IIEA Talks

Human impacts on the global ocean are increasing in scale and scope. As we learn more about climate change, plastic pollution, deep sea mining, and overfishing we see more clearly that these impacts alter our relationship with the ocean. Around the world, communities of people are working together to observe, understand, and act to sustain ocean habitats. In her address to IIEA, Tessa Hill, author of At Every Depth, discusses our growing knowledge about the ocean and the changes that threaten it. The discussion provides an overview of the major themes and lessons from the book, and how they apply to people who are working to protect marine environments on a local, national, and international level.  About the Speaker:  Dr Tessa Hill is a Professor in the Earth & Planetary Sciences Department, and Associate Vice Provost for Public Scholarship and Engagement at UC Davis. Dr Tessa Hill is a Professor in the Earth & Planetary Sciences Department, and Associate Vice Provost for Public Scholarship and Engagement at UC Davis. She holds a Ph.D. in Marine Science from UC Santa Barbara (2004). Her research interests include climate change, both past and present, and understanding the response of marine species to environmental perturbation.  She is part of the Bodega Ocean Acidification Research (BOAR) group at Bodega Marine Laboratory, which aims to understand the impacts of ocean acidification and partner with local community groups to address these impacts. Tessa is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the California Academy of Sciences. Tessa’s work has been featured in a variety of media outlets including National Public Radio, Al Jazeera, and New York Times. She was the recipient of the Rachel Carson Lecture from the American Geophysical Union in 2023. She is co-author of At Every Depth: Our Growing Knowledge of the Changing Oceans (Columbia, 2024).

In his remarks to the IIEA, Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board and Vice President of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank, provides an overview of major trends of relevance for the macro financial outlook in Europe. He discusses how these trends are reflected in the ECB’s monetary policy and banking supervision priorities. Mr Elderson also reflects upon the specific actions the ECB is undertaking in monetary policy and banking supervision in relation to climate and nature-related risks. Mr Elderson will be joined by Sharon Donnery, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, for a fireside discussion and Q&A which will be moderated by Dan O'Brien, the IIEA's Chief Economist. Frank Elderson is a member of the Executive Board and of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. He is Vice-Chair of the ECB’s Supervisory Board and oversees the ECB’s Legal Services. He co-chairs the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Risks of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Mr Elderson previously served as Executive Director of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). At DNB he held several senior positions before joining its Governing Board in 2011.Before joining DNB in 1999, Mr Elderson worked as a lawyer specialising in EU competition law.  Sharon Donnery is Deputy Governor at the Central Bank of Ireland for Financial Regulation on 1 July 2022. She is an ex-officio Member of the Central Bank Commission and is a member of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the General Board of the European Systemic Risk Board.

Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), Intelligence gathered using publicly available data from sources such as social media, has changed how we think about intelligence gathering and secrecy. Though OSINT has been used for years by researchers, Russia's war in Ukraine has illustrated the effectiveness of OSINT tools for both researchers, and governments around the world. In his address to the IIEA, George Barros discusses the growing importance of OSINT, how OSINT may change the future of intelligence gathering, and provide his assessment on the ongoing war in Ukraine.  About the Speaker: George Barros is the Russia Team & Geospatial Intelligence Team Lead on the Russia and Ukraine portfolio at the Institute for the Study of War. George's work with the Russia and Ukraine portfolio focuses on Russian information operations, the Kremlin’s operational art and campaign design in Ukraine and Belarus, and Ukrainian politics. His work within the Geospatial Intelligence Team focuses on innovating ISW's open-source research methodology with remote sensing data collection, data visualization, and geospatial analysis. George received his B.A. with Honors in International Relations and Global Studies with a concentration in Russian and Post-Soviet Studies from the College of William & Mary. Prior to joining ISW, he worked in the U.S. House of Representatives as an advisor on Ukraine and Russia for a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

As the pace of technological change continues to accelerate, driven by advancements in generative AI, machine learning, and quantum computing, organisations and enterprise have been faced with increasing uncertainty. Amongst this uncertainty, climate change, geopolitical competition and demographic changes continue to pose challenges to society and businesses across Europe. In this panel discussion, expert speakers discuss how horizon-scanning tools can assist and support policymakers, citizens, and organisations in making sense of, and addressing, uncertainty as well as identifying potential opportunities arising. This panel has been organised in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland, and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. About the Speaker: Larry O'Connell is the Director of the National Economic and Social Council. Aaron Maniam is a Fellow of Practice and the Director of Digital Transformation Education at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government. Soile Ollila is the Foresight Manager at Business Finland. Alessandra Colecchia is the Head of Science and Technology Policy at the OECD.

'Britain’s relations with its neighbours and the EU: what has changed and what can change?' Britain’s Labour Party came to power in early July. It was the UK’s first change of government since Brexit and since the upheaval Britain’s departure from the EU caused in relations with its European neighbours. In the coming edition of IIEA Insights, Daithí Ó Ceallaigh and John Peet will assess how Ireland-UK relations have changed and whether Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit position in the EU single market for goods is permanently settled. Britain’s other bilateral relationships with European countries and prospects for closer cooperation with the EU will also be examined. Daithí Ó Ceallaigh is a former Irish diplomat and chair of the IIEA’s UK group. Among other rolls during his career he served as Ireland’s ambassador to Finland and the UN in Geneva. He was also deeply involved in Ireland-UK relations, culminating in his appointment as ambassador to the UK in 2001. After his retirement from the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2009, he led the IIEA as Director General. John Peet is The Economist‘s political and Brexit editor. Over his decades-long career at the paper, he has held a range of senior positions, including Europe editor and business affairs editor. He also spent time in Brussels and Washington DC as the paper’s correspondent. Before joining The Economist John was a civil servant.

According to Dr Šedivý, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has highlighted the necessity for the EU to strengthen Europe’s Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). A resilient and competitive EDTIB is a precondition for being able to develop and produce the capabilities that Member States and the EU’s partners require for their defence and security. Since February 2022, the EU has launched several major initiatives to boost the EDTIB and address defence gaps, especially ammunition stocks. Going forward, European defence spending needs to remain at the same, relatively high level if the EDTIB and Member States’ armed forces are to be fit for purpose and if Europe is to have the capabilities that it needs to address both current and future challenges. About the Speaker: Jiří Šedivý is the Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency, a position which he has held since 2020. Previously, Dr Šedivý served as Defence Minister of the Czech Republic (2006-2007), Deputy Defence Minister (2010-2012), NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning (2007-2010), and Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to NATO (2012-2019). He was also the Czech Special Representative for Resilience and New Threats at the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2019-2020). Dr Šedivý is a graduate of Charles University, Prague where he completed a PhD in Political Science and of King’s College London where he earned an MA in War Studies.

Dr. Léonie de Jonge, an Assistant Professor in European Politics, offers a compelling analysis of the surprising rise of far-right populism in the Netherlands over the past two decades. She discusses the normalization of parties like the PVV and FvD, emphasizing how they gained traction in a landscape previously resistant to such ideologies. With recent elections giving these parties a significant foothold, Léonie delves into the role of immigration policies and mainstream party strategies in shaping this political shift, raising questions about its impact on Europe.

'Trump’s tariffs: the implications for transatlantic trade' America has soured on free trade and globalisation. Disruption to transatlantic trade is a major near-term risk for the Irish economy, as the biggest per capita goods exporter to the US among EU members. One of the candidates in November’s US presidential election has promised across-the-board tariffs of at least 10% on all imported goods. Such a measure would almost certainly result in retaliatory measures by the European Commission, which has exclusive competence over EU members’ international trade policy. In this edition of IIEA Insights, Alicia García Herrero, Rory Montgomery and Matt Moran examine the implications of these tariffs on transatlantic economic and security relations. Alicia García Herrero: Chief Asia Pacific Economist at Natixis bank and a Senior fellow at Bruegel think tank. Rory Montgomery: former Permanent Representative of Ireland to the EU, among others senior diplomatic roles. Matt Moran: former head of Ibec’s Biopharmachem Ireland and currently a consultant in that industry.

In his address to the IIEA, Dr Vindman examines the Russia-Ukraine War: Past, Present, and Future. He discusses the roots of the war and its conduct to date, highlighting the conflict’s effects on European security, the trans-Atlantic alliance, and broader geopolitics. Dr Vindman also provides analysis on how the war is likely to unfold and conclude. His assessment of the war will be contextualised within the global clash between democracy and authoritarianism, with prescriptions on what the West must do to win. About the Speaker: Dr Alexander Vindman, a retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel, was the director for European Affairs on the White House’s National Security Council. Before that, he served as the Political-Military Affairs Officer for Russia for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as an attaché at the US Embassies in Moscow and Kyiv. While on the Joint Staff, he co-authored the National Military Strategy Russia Annex. He earned an MA from Harvard University, where he serves as a Hauser Leader, and a PhD from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where he is currently a senior fellow. Dr Vindman leads the national security think tank Institute for Informed American Leadership, is an executive board member for the Renew Democracy Initiative, a senior fellow at the Kettering Foundation, and a senior advisor to VoteVets. His best-selling memoir is titled Here, Right Matters.

In this address to the IIEA, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, Mihai Popșoi, discusses the membership aspirations of Moldova and ongoing negotiations with the European Union, particularly about the necessary structural reforms underway within the country, and the feasibility of the 2030 target date for EU Accession. Another theme of his address covers Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ongoing “grey zone” assaults on Moldova. About the Speaker: Mihai Popșoi is the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, holding a Ph.D. in Political Studies from the University of Milan. From 2019 to 2024, he served as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament and was the Faction Leader of the Action and Solidarity Party. He was also the Vice President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 2022. His extensive parliamentary work includes co-chairing the Parliamentary Committee on Moldova-EU Association and the Moldova-Poland Parliamentary Assembly and chairing the Parliamentary Monitoring and Control Commission on Reintegration Policy.