3rd Transatlantic Think Tank Conference Brussels, 25/26 June, Workshops (closed to public)

Transcription

1 3rd Transatlantic Think Tank Conference Brussels, 25/26 June, 2012 Workshops (closed to public) Monday, 25 June, CES Meeting Room, Rue du Commerce 20, 1000 Brussels 12:45pm 1:15pm 1:15pm 1:30pm Registration, Welcome Coffee and Sandwiches Opening Lorne Craner, IRI President 1:30pm 3:00pm The Middle East and North Africa: The West s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Topics involving Iran, such as sanctions policy and the possibility of an Israeli strike, require close transatlantic coordination. And can the EU play a more important role in the Arab Israeli peace process? What are the prospects for joint democracy promotion after the Egyptian NGO crisis? Moderator: Jan Surotchak, Regional Director Europe, IRI Davis Lewin, Henry Jackson Society Dr Stefan Gehrold, Head of European Office, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Scott Mastic, Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa, IRI Robert Zarate, Policy Director, The Foreign Policy Initiative 3:00pm 3:15pm Coffee Break

2 3:15pm 4:45pm After ACTA: The Digital Economy and Freedom in the Internet How can intellectual property rights be effectively protected after the failure to ratify ACTA? Which potentials does the digital economy offer for a return to sustainable growth? Moderator: Tomi Huhtanen, CES Director Christofer Fjellner, MEP Konstantinos Kyranakis, YEPP Vincent Harris, political strategist, CEO at Harris Media 4:45pm 5:00pm 5:00pm 7:00pm Coffee Break State of the Unions An update of current political developments from both sides of the Atlantic. The US report focusing on the presidential campaign will be followed by a Q&A on North America. In the 2nd part, President Martens reports on important developments in the EU Member States and the EPP, and the Secretary General of the European Parliament, Klaus Welle, will report on institutional developments (Fiscal Compact etc.), then Q&A on Europe. Moderator: Anthony Teasdale, Director, DG Internal Policies, European Parliament, and Visiting Fellow, London School of Economics Klaus Welle, Secretary General of the European Parliament Jim Kolbe, former member of the US House of Representatives 8:00pm 10:30pm Dinner with keynote speech: Elmar Brok, Member of the European Parliament, Chair AFET committee: The Future of the West Stanhope Hotel, Rue du Commerce 9, 1000 Brussels.

3 Tuesday, 26 June, Continuation of closed workshop, CES Meeting Room 9:30am 10:30am Protests, Populism and the Changing Face of Democratic Politics Are new, unconventionally organized protests becoming a lasting feature of Western democracies? What are the impacts of social networks on parties and politics? Will political gridlock become more of an obstacle to efficient decision making? What are the effects of new populist and virtual parties? Moderator: Roland Freudenstein, CES Deputy Director and Head of Research. Dr Florian Hartleb, University of Bonn Dr Andrey Kovatchev, MEP Trygve Olson, Political Strategist, Founder of AdvancingFreedom.org Vincent Harris, political strategist, CEO at Harris Media 10:30am 11:30am The Future of Global Energy Is nuclear energy on its way out after Fukushima? Is conventional energy running out of resources? How can green energy become more profitable? Will the exploration of shale gas affect the situation? Moderator: Thibault Muzergues, Regional Program Officer, IRI Alejo Vidal Quadras, MEP Christian Kremer, EPP Deputy Secretary General Markus Blume, Member of the Bavarian Landtag Peter Doran, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for European Policy Analysis 6:00pm 8.00pm Reception for the opening of IRI s Brussels Office Venue: IRI Office, Rue de la Science 14, 1000 Brussels

4 3rd Transatlantic Think Tank Conference Brussels, Tuesday 26 June, 2012 Stanhope Hotel, Rue du Commerce 9, 1000 Brussels Tuesday, 26 June, 11:30 am 3:30 pm (incl. buffet luncheon) 11:30am 12:00pm 12:00pm 12:15pm Registration Opening Lorne Craner, IRI President 12:15pm 1:15pm Breakthrough in Transatlantic Economic Relations How big would the gains from further reducing transatlantic trade barriers really be? What are the most important domestic political obstacles to a trade deal, in the US as well as the EU and its member states? What about a common regulatory framework? Chair: Dr Werner Fasslabend, President of ÖVP Political Academy Robert Zarate, Policy Director, The Foreign Policy Initiative Professor Raymond Gradus, Director of CDA Wetenschappelijk Instituut Dr Godelieve Quisthoudt Rowohl, MEP 1:15pm 2:00pm 2:00pm 3:15pm Buffet Luncheon Pivoting Together? Towards a Common Transatlantic Approach to China Is President Obama s pivot towards the Pacific, announced in November 2011, a turn away from transatlantic relations? Or are there opportunities for the West in together addressing China and

5 the other Asian powers? What would a Western consensus be, at a minimum, concerning human rights, climate policy, global economic imbalances, copyright questions and security issues such as North Korea and Taiwan? Chair: Lorne Craner, President, IRI Olof Ehrenkrona, Advisor to Jarl Hjalmarsson Foundation Dr György Granasztói, Foundation for Civic Hungary Vladimir Urutchev, MEP Joanna Kao, China Resident Country Director, IRI 3:15pm 3:30pm Concluding remarks by Antonio López Istúriz, MEP, CES Secretary Treasurer and EPP Secretary General