On September 18th, The European Institute hosted a breakfast discussion with Rolf Einar Fife, Director General of the Department of Legal Affairs at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  As the chief Norwegian negotiator of the breakthrough 2010 agreement with Russia on maritime boundaries in the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean, Mr. Fife explained the process of negotiating agreements for resolving competing claims on Arctic resources and stressed the importance of the International Law of the Sea treaty as a “rule book” for governing the Arctic.

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 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 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.

On June 6, The European Institute, in partnership with the Embassy of Portugal, welcomed The Honorable Paulo Portas, Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs, to a breakfast discussion on Portugal’s perspective of the political and economic climate in Europe.  Speaking just days after the receiving the fourth positive evaluation of Portugal’s economic recovery program from the EU, the ECB and the IMF joint mission, Minister Portas detailed strategies for further improving his nation’s economic health and strengthening the European Union.

On May 22, The European Institute hosted a discussion on European and American approaches to key internet governance issues with Ambassador Philip Verveer, U.S. Coordinator & Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Communications and Information Policy at the  U.S. Department of State; Beatrice Covassi, Counselor for the  Digital Agenda at the Delegation of the European Union; Carlos López Blanco, Director of the International Office at Telefónica, and Paul Brigner, the Internet Society’s Director for North America. Panelists offered their perspectives on the central challenges facing both public and private sector stakeholders as Europe and the United States prepare for the World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai this December. The discussion was moderated by Shane Tews, Vice President for Global Public Policy and Government Relations at VeriSign, Inc.