IIEA Videos Feed

Ireland and the EU

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Thinking About the End of Oil and its Geopolitical Implications

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

About the Speaker: Richard Sears is the former VP of Royal Dutch Shell and is currently leading cutting edge research in collaboration with industry at the Energy Institute at MIT. Richard Sears has over 32 years of experience in exploration and development projects for Royal Dutch Shell on six continents. In July 2010 he was appointed by President Obama to the seven-member commission to investigate the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. He is a member of the United States Offshore Energy Safety Advisory Committee which advises the US Secretary of the Interior on matters relating to offshore energy safety and technology. About the Speech: In his address, Mr Sears will challenge the peak oil theory and will argue that the world will never run out of oil because new technologies and innovation will usher in the post fossil fuel age. He will also address the geopolitical implications of the end of oil. This address is the first event in the 2012 ESB lecture series, which is kindly sponsored by ESB.

Creating a European Internal Energy Market by 2014 - Challenges and Opportunities for Ireland and Europe

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Creating a European Internal Energy Market by 2014 - Challenges and Opportunities for Ireland and Europe About the Seminar: The creation of a genuine internal market for energy is one of the European Union's priority objectives. A market that allowed gas and electricity to flow freely throughout the EU would provide cost and choice benefits for consumers as well as increasing market access for suppliers, including producers of small-scale and renewable forms of energy. This seminar will explore what needs to be done to establish such a market by 2014, the target set by the European Commission and Council. A focus of the seminar will be Ireland's Single Electricity Market (SEM) – a wholesale market operating in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. As Ireland's SEM operates with dual currencies and in multiple jurisdictions, it is a useful case study when considering the challenges of creating an EU-wide market. Speakers will offer perspectives from Brussels, the UK and Ireland on what needs to be done between now and 2014, on the development of the SEM, on the construction and operation of the East-West Interconnector between Ireland and the UK, and on the ways in which the benefits of new and existing interconnectors can be maximised. About the Speakers: Speakers will include: - Jean Arnaud Vinois, Acting Director of the Internal Energy Market Directorate at the European Commission - Daniel Dobbeni, President of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity - Garrett Blaney, Commissioner at the Commission for Energy Regulation - Dermot Byrne, Chief Executive of EirGrid - Alison Kay, Commercial Director of Transmission at National Grid, UK

Petrit Selimi on Kosovo & the EU

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

About the Speech: Deputy Minister Selimi discussed Kosovo’s foreign policy four years after its declaration of independence. EU membership is one of Kosovo’s primary foreign policy objectives but a number of problematic issues remain, including the fact that five EU member states do not recognise Kosovo. Deputy Minister Selimi argued that the failure of the EU to speak with one voice on this issue is not just a problem for Kosovo, but for the EU itself. Deputy Minister Selimi also addressed how Ireland and the Irish experience have influenced the political landscape of Kosovo and its relations with Serbia. About the Speaker: Petrit Selimi became the Deputy Foreign Minister of Kosovo in June 2011. He is also one of Kosovo’s leading civil society activists and media experts. He has served on the Board of Directors of the George Soros Foundation in Kosovo and President Martti Ahtisaari’s Balkan Children and Youth Foundation. He also served as a communications and media advisor for the OSCE Mission in Kosovo before co-founding and becoming the first CEO of the Express, an independent daily newspaper published in Pristina.

Maritime Piracy, Somalia and the International Response

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

About the Speech: Piracy has been identified as one of the new transnational security threats and is of major concern to the international community as it affects key trade routes. It has huge financial implications for business and global security. In November 2011, the EU launched a strategic framework for the Horn of Africa to ensure a coherent response to the political, security and humanitarian crises in the region. About the Speaker: Roger Middleton is a leading expert on piracy, and from 2007 to 2011 was a consultant on the Chatham House Africa Programme. He will consider the intensification of acts of piracy in the region and beyond, and analyse the legal, military and diplomatic responses from local, regional and international actors.

The 'Reinforced Economic Union' – Implications for Fiscal Policy

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

About the Event: At this meeting of the IIEA Economists Group, Pat McArdle delivered a presentation on the implications for fiscal policy of the 'draft international agreement on a reinforced economic union' that is being circulated ahead of the European Council summit on 30 January. His analysis focused in particular on the proposal for a 'balanced budget rule' to be embedded into national legal frameworks, preferably at constitutional level. He noted that modelling and predicting structural deficits is a difficult task and embedding such a rule is likely to prove problematic. About the Speaker: Pat McArdle is the Co-Chairman of the IIEA's Economists Group and is a former Chief Economist with Ulster Bank. He has previously worked as an advisor to the Independent Review Panel on the Irish Department of Finance, as a columnist with the Irish Times on economic and financial matters, as the Irish representative on the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Banking Federation (EBF), and as an economist with the Department of Finance. He has also worked extensively with the European Commission and other European institutions throughout his career.

Minister Lucinda Creighton on Ireland in Europe

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

About the Event: Minister of State for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton T.D. will address the YPN on "Ireland in Europe". Drawing on her considerable experience in European affairs, Minister Creighton will discuss Ireland's experiences in the EU during the first year of the new government, and will elaborate on the challenges facing Ireland and its European partners. About the Speaker: Lucinda Creighton was appointed Minister of State for European Affairs in March 2011. She was first elected to the Dáil in 2007 and was returned in the General Election in 2011. A qualified barrister, she was elected to Dublin City Council in 2004 and served as Fine Gael spokesperson on European Affairs for 2007-2010. Minister Creighton campaigned for a yes vote in the Nice and Lisbon referendums, served on the board of the Young European Christian Democrats, served on an advisory committee to the Department of Education for the Irish Presidency of the EU in 2004, and represented Ireland at the Youth Convention on the Future of Europe in Brussels.

New Year, New Developments, New Treaty...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

About the Speech: As negotiations continue on a treaty text to give effect to the fiscal compact agreed at the December European Council, Richard Corbett will reflect on the political and institutional implications of the treaty negotiations and the likely path to ratification. About the Speaker: Richard Corbett advises President Van Rompuy on institutional issues and relations with the European Parliament, national parliaments, the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee. He served as a British Labour Party MEP from 1996 to 2009 and was the European Parliament’s rapporteur on the Lisbon Treaty. He has written extensively on EU affairs and is the co-author of the standard textbook on the European Parliament.

Trying to Understand the Arab Awakening

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

About the Speech: In a speech whose scope spanned the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), via Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Professor Tariq Ramadan emphasised the heterogeneity of the developments in each country. Hesitant to use the term “Arab Spring”, Prof. Ramadan portrayed what he cautiously calls the “Arab Awakening” as a chess game rather than a domino effect. He welcomed the progress achieved in Tunisia, and particularly commended those who succeeded in moving beyond the perceived polarisation between secularists and Islamists to a discourse based on policies and politics rather than ideology. However, Prof. Ramadan expressed concern about the situations in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere, and pointed out that Tunisia may be the only success story in the immediate term. The role of Europe and the US in the region, both before and since the popular uprisings, came under the spotlight and Prof. Ramadan pointed to the prioritisation of economic and geostrategic interests. He suggested that the issue of whether the Arab world is ready for democracy has somewhat been overshadowed by the question “Is the West ready for the Arabs experiencing democracy?”. Of particular relevance, according to Prof. Ramadan, is the West’s attitude towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which he sees as framing all of their policies in the MENA region. MENA countries, however, are now looking elsewhere for partners, investors and role models. Turkey is a particularly interesting example of a functioning, democratic state with a strong economy, where Islamic values are central. The Turkish government has been present and highly visible in the region over the past year. Prof. Ramadan also sees China, Russia, India, Brazil and South Africa as potential alternatives to Western involvement, especially from an economic perspective. Their approach is largely pragmatic, including on the Middle East conflict. Prof. Ramadan called on the European Union to develop a vision for its future relationship with the MENA region, independent of the USA and in full recognition of the true actors and political forces emerging in each country. About the Speaker: Professor Ramadan is a leading Islamic thinker, active at both academic and grassroots level. He is Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University, President of the European Muslim Network and Director of the Centre for Islamic Legislation and Ethics in Qatar. He was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most important innovators of the 21st Century.

Russia’s Elections and their Aftermath

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

About the Speech: In the December 2011 State Duma elections incumbent Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin’s, United Russia party lost 77 seats. Criticism of the conduct and outcome of the elections has prompted the largest public demonstrations since the fall of the USSR, with protestors calling for the results to be annulled. In his address to the IIEA, Séamus Martin will give a first-hand account of the elections and assess their immediate and long-term ramifications. About the Speaker: Séamus Martin is a former International Editor and Moscow Correspondent of the Irish Times. He returned in Russia to report on the December 2011 parliamentary elections. Mr. Martin’s five-part documentary, “Death of an Empire and the Soviet Union’s Demise”, will be broadcast weekly on RTE Radio One beginning on Saturday, 7 January 2012 at 7:30pm.