CIR News:Santa Fe Council on International Relations’ Spring 2016 International Lecture Series will focus on The European Union Under Pressure.
The second of the four lectures will address European Member Politics and Why We Should Be Interested presented by Dr. Jeffrey Gedmin, Senior Fellow for the Future of Europe at 3 p.m., Saturday, April 30 at the Atlantic Council, Washington D.C. at The Forum, Santa Fe University of Art and Design in Santa Fe.
Beginning with the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1950, proceeding through several organizational evolutions, and expanding to 28 member Countries by 2013, the European Union has pursued a “European Project” calling for ever closer union among the member States.
The Great Recession of 2008 dealt the Union an economic blow from which it has yet to recover. Economic disparities in Europe and more recently upheavals in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia have unleashed waves of migration within and to Europe and triggered increased nationalism across the European Union which threaten the European Project. Greece narrowly avoided leaving the EU in 2015; Britain has scheduled a national vote in June 2016 on whether to remain in the EU or leave.
In light of the threats to the European Union and the importance to the world of economic success andpolitical stability in Europe, we have scheduled a series of talks by experts well qualified to address thepromise and the challenges facing the European Union.
Dr. Jeffrey Gedmin, Senior Fellow for the Future of Europe at the Atlantic Council, Washington D.C.3 p.m., Saturday, April 30,
Tipton Hall, Santa Fe University of Art & Design, 1600 St. Michael’s Drive
Dr. Gedmin obtained his PhD from Georgetown in German Area Studies and Linguistics and has spent a number of years working in Europe as President and CEO of Radio Free Europe in Prague, CZ from 2007-2011. He then became president and CEO of the Legatum Institute in London where he served till 2014 and returned to Washington, D.C. to take up his current responsibilities. He is also a Senior Fellow at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He will discuss the political impact of the EU’s economic, social and security challenges, their likely outcomes and importance to the U.S.
Ms. Caroline Vicini, Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation, Washington D.C. 5:30 p.m., Thursday, May 12,
The Forum, Santa Fe University of Art and Design, 1600 St. Michael’s Drive
Ms. Vicini took her current position after serving in Sweden’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs where she was posted in Algiers, Paris, Rome, Stockholm and Washington D.C. In her Ministry assignments she has worked on defense and intelligence matters and the initial development of the European Union’s common foreign and defense policy. She has been Deputy Chief of Mission for the Swedish Embassies in Dublin and Washington and served with rank of Ambassador as Chief of Protocol for the Ministry in Stockholm.
Dr. Gary Hufbauer, Reginald Jones Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics5:30 p.m., Thursday, May 26,
The Forum, Santa Fe University of Art and Design, 1600 St. Michael’s Drive
Dr. Gary Hufbauer is a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and formerly a Senior Director of Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Prior to that, Dr. Hufbauer was professor of economics at Georgetown U., and before that held senior posts at the Treasury Department. He has written extensively on global economics, including the EU. Dr. Hufbauer holds an AB degree from Harvard College, a PhD from Cambridge University, and a JD from Georgetown Law Center.
Cost of the lectures, is $20 each for non-members and $15 each for CIR members. There is no charge for qualified students. For more information on registering for the lectures, go to the Council’s website or telephone the office at 982.4931.
The Santa Fe Council on International Relations is a non-partisan, 501c(3) non-profit educational resource dedicated to the stimulation of dialogue about current foreign affairs issues that affect the United States. One of more then 100 nationwide affiliates of Global Ties U.S. and a member of the World Affairs Councils of America (worldaffairscouncils.org) the organization facilitates cultural and educational exchanges between U.S. and foreign peers, sponsors lectures by recognized experts, arranges world affairs discussions, and organizes educational trips abroad. For more information, please visit www.santafecouncil.org.