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Category: Roundtables

Created on 10 May 2016

On Tuesday May 10, The European Institute hosted The Honorable Tomáš Prouza, State Secretary for European Affairs of the Czech Republic.  Mr. Prouza gave his assessment of the challenges facing Europe today including the United Kingdom’s upcoming referendum on EU membership, the refugee crisis and the security threat posed by an increasingly assertive Russia.  While acknowledging growing nationalism and Euroscepticism, Mr. Prouza encouraged Member States to strengthen integration: “I am convinced that only when we stay united and when we work together to find common solutions will Europe stay strong.”  His full remarks can be found here.

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Category: Roundtables

Created on 04 November 2015

On November 4, 2015, The European Institute hosted a breakfast discussion with The Honorable Timothy Kirkhope, rapporteur for the relocation of refugees on the Committee for Civil Liberties, Justice & Home Affairs and the Conservative Party’s spokesman on Justice and Home Affairs at the European Parliament.  Mr. Kirkhope assessed the Syrian refugee crisis, and stated that a “firm but fair” approach to the situation was needed to maintain order and stability. Mr. Kirkhope also stressed the need for the EU to allocate additional resources to member states with external borders of the EU in order to help them accommodate the flood of new arrivals, while bolstering the availability of legal channels through which refugees can make formal applications for asylum within Europe.

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Category: Roundtables

Created on 05 October 2015

On October 5, 2015, The Honorable Stefan Selig, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade offered his assessment of the current status the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations. Rebuffing concerns that the talks had reached an impasse, Under Secretary Selig pointed out that the most complicated agreements are always marathons, not sprints, and that negotiators are currently tackling specifics in some of the toughest chapters, notably standards and regulations. Neither the US nor the EU, he added, can achieve long term economic growth, that  is both robust and sustainable, without optimizing the transatlantic trade partnership.  “TTIP is not ONLY an opportunity to reinforce the Trans-Atlantic relationship. It is an opportunity to reinforce the very principles that this relationship were built upon.”

Click here to read Under Secretary Selig's remarks.

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Category: Roundtables

Created on 03 August 2015

On August 3, 2015, The European Institute held a breakfast discussion on the European Union’s Digital Single Market Strategy with Ambassador Daniel Sepulveda, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and U.S. Coordinator for International Communications & Information Policy; Andrea Glorioso, Counselor for the Digital Agenda & ICT at the Delegation of the European Union; and Marie Royce, Vice President Public Affairs at Alcatel-Lucent. Thorough conversations with stakeholders are underway on the 16 initiatives of the strategy, which places digital technologies at the forefront of the EU's push for sustainable and competitive economic growth. While the panelists lauded the strategy overall, differing approaches on a range of issues such as spectrum management, copyright reforms, intermediary liability and data localization were discussed. Dr. Michael Nelson, Public Policy at CloudFlare moderated the discussion.

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Category: Roundtables

Created on 15 July 2015

On July 13, 2015, The European Institute held a breakfast discussion with The Honorable Andrej Plenkovic. Chairman of the European Parliament’s Delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.  Mr. Plenkovic previewed the European Union’s revision of its Common Security and Defense Policy; gave his assessment of  changes to the Union’s Neighborhood Policy; offered his perspective on the current situation in Ukraine and how the EU can most effectively reinforce peace initiatives and address rising economic and humanitarian needs; assessed the current situation in Southeastern Europe and managing prospects for EU enlargement, and shared his thoughts on the ongoing Greek debt crisis and the implications for both the Eurozone ad the European Union.