On October 25, 2011, The European Institute held its Annual Meeting of the Members and Board of Advisors at the Belgian Residence, hosted by His Excellency Jan Matthysen, Ambassador of Belgium to the United States.  Moderated by Nova Daly, Public Policy Consultant at Wiley Rein LLP, the panelists: Kathleen Doherty, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasia at the U.S. Department of State; Dr. Christian Burgsmüller, Counselor and Head of the Transport, Energy, Environment and Nuclear Matters Section at the Delegation of the European Union; Barbara Matthews, Managing Director at BCM International Regulatory Analytics LLC and The Honorable Bart Gordon, Partner at K&L Gates discussed the transatlantic relationship, energy and environment priorities, the ongoing economic crisis and the need and opportunities for innovation on both sides of the Atlantic.  

The panel was followed by a dinner discussion with David Mark, Senior Editor at POLITICO who shared his insight into the current U.S. political landscape and the upcoming 2012 elections.

On October 4, 2011, The European Institute held a seminar in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy, European Commission and Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s EU-Japan-U.S. Trilateral Critical Materials Initiative.  The Honorable David Sandalow, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy for Policy and International Affairs, The Honorable Reinhard Bütikofer, Vice Chair of the European Parliament’s Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance and Member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, European Parliament; and His Excellency Ichiro Fujisaki, Ambassador of Japan to the United States presented keynote remarks.  Panelists included: Gwenole Cozigou, Director for chemicals, metals, mechanical, electrical, construction industries and raw materials, DG Enterprise and Industry at the European Commission; Herbert von Bose, Director for Industrial Technologies, DG Research and Innovation at the European Commission; Cyrus Wadia, Senior Policy Analyst, Environment and Energy Division at the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy; Charles Cogar, Legislative Director for U.S. Representative Mike Coffman; Komei Halada, Managing Director for the Center for Strategic Natural Resources at the Japanese National Institute for Materials Science; Keiichi Kawakami, Deputy Director General, Manufacturing Industries Bureau at the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; Stephen Collocott, Group Leader, Novel Alloys, Magnetics and Drives at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization; Anil Arora, Assistant Deputy Minister, Minerals and Metals Sector, Natural Resources Canada; Alain Rollat, Technology Development Manager for Rhodia Rare Earth Systems; Maurits Van Camp, Coach, Recycling and Extraction Technology Platform, Umicore; and Jim Sims, Vice President for Corporate Communications at Molycorp.  The discussion was moderated by The Honorable Bart Gordon, Partner at K&L Gates LLP.

On September 27, 2011, Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs and NATO Deputy Secretary General Designate discussed the  continuing  evolution of U.S. defense policy, lessons learned from the Alliance's intervention in Libya, and the need to strengthen the European-American partnership on multiple fronts in order to meet common security challenges.

On September 22, 2011, The Honorable Christian Syse, Deputy Secretary General of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs addressed Norway’s unique role within the transatlantic alliance, as a founding member of NATO and as an important partner of the European Union. Just shy of EU membership, Norway’s active role is by no means limited to its’ engagement in the European Free Trade Association and the European Economic Area, as witnessed by the nation’s consistent efforts to further greater social and economic cohesion in Central and Eastern Europe.  Mr. Syse also offered insights into the future of Norway’s relationship with the European Union, and the considerable challenges facing both Europe and the United States.

On September 21, 2011, The Honorable John Dalli, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy offered his perspective on the parameters for responsible innovation and how the EU can best strike a balance between the pressing drive for new and innovative consumer products and consumer safety.  He also the prospects and challenges for greater transatlantic cooperation on consumer safety policies and the shared imperative of insuring better public health policies for long term social and economic benefit.

On September 19, 2011, Claude-France Arnould, the European Defense Agency’s new Chief Executive, addressed the multiple challenges in bolstering the European Union’s defense capabilities and furthering EU-US defense cooperation at a time of severe budgetary restriction.  She focused particularly on the European Union’s Pooling and Sharing Initiative and the need for increased transatlantic cooperation in order to effectively meet common security challenges and improve defense capabilities.