State of Sea; Tommy Beaudreau, Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, U.S. Department of the Interior; Dr. David Conover, Director, Division of Ocean Science at the National Science Foundation; Greg Edwards, Director of External Affairs at the Virginia Port Authority; Yvette Fields, Director of Deepwater Ports and Offshore Activities, Maritime Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation; Arthur Moye, Executive Vice President of the Virginia Maritime Association; Lidia Sequeira, President of Portugal’s Port of Sines; and The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse, Co-Chair of the Oceans Caucus in the United States Senate. Dr. Wayne Talley, Economics Professor and Executive Director, International Maritime, Ports and Logistics Management Institute at Old Dominion University moderated the discussion.

On November 8, 2012 The European Institute hosted a discussion with His Excellency Peter Ammon, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United States, on what kind of Europe Germany wants and what the attendant implications could be for European-American relations.

Click here to read Ambassador Ammon's remarks.

On October 25, 2012, The European Institute, in cooperation with the Embassy of Belgium and the Embassy of Switzerland held a special seminar on transatlantic cooperation in stemming the spread of falsified medications.  Mark Witzal, Deputy Director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations presented the keynote address.  Panelists in the first session: Bernard Frahi, Vice President for Corporate Economic Security at Sanofi; Ambassador Richard Kauzlarich, Deputy Director at the Terrorism, Transnational Crime & Corruption Center and Adjunct Professor at George Mason University’s School of Public Policy; and Jeffrey Gren, Director of the Office of Health and Consumer Goods at the U.S. Department of Commerce discussed the security, economic and public health risks of falsified medications.  The panel was moderated by Susan Reardon, Director of International Policy, Worldwide Government Affairs and Policy at Johnson & Johnson.  Panelists in the second session: John Roth, Director of the Office of Criminal Investigations at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Patrick Byrne, Europol Senior Representative and Head of Europol Delegation at the Delegation of the European Union to the United States; Chief Commissioner Patrick Stevens, Counselor and Belgian Police Liaison Officer at the Embassy of Belgium; Kelley Friedgen, Senior Corporate Counsel at Genentech and Legal Advisor to the Genentech Counterfeit Prevention and Response Task Force; and Jeannie Salo, Director for Global Anti-Counterfeiting, Office of International Government Affairs at Eli Lilly and Company examined public and private sector solutions to the fast-growing falsified medications problem.  This panel was moderated by Frédéric Badey, Senior Director, International Public Affairs Coordination, Sanofi.

On October 17, 2012 The European Institute hosted an off-the-record exchange with His Excellency João Vale de Almeida, Head of Delegation and Ambassador of the European Union to the United States, on the priorities for EU-U.S. relations after the upcoming American election. The discussion was moderated by Faryar Shirzad, Global Head of the Office of Government Affairs at Goldman Sachs.

On October 10, 2012, The European Institute held its Annual Meeting of the Members and Board of Advsiors at the Embassy of Lithuania, hosted by His Excellency Žygimantas Pavilionis, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to the United States.  Moderated by Christopher Lombardi, Regional Director, Europe, Israel & Sub-Sahara at Raytheon Company, the panelists included: François Rivasseau, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union; Ambassador Kurt Volker, Executive Director, McCain Institute for International Leadership, Arizona State University; Dr. Sujai Shivakumar, Deputy Director, Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, The National Academies; and Fiona Alexander, Associate Administrator, Office of International Affairs, National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

The panel was followed by a dinner discussion with Dr. Robert Litan, Director of Research for Bloomberg Government and Author of Better Capitalism and Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism , who candidly assessed economic recovery efforts in both the United States and Europe.