IIEA Talks

Digital policy has emerged as one of the most contentious of policy areas in EU-US relations. Many EU digital policy developments have met with vocal US opposition – including Europe’s pursuit of digital sovereignty, what the US administration perceives as the over-regulation of US firms, the preferencing of European solutions, and EU content moderation rules. Meanwhile in Europe, concerns about p...

European integration has driven a wide range of social policy developments in Ireland and across Europe over the past fifty years – including rules relating to equality of opportunity, inclusion, fair working conditions, and social protections. However, since the 1990s, EU activity in the social realm has slowed. Today, the existence of a coherent ‘European social model’ in the enlarged EU has bee...

Food crises are not anomalies — they are recurring and predictable. COVID-19, Ukraine, the Middle East conflict, and now El Niño forming on the horizon: each shock travels the same transmission channels, driving up input costs, and hitting small-scale farmers first and hardest. These farmers produce a third of the world's food, including up to 70% of the food in Africa, and they operate with thin...

Ferit Hoxha is a career diplomat with over 35 years of experience in the foreign service of the Republic of Albania. Since March 2026, he has been serving as Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Mr Hoxha has had a distinguished and extensive career in multilateral diplomacy and international relations, representing the Republic of Albania at the highest international levels. He has served as A...

European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, is responsible for the Global Gateway, the EU’s strategy for stronger partnerships, and sustainable development. With Ireland’s 2026 EU Council Presidency about to begin, this event will explore how Irish businesses, policymakers, and civil society can engage with EU-backed financing while adjusting to ongoing geopolitical shifts...

Jon Burrows MLA, Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, delivers a keynote address entitled: "Peace is No Longer Enough: Delivering Prosperity and Opportunity for All in Northern Ireland". This event is in collaboration with the John and Pat Hume Foundation. Jon Burrows was selected as the UUP MLA for North Antrim in August 2025. He brings to the Assembly experience from a career in policing and has...

A joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, followed by Iranian retaliation against U.S. military assets, Israel and other U.S. allies, has engulfed much of the Middle East in a conflict with global repercussions. Israel and the United States campaign’s immediate aim was to decapitate the Islamic Republic’s leadership, and it quickly achieved this goal. But the broader objectives of the operation are sti...

'The Making of Foreign Policy' In this edition of IIEA Insights two former foreign policy advisors – Ben Judah in the UK and Thomas Wright in the US – will recount their respective experiences of policy formulation, including the roles of advisors, civil servants, and political leaders, and how those roles have changed over time, if at all. They will also give personal views on the current state o...

Isabelle Pérignon, a French national, is Director for Consumer Policy at the European Commission since October 2023. She was for four years (2019-2023) the Deputy Head of Cabinet of the former Commissioner for Justice. Before this position, she worked as Head of Unit for Procedural criminal law at the European Commission. Ms Pérignon was also a member of the Cabinet of several Commissioners, inclu...

In Dr Julie Norman’s address to the IIEA, she discusses her new co-authored book, entitled Gaza: The Dream and the Nightmare. Dr Norman and Maia Carter Hallward tell the story of Gaza from its early foundations, across decades of occupation, to the horrors of 7 October 2023 and the devastation of the subsequent war. Rather than focusing on elites or abstract politics, at the book's heart are ordin...

Full event title: "Ukraine’s Path to the EU in the Time of Ireland’s Presidency: Defending Democracy and Shaping Europe’s Security Future" Oleksandr Korniyenko serves as the First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, a role he has held since October 2021. Mr Korniyenko is the Head of the Servant of the People Party and has been a Member of the Ukrainian Parliament since 2019. In Decemb...

In light of an increasingly volatile world order, the future of the European security architecture is back on the agenda and seems more pressing than at any point in recent history. After decades of reduced military spending across Europe, recent developments from Ukraine, over Greenland and from the Middle East as well as the rifts in the Transatlantic partnership have prompted European states to...

A year of hard geopolitics has exposed Europe’s position between the world's two superpowers, with neither treating the European Union as a central player. This discussion examines where EU–China ties really stand, why the predicted détente never materialised after Trump’s return, and how Brussels is trying to balance economic interests with China with growing concerns over security and trade imba...

As Europe faces unprecedented geopolitical challenges, from the ongoing war in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion to a volatile situation in the Middle East and shifting transatlantic relations and power competition, a strong and united European Union is in our key interest. During the upcoming Irish EU Presidency, the focus will be on how member states can ensure unity and security, defend our v...

Join us for an urgent and thought-provoking discussion with ICRC Director-General Pierre Krähenbühl on the alarming rise in global conflicts and their profound humanitarian consequences. With over 130 active conflicts worldwide, more than double the number recorded just 15 years ago, war is no longer the exception but an increasingly normalized tool of dispute. From the devastating escalation in t...

The European Union and the Sahel have longstanding ties. Yet, as both sides experience significant transformations, and as geopolitical challenges abound, the context and nature of EU-Sahel relations have fundamentally changed. Today’s geopolitical environment is marked by the growing role of military actors in politics, widespread security concerns, acute fragility, the reconfiguration of regiona...

Recent global trade volatility and geopolitical instability have highlighted how Europe’s prosperity, autonomy and security can be exposed to global shocks and render Europe vulnerable. In this event, Olof Gill, Deputy Chief Spokesperson of the European Commission and Spokesperson for Trade, Economic Security & Customs, discusses the EU’s efforts to navigate geopolitical turbulence and major trade...

Against the backdrop of a more turbulent geopolitical environment. the European Union has increased its effort to ensure that its citizens are protected. In his remarks to the IIEA, Guillaume de la Brosse, Head of Unit for Defence Policy and Innovation at the Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space at the European Commission (DG DEFIS), discusses progress on the implementation of the Wh...

Following on from the recent announcement by the Tánaiste, this event looks to build on the recent proposals and the recommendations set out in the IIEA–BNY White Paper. An expert panel examines the product features and practical steps necessary to launch in 2027. The discussion focuses on how to operationalise a PIA scheme swiftly and effectively, the range of investment options that should be av...

'Security, Strategy and Statecraft' Former advisor to four British prime ministers, Prof John Bew, joins this edition of IIEA Insights to discuss the strategic predicament of Europe, the UK, and Ireland. He explores how Britain’s national security strategy has evolved, along with the implications for Ireland, the risks of a full-scale European war, and possible future security architecture for the...

In the second in a series of short interviews, the IIEA’s Director of Research Barry Colfer talks to Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne about his priorities and hopes for the forthcoming Irish President of the Council of the EU. The Minister shares his views on the single market, competitiveness, EU enlargement, EU-UK and EU-US relations and more. 

The global economy has endured multiple shocks in recent years and is currently coping with a fresh surge in energy prices as a result of conflict in the Middle East. In this edition of IIEA Insights, Dr David Kelly will assess the implications for inflation and economic growth from his position on Wall Street. He will also discuss a range of other issues, including the potential productivity gain...

'Europe’s Economic Security: The State of Play' As trade has become weaponised by major powers, protectionism rises and conflicts proliferate, long-held assumptions about economic security have been cast aside. Supply disruption of vital goods such as energy, rare earths, and semiconductors require active risk management and proactive policy measures to increase resilience. In this Insights, Andre...

Six years on from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a decrease in momentum for coordinated EU public health action, particularly on respiratory disease. Despite mounting pressures from climate change, ageing populations, and strained health systems, this trend has continued. This panel discussion brings together healthcare professionals, policymakers, industry representatives,...

'War in the Middle-East: implications for Ireland and Europe' The multi-dimensional conflict in the Middle East is creating regional turmoil and roiling global markets, commodities most notably. This edition of IIEA Insights will discuss what the reaction from Europe says about the EU as a geopolitical actor, the implications for the war in Ukraine, and how the conflict is affecting an already str...