IIEA Talks

Against the backdrop of increased geopolitical tensions, the relationship between the EU, its Member States, and China has continued to remain of significant importance. As the United States' relationship with China has deteriorated, the EU has increasingly sought to chart its own course vis a vis China, seeking partnerships where beneficial while ensuring its own interests are looked after. In this IIEA discussion, Finbarr Bermingham reflects on the present state of the EU's relationship with China, its challenges and opportunities, and explores what the future holds for the EU-China Relationship. About the Speaker: Finbarr Bermingham is a Brussels-based correspondent covering Europe's relationship with China. He is the Senior Europe Correspondent for the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post, a role he has held since 2021. Over the last decade, he has reported on China through a number of different lenses. Over seven years in Hong Kong he chronicled the Chinese trade economy through the Trump years and Covid-19. Since coming to Brussels, he has charted the downward spiral in EU-China ties following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He regularly appears on broadcast media and has won and been nominated for awards for his reporting and podcasting.

An interview with Pat Cox, part of the IIEA's Future Proofing Europe project

In their address to the IIEA, John FitzGerald and Edgar Morgenroth present their recent IIEA publication on the Northern Ireland subvention, which considers what the financial costs for the government in Ireland would be of Irish unification, using data from 2019. They discuss the findings from their paper, including that covering the Northern Ireland deficit would cost around 5% of Irish national income, and raising Northern Ireland’s public service pay rate and welfare rates to levels south of the border would cost another 5% of national income. According to FitzGerald and Morgenroth, if Northern Ireland were to immediately address the cause of its very low productivity, especially the inadequacies of its educational system, when such action matured in 25 or 30 years, this could substantially reduce the cost of unification. A quicker productivity win would also be available if Northern Ireland could persuade the large number of emigrants who are university graduates living in England to return. About the Speakers: John FitzGerald is Co-Chair of the Institute of International and European Affairs Economists Group, a member of the UK Group, and an Honorary Fellow, and Adjunct Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin. He is also a Research Affiliate at the Economic and Social Research Institute, and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy.  He was a member of the Central Bank of Ireland Commission from 2010 to 2020 and he was Chairman of the Irish government’s Climate Change Advisory Council until January 2021. Dr Edgar Morgenroth is a member of the Institute of International and European Affairs Economists Group and UK Group, and a full Professor of Economics at DCU Business School, Dublin City University. He has held positions at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), Keele University, and the Strategic Investment Board of Northern Ireland (SIB). He is a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences and a Fellow of the Regional Studies Association, having served as its vice chairman and treasurer.

In recent years, Europe and much of the world have suffered the largest inflation shock in decades. Central banks have responded with large and rapid increases in interest rates. In his presentation to the IIEA, Philip Lane, Chief Economist of the European Central Bank, discusses the inflation outlook in the Eurozone at a time when hopes of a return to price stability are rising. About the Speaker: Philip R. Lane has been a Member of the six-person Executive Board of the European Central Bank since June 2019. Previously, he was the 11th Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland. Before taking on these policy-making roles, he was on the academic staff at Trinity College Dublin and remains affiliated with the university as Honorary Professor of Economics. In other roles, Philip has chaired the Advisory Scientific Committee and Advisory Technical Committee of the European Systemic Risk Board and has acted as an academic consultant for the European Commission, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, OECD and Asian Development Bank among others.

'Managing Europe’s under-performing economy' Lucinda Creighton and Conall Mac Coille in conversation with Dan O'Brien

SMEs are a vital part of Europe’s digital economy and are essential to ensuring Europe’s future prosperity. In his address to the IIEA, Mr Toffaletti provides a SME perspective on developments in digital policy and the digital economy over recent years. He particularly assesses the challenges that SMEs may face in navigating digital regulation and the potential role of digital policy in promoting SMEs. He also assesses the opportunities and challenges ahead for the digital SME sector. About the Speaker: Sebastiano Toffaletti holds a Master Degree in Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering from the University of Bologna. He has authored several articles and position papers on topics such as Intellectual Property Rights, Standards, e-Skills, Net Neutrality and Cloud Computing. He is chairman of the Working Group on SMEs at the European Cybersecurity Organisation (ECSO), is a member of the board of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), and serves on the EU Multi-stakeholder Platform on ICT Standardisation. He has headed the secretariat of the European DIGITAL SME Alliance since 2008.

In her address, Aoife Barry discusses her book Social Capital: Life Online in the Shadow of Ireland's Tech Boom, which focuses on what she discovered while interviewing people in Ireland about their online behaviour and how they have been treated online, and what this illustrates about the regulatory and legal challenges facing both social media users and tech owners. Aoife discusses how developments since the book’s publication demonstrate how issues around social media and misinformation have only grown, pointing to an uncertain and troubling future for the internet. About the Speaker: Aoife Barry is a freelance journalist and broadcaster. Her essays and fiction have been published by Banshee journal, ThiWurd, and Visual Verse, and broadcast on RTÉ’s Sunday Miscellany. Her bylines include The Sunday Times, The Irish Times, The Irish Independent, the Business Post, The Journal and the Irish Examiner. Aoife features regularly on RTÉ and Today FM and has received Agility Award Funding from the Arts Council for a novel in progress and was selected by the Irish Writers Centre for its Evolution Programme 2023.

In this IIEA panel, three experts discusses the conflict in Gaza and its broader implications for the regional stability of the Greater Middle East. As the conflict continues, regional actors in the Arab Gulf and the Levant, have stepped up their activities threatening a widening of the conflict beyond the present battlespace. Meanwhile, global powers have increased their own military activities in the region. Throughout the discussion, this panel explores what the conflict means not only for the Middle East, but also for global politics. Speakers in this panel include Rita Sakr, Assistant Professor at Maynooth University Raphael S. Cohen, Director of the Strategy and Doctrine Program at RAND’s Project AIR FORCE Marwan Muasher, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

In Minister Adlercreutz’s view, the long-term success of Europe is being decided now, and Europe must act now. Against the backdrop of a more challenging world, the European elections are fast approaching. As part of the Future-Proofing Europe project, Minister Adlercreutz’s address outlines how Finland seeks to meet these challenges as well as the country’s key priorities: strategic competitiveness, comprehensive security, and promoting a clean ecological transition. About the Speaker: Anders Adlercreutz has been the Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering of Finland since June 2023. Minister Adlercreutz represents Finland in the EU General Affairs Council and is responsible for the country's Ownership Steering Policy for state-owned companies. First elected to Parliament in 2015, he served as Chair of the Swedish Parliamentary Group from 2019 until 2023. Minister Adlercreutz is an architect by profession and is a partner in an architecture firm in Helsinki.

In his address to the IIEA, Professor Treisman discusses his recent book Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. He discusses how a new type of authoritarian regime has emerged which is better adapted to ruling sophisticated, globally-connected societies. These authoritarian regimes rely less on violent repression and instead rely more heavily on the manipulation of information. Professor Treisman discusses how strongman leaders use spin and information manipulation to cement their rule – and also explains why they sometimes revert to harsher methods. About the Speaker: Daniel Treisman is a Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles, Acting Director of the UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies, and Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He is a former editor of The American Political Science Review and he has been a consultant for the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and USAID. His latest book, co-authored with Sergei Guriev, is Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. The book was listed as one of the “Best Books of 2022” (The New Yorker, Foreign Affairs), “Best Political Books of 2022” (Financial Times), and “Books That Made Us Think in 2022” (The Atlantic, Moment).