IIEA Talks

In her address to the IIEA, Constanze Stelzenmüller explores Europe’s strategic outlook as it faces mounting geopolitical challenges. As Russia’s war against Ukraine persists with ongoing support from China, the United States has entered a new political chapter following its recent presidential election. Meanwhile, authoritarian powers are asserting themselves on the global stage, challenging the rules-based international order. Against this backdrop, Europe must confront difficult questions about its security, prosperity, and strategic autonomy. Dr Stelzenmüller explores what role Europe can play in shaping the future global order, and what the implications are for Ireland and the wider European Union. About the speaker: Dr. Constanze Stelzenmüller is the Director of the Center on the United States and Europe and the inaugural holder of the Fritz Stern Chair on Germany and Trans-Atlantic Relations at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. A German citizen herself, she is an expert on German, European, and Trans-Atlantic foreign and security policy, as well as international law and human rights. From 2019-2020, Dr. Stelzenmüller held the Kissinger Chair on Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress, and from 2014-2019 served as the inaugural Robert Bosch Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Prior to joining Brookings, she directed the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and later served as Senior Transatlantic Fellow with the organisation, heading the Transatlantic Trends Programme. Dr. Stelzenmüller’s work in the think tank sphere follows a distinguished career in journalism, including the role of Defence and International Security Editor in the political section of DIE ZEIT from 1994-2005. She has contributed to a variety of publications, writes a monthly column for the Financial Times, and is a frequent commentator on American and European news outlets.

Ten years after the historic climate agreement reached at COP21 in Paris, considerable progress has been made in areas ranging from energy efficiency and renewables deployment to electric vehicles and heat pumps. However, this progress is well below that required to deliver on the goals in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, and investment in clean energy remains uneven. As political headwinds increase, Brian Motherway considers what the past decade has taught us in terms of global engagement on climate and clean energy, and what we have learned in terms of engaging citizens and societies in the vital project of clean energy transitions. This event is part of the IIEA’s REthink Energy series, organised in partnership with ESB, Ireland’s state-owned electricity company. Speaker bio: Brian Motherway is Head of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Transitions at the International Energy Agency. He oversees analytical and outreach programmes supporting energy efficiency globally. He also leads IEA’s work with governments on people-centred policymaking, addressing issues such as skills, inclusion and fairness in clean energy policies. Prior to joining the IEA, Brian was Chief Executive of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

In this talk, Professor Stephen Millard discusses the outlook for the UK economy in light of the Chancellor’s Spring Statement and accompanying Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast. He compares the current NIESR view as to the outlook for GDP, inflation and the labour market with the OBR’s forecast and the forecast from the Bank of England’s February Monetary Policy Report. In his remarks, Professor Millard also draws out the implications for monetary and fiscal policy moving forward. About the Speaker: Professor Stephen Millard is the Interim Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) in the UK and is currently part of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. Prior to joining NIESR, Stephen worked for 26 and a half years at the Bank of England. During this time, he worked in a variety of policy, research and managerial roles across the Bank's Monetary Analysis and Financial Infrastructure Directorates. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Durham University Business School and the University of Portsmouth. He holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University.

In this webinar, Nina Jankowicz discusses the evolution of disinformation in democracies, ranging from Russian-linked disinformation campaigns in Eastern Europe to the new U.S. Government’s hostile stance towards disinformation research. She discusses how the new US administration’s relationship with technology companies may affect content moderation policies and practices. Ms Jankowicz also assesses the implications of readily accessible Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications for the generation of disinformation and explores how democracies can best respond to the evolving threat of disinformation.  About the speaker: Nina Jankowicz, is the co-founder and CEO of the American Sunlight Project, an advocacy group working to counter disinformation, and an internationally-recognised expert on disinformation and democratisation. She is the former Executive Director of the Disinformation Governance Board at the US Department of Homeland Security. Before this she was a Global Fellow at the Wilson Centre and she previously advised the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on strategic communications under the auspices of a Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy Fellowship. Ms Jankowicz is one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in AI and is the author of How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict.

Whither Ireland-US relations? The second term of Donald Trump has been eventful. After just weeks in office, the US president has alienated some of the most pro-American governments in Europe with his interventions in the war in Ukraine and his moves towards an accommodation with the aggressor in the conflict, Russia. He has also promised tariffs on goods from the European Union and strongly criticised EU laws and regulations being applied to American companies operating in the bloc. The next edition of IIEA insights will look at how this upheaval in transatlantic relations is affecting Ireland’s traditionally close ties with the US and how those ties might change over the next four years with Larry Donnelly, Law lecturer and columnist with the Journal.ie; Brian Jensen, retired US diplomat and former Section Chief at the US embassy in Ireland; Niamh King, Director of the Aspen Security Forum; and Fergal O’Brien, Executive Director at Ibec.

Strengthening the full implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons necessitates a balanced implementation of all of its three pillars: nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and peaceful nuclear uses. However, the current geopolitical situation has exacerbated significant challenges in all of these three pillars. In his address to the IIEA Ambassador Klement discusses efforts to address those challenges, and reflects upon regional non-proliferation crises and his experience as a negotiator in the Iran nuclear negotiations. Speaker bio: Ambassador Stephan Klement is the EU Special Envoy for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, a position he has held since February 2024. From 2019 to 2023, Ambassador Clement served as EU Head of Delegation to the International Organisations in Vienna. Since 2016, he has served as the Special Advisor for the Iranian nuclear issues in the European External Action Service (EEAS). Mr. Klement holds a Doctoral degree in International Law from the Institute of International Law and International Relations, University of Vienna. He holds a Doctoral degree in Physics from the Institute of Experimental Physics, University of Vienna, a Masters in Law and a Masters in Theoretical Physics both from the University of Vienna, Austria.

The Minister speaks about the environmental policies and programmes being implemented to protect and improve our environment ensuring we work together to tackle the interconnected challenges facing agriculture and the environment About the Speaker: Andrew Muir MLA is Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland and Alliance Party MLA for North Down. He previously served as Alliance Party Chief Whip, Finance and Infrastructure Spokesperson and leading party efforts for Restoration and Reform of Assembly and Executive. Aged 47, prior to joining the Northern Ireland Assembly in late 2019 Andrew served for nearly a decade as Councillor including a term as Mayor of North Down 2013/14. Before becoming a MLA Andrew worked for Northern Ireland’s Public Transport provider Translink as a Senior Project Manager overseeing roll out of multi-million pound Future Ticketing System Project. Andrew graduated with a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies at Ulster University in 1999. A keen runner, Andrew has completed eleven Marathons with a Personal Best of 3:07. He founded both Bangor and Crawfordsburn free weekly 5k parkruns and is a member of North Down Athletic Club.

The Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report 2024 is the first global, post-pandemic assessment of the World Bank’s mission to end extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity in a liveable planet and take stock of its progress towards achieving these goals. It highlights the stark reality that these intertwined goals are out of reach under the current levels and patterns of economic growth.    About the speaker: Luis Felipe López-Calva is the Global Director for Poverty and Equity at the World Bank Group. He has over 30 years of professional experience working with international institutions and advising national governments. He rejoined the World Bank in 2022 from the United Nations Development Programme, where he served as UN Assistant Secretary General and Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean since 2018.  It is the inaugural lecture of the 2025 Development Matters series, which is kindly sponsored by Irish Aid.

In this event, in partnership with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Dublin, constituents have the opportunity to discuss issues of interest with Midland-North-West MEPs. This event offers an opportunity to debate matters of importance including agricultural policy, land use, climate change, housing, transport and other topics. As panellists, the MEPs offer insights into how policies at the EU level play a role in addressing these key challenges. Speakers: Maria Walsh, Group of the European People's Party in the European Parliament, Fine Gael Barry Cowen, Renew Europe Group in the European Parliament, Fianna Fáil Ciaran Mullooly, Renew Europe Group in the European Parliament, Independent Brendan Flynn (Discussant), Lecturer & Head of Politics, School of Political Science and Sociology at University of Galway Dr Orla Flynn (Moderator), President of the Atlantic Technological University.

In this webinar Ms Lucilla Sioli, Director of the EU AI Office, addresses the Institute on the enforcement of the EU’s new AI Act. Ms Sioli explores the enforcement framework for the AI Act and how this legislation will be implemented in practice. Ms Sioli focuses particular attention on the role of the EU AI Office and how it can help to ensure coherent cooperation between regulators across different sectors and Member States. About the speaker: Lucilla Sioli is the Director of the AI Office in Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content, and Technology (DG CONNECT) in the European Commission. She was previously the Director for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Industry within DG CONNECT, where she was responsible for the development of AI policy, including the AI Act, and for the digitisation of industrial strategy. Ms Sioli holds a PhD in economics from the University of Southampton (UK) and one from the Catholic University of Milan (Italy) and has been a civil servant with the European Commission since 1997.