IIEA Talks

In his address to the IIEA, Alberto Alemanno shares his views on the state of the European Union and the major political, legal and public policy trends in advance of the European Parliament elections and the new legislature. About the Speaker: Alberto Alemanno is the Jean Monnet Professor of European Union Law & Policy at HEC Paris. Alberto’s research has been centered on how the law may be used to improve people’s lives, in particular through the adoption of power-shifting reforms countering social, health, economic, and political disparities of access within society. He’s the author of more than sixty scientific articles and a dozen books, including ‘Lobbying for Change: Find Your Voice to Create a Better Society’. Alberto is also a permanent visiting professor at the University of Tokyo School of Public Policy, the College of Europe, in Bruges and a scholar at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law as well as fellow at The Rutgers Institute for Corporate Social Innovation at Rutgers University.

In his address, Mr Moledo gives an overview of the findings of the European Disability Forum’s 6th Human Rights Report, which is entitled: political participation of persons with disabilities. The report outlines the legal and practical barriers that persons with disabilities face when exercising their electoral rights in the EU elections across the 27 EU Member States. This includes the right to vote, the right to stand as candidate, the accessibility of the elections’ proceedings, facilities, or materials, and accommodations for independent and secret voting. About the Speaker: Alejandro Moledo is the Deputy Director of the European Disability Forum (EDF) and he leads and coordinates EDF’s advocacy and policy work at EU level. He also supports the work of the European Parliament Disability Intergroup. Mr Moledo is also member of the Spanish Blind Organisation (ONCE), for which he previously worked as a journalist and regional representative of young visually impaired people. Mr. Moledo holds a Bachelor's degree with honours in Journalism from University of Valencia and a Master's degree in political and corporate communication from University of Navarra and George Washington University.

This event was organised in conjunction with Gas Networks Ireland Expert speakers discuss how Ireland can harness the potential of renewable gas production and anaerobic digestion to decarbonise the national gas network. As Ireland seeks to meet its green transition obligations, biomethane and other renewable gases could not only enable Ireland's decarbonisation, but also provide opportunities for exporting energy. At present, Ireland's national modern network can already transport biomethane and hydrogen and could be adapted to transport 100 percent green hydrogen in the future. This panel discusses the opportunities that renewable gas production and anaerobic digestion could provide for Ireland and how to remove obstacles to their use. About the Speakers: David Kelly is the Director of Customer and Business Development at Gas Networks Ireland. David has over twenty years of executive-level experience having worked extensively in both the private and public sectors throughout his career. Prior to being appointed to his current role, David was the Group Head of Customer Operations and Public Affairs for Ervia. JJ Lenehan is a Building Officer with Teagasc, the national body providing integrated research, advisory and training services to the agriculture and food industry and rural communities. Together with two colleagues he looks after technical property related issues at the 55 locations the organisation operates from across the country. He is an engineer by profession and has a special interest in energy use in Teagasc where the Built Environment accounts for the largest proportion of energy consumed at over 80% of the total. Teresa O’Flynn is a partner at Ara Partners and co-leads their infrastructure strategy. She has more than twenty years of sustainable investing expertise with extensive renewable power energy infrastructure experience, both in the fund management sector and at the operating company level. Teresa joined BlackRock in 2011 as a founding member of its Global Renewable Power Infrastructure business. In 2019, she became Global Head of Sustainable Investing for BlackRock’s Alternatives investment platform. Prior to joining BlackRock, Teresa worked for NTR plc, a private infrastructure developer, across several of the group’s European and US wind development subsidiaries. Christian Bendrup Faurholt is a project manager for the annual report of security of supply in the Danish gas system. He is also Energinet’s Associated Activities country lead for projects in India, Vietnam, and Poland and a project manager for Energinet’s Long Term Development Plan for the Danish gas and electricity systems. Christian holds a degree in international relations and is specialised in climate diplomacy and the Paris Agreement. Caoimhe Giblin is Managing Director, Commercial at ElectroRoute. There, she is a member of the senior management team and leads ElectroRoute’s commercial origination and trading operation teams. Caoimhe has worked in the energy sector for over 15 years and sits on the Council of Wind Energy Ireland. She was formerly Director of Finance at SSE Renewables where she had responsibility for the financial activities of SSE plc’s extensive on and off-shore wind development and construction portfolio. A qualified Chartered Accountant, Caoimhe spent 6 years working with KPMG in Dublin and New Zealand. Caoimhe is a graduate Dublin City University, where she obtained a Degree and Masters in Accountancy.

In her speech, Dr Annette Weber, EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa, focuses on the political dynamics in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region. She discusses the Civil War in Sudan, tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia, and other issues in a simmering Red Sea arena. She also addresses the role of regional organisations, the increased influence of Gulf States in the region, and the impact of geopolitics on the Western as well as the Eastern shores of the Red Sea. Apart from her responsibility for the Horn of Africa, Dr Weber's mandate covers important and highly topical issues for the European Union, such as trade, new markets, and maritime security. About the Speaker: Dr Annette Weber was appointed as the EU Special Representative to the Horn of Africa in July 2021. With more than 25 years of experience in the regions, she is a leading expert on the Horn of Africa. She was engaged in mediation in Sudan and Ethiopia as Senior Advisor for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (2019-2021).

Following Russia’s illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago, the EU, together with partners from the G7+ coalition, has adopted several packages of unprecedented sanctions against Russia. The main objective of these sanctions is threefold: 1) to provide Ukraine with a key military advantage by depleting Russia from accessing dual-use and advanced technology to manufacture cutting-edge weapons, 2) to degrade Russia’s ability to finance its war of aggression, and,  3) to cripple the Russian industrial complex in the medium-to-long-term. In this context, the EU Sanctions Envoy was appointed in January 2023 to reach out to third countries and maximise the impact of EU sanctions against Russia by ensuring that sanctions are implemented fully and effectively. In his address to the IIEA, David O’Sullivan reflects on the objectives of these sanctions and his role as EU Sanctions Envoy so far. About the Speaker: David O’Sullivan took up his role as EU Sanctions Envoy in January 2023. Prior to this, he was Director General of the IIEA. Before working at the IIEA, he joined the Brussels office of the law firm of Steptoe and Johnson LLP as a Senior Counsellor (2019-2022). David O’Sullivan served as Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to the United States from November 2014 until February 2019. Prior to his appointment as Ambassador, he was the Chief Operating Officer of the EU's diplomatic service, the European External Action Service (EEAS). He previously held a number of senior positions within the European Commission, including Director General for Trade (2005-2010); Secretary-General of the European Commission (2000-2005); and Chief of Staff to Commission President, Romano Prodi (1999-2000). Before joining the Commission, he started his career with the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs (1977-1979).

According to Dr Benjamin Tallis, the Zeitenwende, Germany’s security transformation, remains incomplete. On its current track, it is also dangerously inadequate. Despite the manufactured budgetary crisis, the Scholz government needs to finish the task it started. This requires the courage to be honest with the German people about the state of the world – and of Germany. To prepare for the future, however, the country’s leaders need to think bigger and define a vision for Germany and the world it wants to shape. This will be difficult as German leaders have long been reluctant to discuss, let alone set, grand strategy. But now, with the world in flux and the old ways no longer working, Berlin needs to clearly lay out what it wants—and how it plans to get it. About the Speaker: Dr Benjamin Tallis is a Senior Research Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) where he leads the ‘Action Group Zeitenwende’ as well as the DGAP Grand Strategy Group & co-hosts the podcast BerlinsideOut. He is the author of the concepts of Neo-Idealism and Team Power and of the books To Ukraine With Love: Essays on Russia’s War and Europe’s Future and Identities, Borderscapes, Orders: (Im)Mobility, (In)Security and Crisis in the EU and Ukraine. Benjamin Tallis worked on EU security missions in the Balkans and Ukraine and has researched, analysed, advised on and practiced European security for 20 years. He was recently awarded the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Medal of Honour – the Star of Lithuanian Diplomacy.

In his address to the IIEA, three years after the UK-EU Brexit deal came into force, Financial Times journalist, Peter Foster, examines how the UK’s 2016 vote to leave the EU roiled British politics and led to the limited deal that currently governs relations between London and Brussels. In a year of big elections, Mr Foster reflects on how a Labour-led government, under Sir Keir Starmer, might look to promote more constructive relations between the UK and the EU. About the Speaker: Peter Foster is a journalist, author, and public policy editor of the Financial Times. In a career spanning almost 30 years, he has reported from across Europe, Asia, and the US. His current brief covers all aspects of UK policy, including skills, investment, and the implementation of Brexit. His book, ‘What Went Wrong with Brexit - and what we can do about it’, was published by Canongate on 7 September 2023. He joined the Financial Times in April 2020 from the Daily Telegraph, where he had held the position of Europe editor since 2015, focusing on the Brexit negotiations.

A month on from COP28, the question remains: did the COP signal a sufficient commitment by countries and stakeholders to adequately address the issue of our age?  Catherine Stewart, Canada’s Ambassador for Climate Change, and Sinéad Walsh, Climate Director at Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs, have been at the forefront of their respective governments’ approaches to addressing climate change globally and have been in the ‘room where it happens’ at various UNFCCC COPs. Though traditionally like-minded on most international issues, Ireland and Canada come to the issue of climate change facing very different challenges and opportunities. Ambassador Stewart and Director Walsh offer their views on what came out of COP28 and how Canada, Ireland, and others might pursue their efforts to address global climate challenges, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and accelerate the green transition. About the speakers: Catherine Stewart was appointed as Canada’s Ambassador for Climate Change in August 2022. With over 25 years in the federal government, Ambassador Stewart’s most recent role was Assistant Deputy Minister of International Affairs at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). Since 2014, she has served in senior executive roles at ECCC including as Canada’s Chief Negotiator for Climate Change, Director General Multilateral Affairs and Climate Change, and Director General for the Americas.  Dr Sinead Walsh is Climate Director in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Ireland. Prior to this she served as the EU Ambassador to South Sudan. Dr Walsh has worked for Ireland’s DFA since 2009, and previously served as the Ambassador of Ireland to Sierra Leone and Liberia and was the Head of Irish Aid in the two countries. Before joining the DFA, Dr Walsh spent ten years working in the NGO sector and is the co-author of Getting to Zero: A Doctor and A Diplomat on the Ebola Frontline.

It has been observed repeatedly that the forthcoming presidential election in the United States may test American democracy to an unprecedented extent and prove pivotal in terms of the future role of the US in international affairs. In his address to the IIEA, Larry Donnelly examines several of the key topics that will soon be to the fore: the likely nominees on the Republican and Democratic sides; the potential impact of third-party candidates; the means by which a President of the United States is actually elected and criticisms thereof. He also discusses the issues that will be crucial and the states that will be decisive in November; and an early assessment as to what might flow from the outcome. About the Speaker: Larry Donnelly is a Boston born and educated attorney who has lived and worked in Ireland since 2001. He is a Lecturer and Director of Clinical Legal Education in the School of Law at the University of Galway. Active in politics and local government in his native Massachusetts, Larry is a regular media commentator on politics, current affairs and law in Ireland and the United States. He is a bi-weekly political columnist with TheJournal.ie and has been a featured analyst on RTÉ’s overnight US presidential election coverage in every election since 2008.

The European Union is currently debating the two inextricably connected issues of EU enlargement and reform. These discussions are taking place against the background of a challenging geopolitical situation with wars in the centre of Europe and in the Middle East. In her address to the IIEA as part of the Future Proofing Europe project supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Dr Anna Lührmann, Minister of State for Europe and Climate of Germany, presents her views on these questions and challenges facing Europe in a moment of global tumult. About the Speaker: Dr Anna Lührmann has been Minister of State for Europe and Climate at the German Federal Foreign Office and a Member of the Bundestag since 2021. Prior to her current role, she was Deputy Director of the Varieties of Democracy Institute and Junior Professor at the University of Gothenburg and was a consultant to the United Nations Development Programme. She holds a PhD in politics from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.