IIEA Talks

With the pandemic forcing governments across the world to borrow at record levels to fund the economic response to the pandemic, the world now faces an important debate regarding the future of its economic policy and its tolerance of higher levels of debt. As the EU undergoes an important debate regarding the future of its fiscal rules, the IIEA welcomes Nobel Laureate economist Joseph E. Stiglitz, University Professor at Columbia University, who shares his perspective on what role fiscal policy should play in a post-pandemic world. About the Speaker: Joseph E. Stiglitz is an American economist and a professor at Columbia University. He is also the co-chair of the High-Level Expert Group on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress at the OECD, and the Chief Economist of the Roosevelt Institute. A recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and the John Bates Clark Medal (1979), he is a former senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank and a former member and chairman of the (US president's) Council of Economic Advisers. In 2000, Stiglitz founded the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, a think tank on international development based at Columbia University. He has been a member of the Columbia faculty since 2001 and received that university's highest academic rank (university professor) in 2003. In 2011 Stiglitz was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

In her address to the IIEA, Vice President of the European Commission, Věra Jourová outlines the importance of the media sector as a pillar of democracy. However, she describes how this vital pillar is cracking, with attempts by governments and private groups to put pressure on the media. For this reason, the Commission is stepping up efforts to protect the independence and the pluralism of the media. Vice President Jourová highlights the necessity for journalists to be able to do their work, inform citizens and hold power to account, without fear or favour. About the Speaker: Věra Jourová is currently Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency and deals with democracy, rule of law, media pluralism and the fight against disinformation. From 2014 to 2019, she served as EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality. In 2014, before arriving to the European Commission, Ms Jourová held the position of Minister for Regional Development in the Czech Republic. Previous to this, from 2006 to 2013, she worked in her own company as an international consultant on European Union funding and activities in the Western Balkans relating to European Union Accession.

In the inaugural lecture of the IIEA’s Development Matters lecture series, which is supported by Irish Aid, Mr Mardini discusses the current humanitarian landscape including the many challenges faced by the ICRC in today’s conflicts. He covers issues from the nature of modern warfare, including autonomous weapon systems and the risks around data protection and misinformation, to the politicisation of aid. Mr Mardini also assesses the continuing challenges of responding to complex humanitarian needs during a global pandemic. In his address, Mr Mardini shares the ICRC’s priorities for the year ahead. About the Speaker: Robert Mardini is Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), responsible for steering the organisation’s global humanitarian activities and its 20,000 staff in more than 100 countries. With a master’s degree in civil engineering and hydraulics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Robert began his ICRC career in 1997, going on to serve as Deputy Director-General (2010-2012), Regional Director for the Near & Middle East (2012-2018) and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and Head of Delegation in New York (2018-2020).

During this panel discussion, our speakers address the evolving global security environment. Tensions between the United States and China have been on the rise in recent years. Relations between Europe and the wider Western world on the one hand and Russia on the other have deteriorated steadily. Fears of a full-scale war in Eastern Europe are now real. In the light of these developments, some small neutral countries in Western Europe are reassessing their security arrangements. Though still protected by geography, these rising tensions are affecting Ireland, not least as Russia has only recently relocated its planned naval exercise outside of Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone.   About the Speakers:  Vice Admiral Mark Mellett (ret.) is a former Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces. He has also held the position of Flag Officer, Officer Commanding Naval Operations, Commandant of the Naval College and Associate Head of the National Maritime College of Ireland.  Dr Ulrike Franke is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). She leads ECFR’s technology and European Power initiatives. Her areas of focus include European security and defense, the future of warfare, and the impacts of new technologies on geopolitics and warfare.   Dr Thomas Wright  is the Director of the Center on the United States and Europe and a Senior Fellow in the Project on International Order and Strategy at the Brookings Institution. He is also a contributing writer for The Atlantic and a nonresident fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy. His most recent book, Aftershocks: Pandemic Politics and the End of the Old International Order, was published in August 2021 by St Martin's Press.

The Clingendael Institute in the Netherlands and the Institute of International and European Affairs in Ireland are pleased to present this public webinar: Navigating Europe’s digital transition: Recalibrating industrial policy, EU connectivity and international partnerships. This event is part of a transnational project called Europe’s Digital Future, which is coordinated by the IIEA and supported by Google. The project aims to explore the concept of digital sovereignty and what future it might herald for the EU and for small, open economies. Governments around the world are struggling to deal with the rapid development of digital technologies and the various policy challenges to which these technologies give rise. How can policymakers balance the interests of states, businesses and citizens? How can privacy and consumer protection be balanced with state security and economic competitiveness? In this webinar, European policymakers and experts discuss the state of play within the EU and assess how to best navigate the digital transition. The panel particularly examines topics such as the European Commission’s Global Gateway strategy, the EU’s industrial policy and the work of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council.. This panel includes: Maaike Okano-Heijmans, Senior Research Fellow, Clingendael Institute Erik O Donovan, Head of Digital Economy Policy, Irish Business and Employers Confederation (Ibec) Heleen Bakker, Director for European and International Affairs in the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and is moderated by Brigitte Dekker, Associate Fellow, Clingendael Institute.

In his address to the IIEA, Luuk van Middelaar explores the context and consequences of the EU’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Union’s evolution from regulatory body to geopolitical actor, as outlined in his latest work, “Pandemonium: Saving Europe”. If Europe is to meet the future challenge of being in between a resurgent China and an increasingly insular United States, van Middelaar contends that the EU must forge a firm political identity and act as a true power amongst world powers. About the Speaker: Luuk van Middelaar is the Professor of Foundations and Practice of the European Union and its Institutions at Leiden University, and one of the world’s foremost experts on European politics. He is a member of the Dutch Advisory Council on International Affairs and Chair of its Commission on European Integration, and is a special advisor to European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans. In addition to his weekly syndicated column on European and international affairs with the Dutch newspaper, NRC Handelsblad, and the author of: “Politicide” (Historische Uitgeverij, 1999); “The Passage to Europe” (Yale University Press, 2009); “Alarums and Excursions: Improvising Politics on the European Stage” (Agenda Publishing, 2019); and, “Pandemonium: Saving Europe” (Agenda Publishing, 2021).

Moderated by Michael Collins, IIEA Director General and former Irish Ambassador to the United States, Ambassador Tai considers the future challenges and opportunities for deepening transatlantic trade and the role of the transatlantic partnership in the global trading economy. About the Speaker: Ambassador Katherine Tai was sworn in as the 19th United States Trade Representative on March 18, 2021. As a member of the President’s Cabinet, Ambassador Tai is the principal trade advisor, negotiator, and spokesperson on U.S. trade policy. Prior to her unanimous confirmation, Ambassador Tai spent most of her career in public service focusing on international economic diplomacy, monitoring, and enforcement serving as Chief Trade Counsel and Trade Subcommittee Staff Director for the House Ways and Means Committee in the United States Congress. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

While COVID-19 has been ever present for almost two years now, the spread of the new Omicron variant has brought the virus back to the top of the political agenda. As well as this reflecting on the latest COVID situation, our panel explores topics ranging from the outcome of COP26, global tax reform, what a new German Chancellor may mean for the future direction of the EU and, last but not least, the ongoing, never-ending negotiations on EU-UK relations and the future of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. About the Speakers: Shona Murray is Europe correspondent with Euronews. Previously she was Political Correspondent with the Irish Independent, and Foreign Affairs correspondent with Newstalk. She’s specialized in Brexit and has reported from dozens of countries such as Israel/Gaza, Iraq, Turkey/Syria border, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Haiti and Guantanamo Bay. She holds an M.Phil in International Peace and an LL.M in international law - both from Trinity College Dublin. She is alum of the US State Department Edward R. Murrow programme for journalists. Conor O’Neill is Head of Policy & Advocacy at Christian Aid Ireland, an international aid and development NGO based in Dublin and Belfast. He leads the organisation's work on climate change and economic justice, focusing on issues of human rights, corporate accountability, tax avoidance and inequality between the global North and South. He previously worked as a researcher and advisor in the Oireachtas, in the EU institutions and with a human rights NGO in Brussels. He has a BA and an MSc in Politics from Trinity College, Dublin. Aidan Regan is an Associate Professor at the School of Politics and International Relations at University College Dublin (UCD) and a Columnist with the Business Post. He is Director of UCD's Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in the New Political Economy of Europe, and Director of Graduate Master Studies at the School of Politics. Aidan completed his PhD in Public Policy at the College of Social Science at UCD, whilst also working at the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS), at the University of Amsterdam.

In his address to the IIEA, Minister Coveney reflects on Ireland’s first year as an elected member of the UN Security Council. He outlines some of Ireland’s core achievements, review Ireland’s Presidency of the Security Council in September 2021, and briefly looks ahead to what is on the agenda for 2022. As part of the IIEA's Global Europe project, this webinar is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs, About the Speaker: Simon Coveney TD is the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence. He is also the Deputy Leader of Fine Gael. He previously served as Tánaiste from 30 November, 2017 to 27 June, 2020, and Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government as well as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. He was appointed as Minister for Defence for the first time in 2014 and for a second time in 2020. He represents the Cork South Central constituency.

In the eighth and final webinar of the 2021 Development Matters lecture series, which is supported by Irish Aid, Dr Mike Ryan joins Minister Colm Brophy to consider global health preparedness and response for the future. They explore our collective responsibility in the context of global public health security. They will also address the issue of global vaccine equity in the context of COVID-19 variants and discuss how public health systems, tools and infrastructure might be improved in regions least equipped to mitigate health emergencies. About the Speakers: Dr Mike Ryan was appointed Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme in 2019, having served as Assistant Director-General for Emergency Preparedness and Response from 2017 to 2019. Dr Ryan has worked at the forefront of managing acute risks to global health for nearly 25 years. He first joined the WHO in 1996. Colm Brophy is a Fine Gael TD representing Dublin South-West. He was appointed Minister of State with responsibility for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora in July 2020. Minister Brophy was first elected to the Dáil in 2016 and during his first term served as Chairman of the Budgetary Oversight Committee and a Member of both the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality and the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs. Prior to this, Minister Brophy was a Member of South Dublin County Council. He is a former President of the Association of Irish Local Government.