On Wednesday, February 17, 2010, The European Institute convened a special meeting of the European-American Policy Forum with Sigi Gruber, Head of Unit for Analysis and Monitoring of Research Policies around the World in DG Research at the European Commission and Dr. Norman P. Neureiter, Senior Advisor at the Center for Science, Technology, and Security Policy at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  The meeting addressed frameworks for transatlantic partnership on research & development and innovation.  While the European Union has placed renewed emphasis on research and innovation   Ms. Gruber outlined Commission initiatives in research cooperation and highlighted the importance of research, innovation and education in the EU 2020 Strategy.  Dr. Neureiter discussed the challenges in international research cooperation, including funding, research duplication and visa regimes.  He also recognized that cooperation between scientific communities or Science Diplomacy, can be an effective diplomatic tool with countries where political relations are stressed or lacking.

Holding the EU’s rotating presidency for the first six months this year, Spain has laid out an agenda that highlights two themes: implementing the Lisbon agenda and helping Europe emerge from the economic crisis.

Spanish ambitions in the EU realm, however, are likely to be strongly colored and perhaps even skewed by the national challenges of reassuring its partners in the euro zone and world markets that Madrid can regain control of its worsening budget gap.

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On February 1, 2010, The European Institute convened a conference to discuss current questions of European foreign policy in light of the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty, a sweeping policy framework entered into force on December 1, 2009. On hand to discuss the significance of Lisbon was Stefan Lehne, the Political Director of the Austrian Ministry for European and International Affairs.  Mr. Lehne’s presentation addressed a wide range of contemporary questions on EU foreign policy and the EU’s role on the diplomatic world stage.

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Americans Should Think Twice about European Socio-Economic Models

A leading and sometimes controversial U.S. economist Paul Krugman says that Americans should look beyond their knee-jerk dismissal of European countries’ economic systems and recognize some ways in which the Europeans’ formulas have succeeded in sustaining long-run prosperity – arguably better than the results in the U.S.

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Portfolios by Countries (and Parties)

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