On October 29, 2013, The European Institute in cooperation with the European Parliament Liaison Office with the U.S. Congress convened a breakfast discussion with The Honorable Jan Philipp Albrecht, Rapporteur for the EU Regulation on Data Protection on the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice & Home Affairs (LIBE) and Commissioner Julie Brill, U.S. Federal Trade Commissioner. The meeting focused on the implications of recently revealed NSA data collection and the surveillance of EU citizens for transatlantic cyber-security cooperation. Particular attention was paid to the sustainability of the Safe Harbor Agreement, the impact of the EU’s Regulation on Data Protection, which recently passed through the LIBE Committee, as well as the potential effects of the revelations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership initiative. The discussion was moderated by Jim Halpert, Partner at DLA Piper.

Click here to read Commissioner Brill's remarks.

On September 12, 2013, The European Institute held a breakfast discussion with Maria Cristina Russo, Director for International Cooperation, DG Research and Innovation at the European Commission. Newly appointed to her position, Ms. Russo discussed the Horizon 2020 program and emphasized the need for the European Union and the United States to work together on shared research and innovation challenges. The Honorable Bart Gordon, Partner at K&L Gates LLP moderated the discussion.

Ms. Russo's remarks can be found here.

chrisboam2013On a foggy night in October 2003, my wife and I found ourselves late for an expected arrival in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland.  Shortly after dark, we entered a part of the Dingle Peninsula route known as the Conor Pass, not being at all adequately briefed as to what this road entailed.  At one point, my wife – who had taken over the driving – asked me what I was looking at.  The real answer was indeed “nothing,” for despite the pitch-blackness, it had been clear to me for at least a mile that we were driving along the edge of a shear cliff face.  I did my best at being nonchalant.  “Just keep focused on the road ahead, and we can talk about it in Tralee.”  We did arrive safely, but still, I made sure that we ordered pints before looking at guidebook pictures of the Pass.

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michael.nelsonThere is broad, bipartisan agreement that spurring economic growth needs to be at the top of the policy agenda in both the U.S. and in Europe--and that fostering innovation is one of the best ways to do it. As a result, over the last three years, the U.S. Congress has reauthorized the America COMPETES Act and the Department of Commerce has put renewed focus on innovation. Likewise, the European Union has made an "Innovation Union" one of seven flagship initiatives in its Europe 2020 Strategy. Unfortunately, these efforts are limited and often lack the necessary political support because both policy makers and the general public misunderstand innovation and how best to promote it. This article examines six "myths of innovation policy."

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On May 14, 2013, The European Institute hosted a seminar in Brussels on the opportunities and challenges for e-payments in the evolving global economy.  Speakers included: The Honorable Sampo Terho, Member, Committee on Economic & Monetary Affairs (ECON) & Rapporteur for the ECON Committee’s E-Payments Report, European Parliament; Erik Nooteboom, Head of Unit, Retail Financial Services & Consumer Policy, DG Internal Market, European Commission; Francisco Tur, Advisor, European Central Bank; Ceu Pereira, Senior Payment Systems Expert, Payment Systems Development Group, World Bank; Mikael Conny Svensson, Senior Business Leader, Government Affairs and Public Policy, MasterCard Europe; and Antonio Longo, President, Italian Citizens’ Rights Movement.