IIEA Talks IIEA

In her address to the IIEA, Nadia Calviño, who was appointed as President of the EIB on 1 January 2024, outlines her priorities for her term as EIB President. President Calviño discusses how the EIB and Ireland have been working together to invest in a sustainable future for all and outlines her vision for how Ireland and the EIB can develop closer cooperation in the coming decade.

About the Speaker:

Nadia Calviño is a Spanish economist and lawyer with a career spanning over 30 years in public policy, economics and finance. Ms Calviño served as First Vice-President of Spain and Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise until December 2023. Prior to that role, she held various positions, including Second Vice-President and Minister for Economy and Digitalization (March-July 2021), Third Vice-President and Minister for Economy and Digitalization (2020-2021) and Minister for Economy and Business (2018-2020). Additionally, she chaired the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2022 to 2023.

In this IIEA panel event, three expert speakers discuss the present state of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda. The panel reflects upon how, as the global security environment continues to deteriorate, Security Council Resolution 1325 and its emphasis of on the specific challenges which conflict poses to women in conflict settings has grown only more important. Moreover, the panel explores the role of women in conflict resolution, their role in UN peacekeeping, and conflict prevention.

Speakers in this panel include:

Major-General (Ret.) Maureen O’Brien, Former Deputy Military Advisor in the United Nations Office of Military Affairs, Department of Peace Operations;

Dr Sally-Anne Corcoran served with UN for nearly two decades. An Irish Research Council Scholar, she received her PhD in Law from the University of Galway in 2022. She is an international expert and advisor on Gender and Human Rights;

Sophie McGuirk, Peace and Stability Unit at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

'Britain, Ireland and Europe: where we are and where we’re going'

The United Kingdom’s relations with its neighbour have been in some flux since British voters voted to leave the European Union in 2016. The protracted upheaval of Brexit strained relations with both Ireland and the EU, and a new, fully stable equilibrium has yet to emerge. Sir Ivan Rogers - advisor to two British prime ministers, among numerous other roles - will discuss the current and future state of the UK’s relations with its neighbours and how relations might change after the upcoming British general election. He will also assess the security implications for Britain and Europe of Russia’s war with Ukraine.

About the Speaker

Sir Ivan Rogers has spent most of his career to date in the British civil servant and foreign corps. He has advised two British Prime Ministers (Tony Blair and David Cameron), one Chancellor of the Exchequer (Ken Clark), and served as Chief of Staff in Brussels to a European Commissioner (Leon Brittan). He has also held senior positions in the private sector. Since resigning as the UK’s Permanent Representative to the EU in 2017, he has been one of the leading public analysts of Brexit and related matters.

In her address to the IIEA, Dr Sabine Weyand presents how geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges are affecting international trade, and their implications for the EU’s trade policy. Furthermore, Dr Weyand assesses the role that trade plays in strengthening competitiveness of EU businesses and advancing the EU’s economic security interests, while supporting the EU’s green transition. This event is part of the Future Proofing Europe project, supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

About the Speaker:

Dr Sabine Weyand is Director-General for Trade at the European Commission. Prior to her current role, Dr Weyand was Deputy Chief Negotiator of the Commission Task Force for the Preparation and Conduct of the Negotiations with the United Kingdom under Article 50 of the TEU from October 2016 to May 2019. She was Director in the Secretariat-General of the Commission in charge of policy coordination on economic, social and environmental policies before joining DG Trade in 2016 as Deputy Director-General covering multilateral trade policy, trade relations with North America and European neighbourhood countries, as well as trade defence. She holds degrees from Freiburg University and the College of Europe and a PhD from Tübingen University.

As the United States faces into a number of consequential elections including the Presidential Election in 2024, along with elections to Congress as well as several gubernatorial elections, the shape of the political landscape in the United States both during the election campaigns and after the political dust has settled will be highly significant for the future of the country’s democracy. In her address to the IIEA, Vanessa Williamson, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, assesses the possible consequences of the 2024 elections for the resilience of the institutions which underpin the US’ democracy.

About the Speaker:

Vanessa Williamson is a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, and a Senior Fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. She studies taxation, redistribution, democracy, and political participation. She is the author, with Theda Skocpol, of The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism.

In her speech, Andreja Metelko-Zgombić, State Secretary for Europe in the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia, focuses on Croatia’s perspective on the forthcoming EU enlargement process, the institutional changes required to prepare the EU for enlargement, and the range of reforms to be implemented by the Western Balkan countries before accession, including the resolution of historical disputes. She also addresses the proposal of a so-called confidence clause for the region in the accession treaties, which would prevent a newly joined Member State from blocking the accession of another candidate country. Finally, she provides an assessment, ten years on, of how both Croatia and the EU have benefitted from the 2013 enlargement.

About the Speaker:

Andreja Metelko-Zgombić is the State Secretary for Europe at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia and holds a law degree. Prior to assuming this position in 2017, she held several prominent posts at the Ministry, including Chief Legal Adviser and Assistant Minister for European Law, International Law and Consular Affairs. Metelko-Zgombić is also the Senior Representative of the Republic of Croatia on the Standing Joint Committee on Succession Issues and the President of the Commission of the Government of the Republic of Croatia for Borders.