On October 25, 2012, The European Institute, in cooperation with the Embassy of Belgium and the Embassy of Switzerland held a special seminar on transatlantic cooperation in stemming the spread of falsified medications.  Mark Witzal, Deputy Director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations presented the keynote address.  Panelists in the first session: Bernard Frahi, Vice President for Corporate Economic Security at Sanofi; Ambassador Richard Kauzlarich, Deputy Director at the Terrorism, Transnational Crime & Corruption Center and Adjunct Professor at George Mason University’s School of Public Policy; and Jeffrey Gren, Director of the Office of Health and Consumer Goods at the U.S. Department of Commerce discussed the security, economic and public health risks of falsified medications.  The panel was moderated by Susan Reardon, Director of International Policy, Worldwide Government Affairs and Policy at Johnson & Johnson.  Panelists in the second session: John Roth, Director of the Office of Criminal Investigations at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Patrick Byrne, Europol Senior Representative and Head of Europol Delegation at the Delegation of the European Union to the United States; Chief Commissioner Patrick Stevens, Counselor and Belgian Police Liaison Officer at the Embassy of Belgium; Kelley Friedgen, Senior Corporate Counsel at Genentech and Legal Advisor to the Genentech Counterfeit Prevention and Response Task Force; and Jeannie Salo, Director for Global Anti-Counterfeiting, Office of International Government Affairs at Eli Lilly and Company examined public and private sector solutions to the fast-growing falsified medications problem.  This panel was moderated by Frédéric Badey, Senior Director, International Public Affairs Coordination, Sanofi.

By Michael D. Mosettig, former Foreign Editor of PBS NewsHour

It is hard to walk around Washington these days without bumping into a conference on U.S.-China relations. There was even a well informed and lively panel assembled in a crowded auditorium at the French Embassy, of all places.   Finally, as the meeting was drawing to a close, I felt compelled to say, "We are on French soil, and Europe has not been mentioned."  The panelists responded with some remarks about the European Union's trade with China, which indeed does now surpass that of the U.S.  See earlier European Affairs piece on Europe and China.

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On October 17, 2012 The European Institute hosted an off-the-record exchange with His Excellency João Vale de Almeida, Head of Delegation and Ambassador of the European Union to the United States, on the priorities for EU-U.S. relations after the upcoming American election. The discussion was moderated by Faryar Shirzad, Global Head of the Office of Government Affairs at Goldman Sachs.

On October 10, 2012, The European Institute held its Annual Meeting of the Members and Board of Advsiors at the Embassy of Lithuania, hosted by His Excellency Žygimantas Pavilionis, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to the United States.  Moderated by Christopher Lombardi, Regional Director, Europe, Israel & Sub-Sahara at Raytheon Company, the panelists included: François Rivasseau, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union; Ambassador Kurt Volker, Executive Director, McCain Institute for International Leadership, Arizona State University; Dr. Sujai Shivakumar, Deputy Director, Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, The National Academies; and Fiona Alexander, Associate Administrator, Office of International Affairs, National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

The panel was followed by a dinner discussion with Dr. Robert Litan, Director of Research for Bloomberg Government and Author of Better Capitalism and Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism , who candidly assessed economic recovery efforts in both the United States and Europe.

michaelwhiteOnly six weeks to go, thank goodness. Foreigners don't have a vote in US presidential elections, although some behave as if they do and most non-Americans know that the outcome will affect their own lives one way or another. We care, and we also enjoy a good political horse race when we see one.

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