Article Information

Category: Roundtables

Created on 10 April 2008

Antonio De Lecea, Director for International Economic and Financial Affairs at the European Commission, offered his assessment of the European Commission’s proposed common approach to sovereign wealth funds, and Nova Daly, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Investment Security at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, examined the role of CFIUS in regulating the flow of sovereign wealth funds into the United States. The Hon. Patrick Mulloy, Member, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission expressed his concern about sovereign wealth funds and their influence on the U.S. government and economy. Klaus Stein, IMF Executive Director for Germany; Jarle Bergo, Alternate IMF Director for the Nordic/Baltic States; and François Teissonnière, Managing Director, Telecoms, Rothschild Inc. presented perspectives from Germany, Norway, and the private sector on the issue. Thomas J. Karol, President and COO of the newly formed Sovereign Investment Council emphasized the positive aspects of these funds and advised against excessive regulation that would lead to perceptions of protectionism. The discussion was moderated by James Mendenhall, Partner, at Sidley Austin LLP.

Article Information

Category: Roundtables

Created on 01 April 2008

John Richardson, Head of the Maritime Policy Task Force at the European Commission reviewed the EU’s efforts to integrate analysis and decision-making across a number of maritime sectors. Former White House Chief of Staff and Member of Congress Leon Panetta, Chairman of the Pew Oceans Commission offered his insights on current U.S. maritime policy and how EU-U.S. maritime cooperation can be enhanced. Sean Connaughton, Administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration; Arne Fuglvog, Legislative Assistant, Office of Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK); and Chris Koch, President and CEO of the World Shipping Council discussed maritime surveillance, with particular emphasis on security matters. Duncan Smith, Principal at Blank Rome Government Relations LLC moderated the discussion. Rear Admiral Torben Ørting Jørgensen, Assistant Chief of Staff, Capabilities, Allied Command Transformation (ACT), NATO discussed the impact of increased law enforcement and surveillance of ocean activities on the maritime sector.

Article Information

Category: Roundtables

Created on 31 March 2008

The Hon. Stavros Dimas, Commissioner for the Environment of the European Commission highlighted the new public awareness of climate change that includes a sustainable policy toward reducing global warming. He stated that there has been significant progress in moving towards this policy not only in government but also in business. Commissioner Dimas stressed that the United States and European Union have the important role of leading the rest of the world to act fast on limiting the impacts, like nature disasters, of carbon dioxide emissions. A discussion followed on the future solutions to energy and climate issues. The meeting was chaired by The Hon. William Nitze, Chairman of GridPoint, Inc. and the Climate Institute, who added that there is no time to waste in engaging developing countries such as China and India into energy and climate policies. Participants also raised the issue of how the auto industry could be part of finding solutions to climate change, suggesting that the commercial development of biofuels was one answer. The dialogue addressed the need for a transatlantic approach to climate change and energy policy.

Article Information

Category: Roundtables

Created on 14 March 2008

Dr. Jacques Bus, Head of Unit, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Trust and Security, DG Information Society at the European Commission outlined the European Union’s research priorities in seeking to ensure the security of critical infrastructures and networks, including the Internet. Presenting a U.S. perspectives were: Dr. David Boyd, Director, Command, Control, and Interoperability Division, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Andy Purdy, former Acting Director of the National Cyber Security Division/US-CERT of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and current President of DRA Enterprises, Inc.; and Dr. Herbert Lin, Chief Scientist on the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council. Roger Cochetti, Group Director for U.S. Public Policy at Computing Technology Industry Association moderated the discussion.