IIEA Talks

In the context of global elections and geopolitical shifts, according to Holy Ranaivozanany, Deputy Executive Director of the Africa-Europe Foundation, a rethought, strong, and forward-looking alliance between Africa and Europe remains the most effective way to resolve interconnected crises and to meet shared development goals. In her keynote address to the IIEA, Ms Ranaivozanany explores how to unlock such opportunities for mutual benefit, where bold, innovative thinking is needed, from finance to health, green industrialisation, and digital cooperation. About the Speaker: Holy Ranaivozanany is Deputy Executive Director of the Africa-Europe Foundation, overseeing strategy, partnerships and outreach across Africa, Europe, and multilateral platforms. Previously, she led corporate social responsibility and sustainability for Fortune 500 companies in China and France, championing digital inclusion and climate solutions. She has collaborated with UN organisations and think tanks to shape global policy on technology for good, and has contributed to thought leadership on sustainability, disaster relief, and circular economy innovation.

The report of Mario Draghi, first published in September 2024, states that competition policy must adapt to ensure greater focus on fostering innovation and restoring the EU’s long-term competitiveness. Many of the ideas in this report have featured heavily in the mission letters sent by European commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Commissioners-designate. This panel of experts explores how concepts in the Draghi report may be incorporated into any future Commission guidelines and how the report will influence the new Commission’s approach to competition enforcement. The panel also reflects on whether Europe’s competition policy harms its competitiveness or whether it offers an avenue through which to boost Europe’s competitiveness. This panel event is hosted in conjunction with the Economic Regulators Network (ERN). About the Speakers: Olivier Guersent is the Director-General of the Directorate General for Competition. He joined the European Commission in 1992 and was initially with the “Merger Task Force” in the Directorate-General for Competition. From 2010 to 2014, he was the head of the private office of Michel Barnier, Commissioner for Internal Market and Service. Having held the position of Deputy Director-General since July 2014, Olivier has been Director-General of the Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Service and Capital Markets Union from September 2015 to December 2019. Brian McHugh was appointed Chair of the Irish NCA, the CCPC in August 2023, having previously served as a Member of the CCPC from 2017. Prior to his appointment to the CCPC, he spent 15 years in Northern Ireland’s Utility Regulator, the body responsible for both regulating the gas, electricity and water utility industries in Northern Ireland. During his time at the Utility Regulator, Brian was Director of Gas and Director of Finance & Network Assets. Brian holds a BA in Economics from Trinity College, Dublin, and an MSc in Energy Economics from the University of Surrey. Professor Imelda Maher is the Sutherland Full Professor of European Law and Director of the UCD Dublin European Institute. She is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and has been Senior Vice President since 2023. She is an honorary bencher of Middle Temple London, and she serves on the Advisory Board of the Cambridge Centre for European Legal Studies, the Max Planck Institute of Innovation and Competition, Munich, and the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies, Loyola University, Chicago. Professor Maher was the first Irish woman to become President of the Society of Legal Scholars of the UK and Ireland (2016-2017), the largest scholarly society of common law lawyers in Europe and is a founding member of the European Law Institute, Vienna. Loretta O’Sullivan is the Chief Economist and Partner at EY Ireland. Loretta has been working in the economics field for almost 20 years in both the public and private sectors, on a wide range of Irish, European and global issues. She was previously the Chief Economist at Bank of Ireland and the Senior Economist in the Monetary Policy and International Relations Division at the Central Bank of Ireland. Loretta holds a PhD in Economics from Trinity College Dublin and an MA in Policy, Management and Government from the University of York.

In July of this year, Labour won one of the biggest landslides in British electoral history. However, according to the Irish Times’ London Correspondent Mark Paul, the new government's sheen quickly wore off. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was forced into an early reshuffle of his backroom operation while his popularity also plummeted, causing his administration to try turn the page on its early difficulties with a landmark budget that stunned Westminster in its scale. In his address to the IIEA, Mark Paul gives an overview of the challenges the Party has faced as it makes the transition from opposition to government. He discusses how confident Labour’s senior leadership is that they can lead Britain into a more stable political era. He also looks at how Labour might fend off the Tories under Kemi Badenoch and the growing electoral threat from Nigel Farage's Reform UK. About the Speaker: Mark Paul has been the London Correspondent and writer of the weekly London Letter for the Irish Times since January 2023. Before that he was the author of the backpage Caveat column in the Irish Times and also the Business Affairs Correspondent. Mr Paul joined the newspaper in 2013 from The Sunday Times, where he worked for almost a decade. He is currently a member of the Westminster press lobby, primarily observing the political intrigue in the Houses of Parliament. Mr Paul also reports on events from Holyrood and the Senedd in Edinburgh and Cardiff.

In his address to the IIEA, Kai Zenner discusses the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). He outlines the Act’s risk-based approach and its implications for different levels of the AI value chain. Mr Zenner will also assess what he deems to be the positive and negative features of the AI Act. He particularly discusses the implications of the Act for the EU’s competitiveness, including both the opportunities and the risks. About the Speaker: Kai Zenner is Head of Office and Digital Policy Adviser for Axel Voss MEP (European People’s Party Group) in the European Parliament. He focuses on AI, privacy, the EU’s digital transition and Better Regulation. Mr Zenner is a member of the OECD.AI Network of Experts and of the AI Governance Alliance at the World Economic Forum. He was also part of the temporary Expert Group that supported the 'High-Level Advisory Body on AI' of the United Nations. Mr Zenner was awarded best MEP Assistant in 2023 and ranked Place #13 in Politico's Power 40 - class 2023.

John Hume was a committed and dedicated European, seeing the institutions and ethos of the European Union as models for peace, partnership, and reconciliation in Northern Ireland. The John Hume 'European Spirit of Peace’ Lecture recognises those who have demonstrated a strong commitment to European principles and values. The IIEA is honoured to host the fourth edition of the ‘European Spirit of Peace’ Lecture which was delivered by Simon Coveney TD, former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. About the Speaker: Simon Coveney TD served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 2022 to 2024. He also served as Deputy Leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 2024. He previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence and was Ireland’s Brexit spokesperson through the Brexit negotiations. Mr Coveney was Tánaiste from November 2017 to June 2020 and has also held roles as Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Mr Simon Coveney  represented Cork South Central constituency from 1998 to November 2024.

Germany’s traffic light coalition came to power in December 2021, promising a green, innovative transformation - of the German economy and its role in Europe. It has delivered neither, buffeted by external crises and hobbled by domestic ideological battles that have poisoned cooperation on all fronts and left Germany - and Europe - adrift. Derek Scally, Berlin correspondent of the Irish Times, gives an overview of the options for any new government following the next federal election, scheduled for September 2025. About the Speaker: Derek Scally is a native Dubliner, who studied at Dublin City University and the Humboldt University in Berlin, where he has been Irish Times correspondent since 2001. Covering politics, business and culture, he is a regular contributor to German news outlets, including Die Zeit weekly and Deutschlandfunk/WDR radio. He reports regularly from northern Europe and is also author of “The Best Catholics in the World”, published in 2021 by Penguin.

The European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD), a non-profit NGO in the disability sector, promotes the views of over 20,000 social services and their umbrella associations. The EASPD aims to promote equal opportunities for people with disabilities through effective and high-quality service systems. On International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Kirsi Konola, President of the EASPD, provides a comprehensive overview of the EU framework for disability policy and looks at examples of structures in different Member States and European countries to support disability services. She highlights the EASPD’s role in empowering its members to transform service delivery and to implement innovative practices on the ground. Drawing on her experience in Finland, Ms Konola reflects on collaborative efforts to advance disability policy and services at national and international level. About the Speaker: Kirsi Konola is the President of the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) and the CEO of Tukena Foundation. Tukena is one of Finland’s largest value-based social service providers, dedicated to promoting the good life of people with disabilities. Kirsi is deeply committed to advancing the human rights of persons with disabilities and transforming services and service structures to enable their full realisation. Her work focuses on developing inclusive, human rights-based services in collaboration with broad networks and particularly with individuals, their families, and professionals. She brings extensive leadership experience, with expertise in strategic and value-based leadership as well as change management. Kirsi is particularly skilled at bridging policy and practice to drive the vision and objectives of organisations and advance the broader goals of the sector.

On the eve of the Irish General Election, this edition of IIEA Insights brings together seven diplomats, scholars, and analysts to share their views on what the foreign policy priorities of the next government should be. Each speaker outlines one-three priorities over a five-minute period. Speakers include: Edward Burke, Assistant Professor in the History of War at University College Dublin Clifford Coonan, China Analyst, Reporter, Producer, and Editor with Deutsche Welle Bill Emmott, Former Editor of The Economist Mary Fitzgerald, Non-Resident Scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC Declan Kelleher, Former Irish Ambassador to China and the EU Michael O’Sullivan, Author and Adviser on Intersection of Investment and Geopolitics Mary Whelen, Former Irish Permanent Representative to the UN and WHO

Following the adoption of the 2024 Enlargement Reports on 30 October 2024, DG Koopman provides an analysis from the perspective of the European Commission on the current state of play of EU enlargement. He examines the progress made by the partners from the Western Balkans, Ukraine, and Moldova on their paths towards EU memberships. He also discusses the frozen negotiations with Türkiye and the halted accession process of Georgia in light of recent developments, in particular the adopted law on transparency of foreign influence. About the Speaker: Gert Jan Koopman has been the Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission since January 2023. Between 2018 and December 2022, he was the Director-General of the European Commission’s budget department, where he contributed to putting in place the EU’s €800 billion NextGenerationEU recovery plan as well as the €18 billion MFA+ for Ukraine.

Although 2024 will be remembered as a year of political and electoral tumult worldwide, the situation in Northern Ireland has been relatively stable. The Executive and Assembly have been functioning since the Safeguarding the Union Deal (31 January) and its draft Programme for Government is intended to do ‘what matters most’. This rather unfamiliar situation must come as a considerable relief to those who consider themselves co-guarantors of the 1998 Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, none of whom can expect much domestic or international stability in the near future. Northern Ireland is ripe for good things to grow, but this won't happen without some cultivation. Drawing on evidence and analysis from political sociology, in her address to the IIEA, Professor Hayward identifies the conditions that will make for belated but healthy progress in Northern Ireland society and the ways in which Ireland, the UK, and the USA – not to mention the ever-important EU – can help nurture them.  About the Speaker: Katy Hayward MRIA FAcSS is Professor of Political Sociology at Queen’s University Belfast. She is an Eisenhower Fellow and was a Europe’s Futures Fellow (ERSTE/IWM) in 2023/24. Professor Hayward was also recipient of a special Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize and ‘Political Communicator of the Year’ award for her work on the impact of Brexit on Ireland/Northern Ireland, and is a trusted expert for media, policy, civic, and academic audiences worldwide. Her latest publications include the co-authored book Northern Ireland a Generation after Good Friday (2021).