ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

Winter Term 

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Friday 27 January 2023 | 3pm 

‘The history and politics of energy policy in the European Union’

Speaker: Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy and Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge University; author of 'Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century' (2022). 

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Friday 3 February 2023 | 3pm 

'The role of referendum in EU politics'

Speaker: (Baroness) Julie Smith, Director, European Centre, and Fellow, Robinson College, Cambridge University; editor of 'Palgrave Handbook of European Referendums' (2021). 

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Friday 10 February 2023 | 3pm 

'Pathways to the politicisation of Europe: What has happened in Italy?' 

Speaker: Erik Jones, Professor and Director, Robert Schuman Centre, European University Institute (EUI); co-editor, 'Oxford Handbooks to the EU and Italian Politics'. 

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Friday 17 February 2023 | 3pm 

'Climate justice and democratic consent for climate transition: Challenges and opportunities for the EU' 

Speaker: Heather Grabbe, Senior adviser, Open Society Foundations; previously Senior Adviser to Commissioner Olli Rehn and Deputy Director, Centre for European Reform. 

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Friday 3 March 2023 | 3pm 

'How Brussels waged the Brexit battle: Reflections from inside the negotiations'

Speaker: Stefaan De Rynck, Author of 'Inside the Deal: How Europe got Brexit done' (2023); Senior adviser to Michel Barnier, EU chief negotiator for Brexit, 2016-21. 

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Friday 10 March 2023 | 3pm 

'The EU has evolved and is evolving - but will it continue to evolve?' 

Speaker: Richard Corbett, MEP 1996-2009 and 2014-20; Adviser to President of European Council, 2009-14; Member of secretariat of Conference on the Future of Europe, 2021-22. 

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Friday 17 March 2023 | 3pm 

'In the room where it happens: Understanding the politics of the European Council' 

Speaker: Desmond Dinan, Jean Monnet Professor, George Mason University; author or co-author of 'Ever Closer Union' (2010), Europe Recast (2014), and 'The EU in Crisis' (2017). 

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Friday 24 March 2023 | 3pm 

'Seven lean years of Brexit' 

Speaker: (Lord) Neil Kinnock, European Commissioner for Transport, 1995-99; European Commission VP for Administrative Reform, 1999-2004; Leader, UK Labour Party, 1983-92; Labour MP, 1970-95; Labour member of the House of Lords since 2005. 

Autumn Term

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Friday 7 October 2022 | 3pm

'The EU institutions and the Ukraine war: Implications for the system'

Speaker: Klaus Welle, Secretary General of the European Parliament since 2009; chief of staff to EP President, 2007-09; former Secretary General, EPP Group and EPP Party.

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Friday 14 October 2022 | 3pm 

'The outcome of the Italian general election and its implications for the future of Europe'

Speaker: Lorenzo Codogno, Founder, Lorenzo Cofohno Macro Advisors; Director General and chief economist, Treasury department of Italian Finance Ministry, 2006-15. 

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Friday 21 October 2022 | 3pm 

'Brexit six years on: Where are we now and what happens next?' 

Speaker: Sir Ivan Rogers, UK Permanent Representative to EU, 2013-17; Principal Private Secretary to PM Tony Blair, 2003-06; Chef de cabinet to Sir Leon Brittain, 1996-99. 

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Friday 28 October 2022 | 3pm 

'The shadow of Gorbachev and the Fall of the Wall: How the events of 1989-91 are still impacting Russia, Ukraine and Europe today' 

Speaker: Kristina Spohr, Professor of International History, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳; Senior Fellow, SAIS, John Hopkins; Author of 'Post Wall, Post Square' (2019) and 'Exiting the Cold War' (2019). 

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Friday 11 November 2022 | 3pm 

'What happened in the US mid-term elections and what does it mean for Transatlantic relations?' 

Speaker: Bruce Stokes, Director of Transatlantic Task Force, German Marshall Fund (GMF), and former Director of Global Economic Attitudes, Pew Research Center, WDC. 

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Friday 18 November 2022 | 3pm 

'Challenges of EU consumer policy and policy-making in the digital world' 

Speaker: Monique Goyens, Director General, European Consumer Organisations (BEUC) since 2007; Co-chair, Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD). 

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Friday 25 November 2022 | 3pm 

'The evolution of British influence in Brussels after Brexit' 

Speaker: Paul Adamson, Chair Forum Europe and EU-UK Forum; founder of E!Sharp and Encompass; Visiting Professor, King's College London (KCL); Patron, UACES. 

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Friday 2 December 2022 | 3pm 

'Scenarios for the future of Europe'

Speaker: Sir Michael Leigh, Adjunct Professor, SAIS Bologna; Director General for Enlargement (2006-11) and Deputy DG for External Relations (2003-06), European Commission. 

Winter Term 

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Friday 21 January | 4.30pm

The role of High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission: First-hand experiences

Speaker: Federica Mogherini, Rector of the College of Europe, Bruges; EU High Representative and Vice-President of European Commission, 2014-19; Italian foreign minister, 2014

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Friday 28 January | 4.30pm

Afghanistan and the EU and the role of missions

Speaker: Bert Koenders: Dutch foreign minister, 2014-17, and Dutch trade and development minister, 2007-10; Professor, Leiden University

Jeremy Bowen: BBC Middle East editor since 2005, reporting most recently from Kabul; former BBC correspondent in Rome

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Friday 4 February | 4.30pm

Inside the Berlaymont: How the European Commission has changed as an institution and policy-making machine in recent years

Speaker: Michelle Sutton, Principal adviser, European Commission; Deputy chef de cabinet to Commission VP Frans Timmermans, 2014-19; Member of cabinet of Commission President José Manuel Barroso, 2010-14

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Friday 11 February | 4.30pm

The EU institutions in the face of global challenges: A mid-term report from Brussels

Speaker: Klaus Welle, Secretary General of the European Parliament since 2009; chief of staff to EP President, 2007-09; former Secretary General, EPP Group and EPP party 

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Friday 18 February | 4.30pm

Why emotions are key to understanding EU foreign policy

Speaker: Seda Gürkan: Lecturer in Political Science and European Studies, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

Özlem Terzi: Assistant Professor in Political Science and Public Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

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Friday 4 March | 4.30pm

Entente and mésentente: Franco-British relations after Brexit

Speaker: Vernon Bogdanor, Professor, King’s College London (KCL); Emeritus professor, Oxford University; author of ‘Britain and Europe in a troubled world’ (2020)

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Friday 11 March | 4.30pm

Language and the future of Europe - with special reference to EU-UK relations

Speaker: Philippe van Parijs, Professor, University of Louvain (UCL); Visiting professor, Oxford University; Chair of International Board, Basic Income Earth Network

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Friday 18 March | 4.30pm

French politics and Europe: The April 2022 Presidential election and its implications for the EU

Speaker: Olivier Costa, Professor, College of Europe, Bruges; Research professor, CNRS and Sciences Po, Paris; co-author, ‘The European Parliament in times of EU crisis’ 

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Friday 25 March | 4.30pm

The increasing role of the European Council and why this is bad news for the EU

Speaker: Sandro Gozi, French MEP since 2020; Italian MP, 2006-18, and Europe minister, 2014-18; Member of cabinet of Commission President Romano Prodi, 2000-04

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Autumn Term 

Friday 8 October | 4.30pm

'Safeguarding the EU system: The role of the European Ombudsman'

Speaker: Emily O'Reilly, European Ombudsman since 2013; Irish Ombudsman and Commissioner for Environmental Information, 2003-13; former journalist and broadcaster

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Friday 15 October | 4.30pm

'The impact of Brexit on financial services in the EU and the UK'

Speaker: Sir Jonathan Faull, former Commission Director-General for Communication, JHA and Internal Market, Head of EU Task Force on Referendum, 2016

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Friday 22 October | 4.30pm

'The UK outside the EU; learning to be a third country in Brussels'

Speaker: Susan Danger, CEO/Managing Director, American Chamber of Commerce to the EU (AmChamEU) since 2002; Chair of AmChams in Europe since 2020, and Catherine Stewart, Chair, European Government Relations Roundtable since 2017; Founder, Society of European Public Affairs Professionals (SEAP)

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Friday 29 October | 4.30pm

'German politics and Europe: The September 2021 Bundestag election'

Speaker: Quentin Peel, former associate editor, foreign editor, chief Brussels and chief German correspondent, Financial Times; Associate Fellow, Chatham House

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Friday 12 November | 4.30pm

'How to boost the EU’s collective capacity for action in response to Covid-19 and Brexit?'

Speaker: Brigid Laffan, Professor and Director, Robert Schuman Centre, European University Institute (EUI), 2013-21; former VP, UCD; author of ‘The Finances of the EU’

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Friday 19 November | 4.30pm

'Pandemonium; what the Covid-19 pandemic reveals about the EU'

Speaker: Luuk van Middelaar, Professor, Leiden University; Adviser to President of European Council, 2009-14; author of ‘The Passage to Europe’ and ‘Alarums and Excursions’

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Friday 26 November | 4.30pm

'What is really happening in the Conference on the Future of Europe?'

Speaker: Richard Corbett, member of secretariat of Conference on the Future of Europe; MEP 1996-2009 and 2014-20; Adviser to President of European Council, 2009-14

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Friday 3 December | 4.30pm

'America in the World - Lessons from the past for Transatlantic relations today'

Speaker: Robert Zoellik, Senior Fellow, Kennedy Law School, President of the World Bank, 2007-2012, US Trade Representative, 2001-2005

Winter Term 

Friday 22 January 2021 | 16:30 - 18:00

'The practice of EU diplomacy: My experience in creating the European External Action Service'

Speaker: Pierre Vimont, Secretary General, EEAS, 2010-15; French permanent representative to EU, 1999-2002; French Ambassador to US, 2007-10.

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Friday 29 January 2021 | 16:30 - 18:00

'EU legitimacy and member-state politics: Lessons from the eurozone and coronavirus crises'

Speaker: Vivien Schmidt , Professor of International Relations and Political Science, Boston College; Author of ‘Democracy in Europe’ (2006) and ‘Europe’s Crisis of Legitimacy’ (2019)

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 Friday 5 February 2021 | 16:30 - 18:00

'How we got a post-Brexit EU-UK trade deal in December 2020 and what it means for the future'

Speaker: Stefaan de Rynck -Senior adviser to Michel Barnier, EU chief negotiator for Brexit; Former head of unit for free movement of capital, DG FISMA, European Commission

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Friday 12 February 2021 | 16:30 - 18:00

'The EU and the UK: Smart Power and the League of Nations'

Speaker: Peter Wilding - Founding Director, British Influence; European Director, BskyB, 2010-13; Head of Media, Conservatives in the European Parliament, 2006-08; author of ‘What Next? Britain’s Future in Europe’ (2017), ‘Influencing the European Union’ (1997)

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Friday 5 March 2021 | 16:30 - 18:00

'The European Union: The least bad state system that continental Europe has known'

Speaker: Beatrice Heuser - Professor of International Relations, Glasgow University; former Visiting Professor, Sorbonne and Sciences Po; author of ‘Brexit in History: Sovereignty or a European Union?’ (2019) and ‘Strategy before Clausewitz’ (2017)

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Friday 12 March 2021 | 16:30 - 18:00

'Why Brexit happened and where does Britain goes next?'

This seminar will discuss two recent books on Britain and Europe - ‘Britain and Europe in a Troubled World’ by Vernon Bogdanor, and ‘Outside the EU: Options for Britain’ by Martin Westlake (both published in 2020)

Speaker: Vernon Bogdanor is Professor of Government, KCL, and Emeritus Professor of Government, Oxford University; author of ‘The New British Constitution’ (2009) and ‘Beyond Brexit: Towards a British Constitution’ (2019)

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Friday 19 March 2021 | 16:30 - 18:00

'What’s new under President Biden and what does it mean for Europe?'

Speakers: 
Frank Rose - Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution; Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary, State Department, 2009-17; previously staffer on House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees and to Senator John Kerry.

Jacob Funk Kirkegaard - Senior Fellow, German Marshall Fund (GMF) and Peterson Institute for International Economics; co-author of Transatlantic economic challenges in an era of growing multipolarity (2012).

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Friday 26 March 2021 | 16:30 - 18:00

'Britain and Europe: View from the Outside'

Speaker: Neil Kinnock -European Commissioner for Transport, 1995-99; European Commission Vice-President for Administrative Reform, 1999-2004; Leader, UK Labour Party, 1983-92; Labour MP, 1970-95; Labour member of the House of Lords since 2005

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Autumn Term 

Friday 9 October | 4.30pm

'How climate and digital will change the course of European integration'

Speaker: Heather Grabbe, Director, Open Society European Policy Institute. Previously Senior Adviser to Commissioner Olli Rehn and Deputy Director, Centre for European Reform.

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Friday 16 October | 4.30pm

'The Politics of the European Council'

Speaker: Jim Cloos, Deputy Director-General for General and Institutional Policy, Secretariat of the Council of the European Union since 2006; former senior adviser to the High Representative (2001-06) and chef de cabinet to the President of the European Commission (1995-99)

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Friday 23 October | 4.30pm

'Meeting Europe’s security challenges'

Speaker: Sir Julian King, European Commissioner for Security Union (2016-19). Previously chef de cabinet to Commissioners Mandelson and Ashton, and British Ambassador to France.

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Friday 30 October | 4.30pm

'How coronavirus is reshaping Europe’s future: Trends, challenges and choices facing EU policy-makers'

Speaker: Florence Gaub, Deputy Director, EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), Paris. Author of‘Global Trends to 2030: Challenges and Choices for Europe’ (2019)

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Friday 13 November | 4.30pm

'What the 2020 US Presidential and Congressional elections (could) mean for Europe and Transatlantic relations'

Speaker: Bruce Stokes, Executive Director, Transatlantic Task Force, German Marshall Fund (GMF); former Director, Global Economic Attitudes, Pew Research Center, Washington DC

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Friday 20 November | 4.30pm

'Is Europe becoming a regulatory superpower? How the EU is shaping global markets through the ‘Brussels effect'

Speaker: Anu Bradford, Professor of Law and International Organisation, Columbia Law School, NYC. Author of ‘The Brussels Effect: How the EU rules the World’ (2020).

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Friday 27 November | 4.30pm

'The EU and the German unification process, thirty years on'

Speaker: Carlo Trojan, Secretary General of the European Commission (1997-2000). Previously Deputy Secretary General, Commission, and EU Ambassador to WTO (Geneva).

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Friday 4 December | 4.30pm

'Scenarios for the Future of Europe'

Speaker: Sir Michael Leigh, Senior Adjunct Professor, SAIS Bologna. Previously Director General for Enlargement and Deputy DG for External Relations, European Commission.

Winter Term

Friday 6 March | 16:30 - 18:00

'Politics and football in Europe: pretty similar really'

Speaker: Simon Kuper, Paris-based columnist for the Financial Times; author of 'Soccernomics' (2009) and 'Football against the Enemy' (2004).

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Friday 14 February | 16:30 - 18:00

‘Being an EU Ambassador: Experiences from Mexico, Canada and the Arctic’

Speaker: Marie-Anne Coninsx, EU Ambassador at large for the Arctic in the EEAS since 2017; previously EU Ambassador to Canada and Mexico, and DCM to UN (New York and Geneva).

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Friday 7 February | 16:30 - 18:00

'Understanding the Delors years: How Europe’s single market and single currency were built’

Speakers: Joly Dixon, EMU adviser to Jaques Delors as President of the European Comission (1985-95), and Alastair Sutton, legal adviser to (Lord) Arthur Cockfield, European Commissioner for the single market (1985-89).

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Friday 31 January | 16:30 - 18:00

The political priorities of the new European Commission: A European way of life

Speaker: Despina Spanou, Chef de cabinet to Margaritis Schinas, VP of European Commission; previously Director for Digital Society, DG CONNECT and for Consumer Affairs, DG JUST.

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Friday 24 January | 16:30 - 18:00

How far was the December 2019 UK general election really about Brexit?

Speaker: Professor Jane Green, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Gwilym Gibbon Centre for Public Policy, Nuffield College, Oxford; Co-director, British Election Study.

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Friday 19 March 2021 | 16:30 - 18:00

‘What’s new under President Biden and what does it mean for Europe?’

Speakers: 
Frank Rose - Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution; Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary, State Department, 2009-17; previously staffer on House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees and to Senator John Kerry.

Jacob Funk Kirkegaard - Senior Fellow, German Marshall Fund (GMF) and Peterson Institute for International Economics; co-author of Transatlantic economic challenges in an era of growing multipolarity (2012).

Register here

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Autumn Term

Friday 6 December | 16.30 - 18.00

EU-US relations in the run-up to the 2020 US Presidential election

Speaker: David O’Sullivan, Secretary General, European Commission (2000-05); Director General for Trade, European Commission (2005-10); Chief Operating Officer, European External Action Service (2010-14); EU Ambassador to the US (2014-19).

 

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Friday 29 November | 16.30 - 18.00

The origins and consequences of the 2016 UK referendum

This seminar will feature the authors of two recent books on the political origins and constitutional implications of UK departure from the EU - Vernon Bogdanor’s ‘Beyond Brexit: Towards a British Constitution’ and Martin Westlake’s ‘Slipping Loose: The UK’s long drift away from the European Union’.

Speakers: Vernon Bogdanor, Professor of Contemporary British History, King's College London, and Martin Westlake, Visiting Professor in Practice, European Institute, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳.

 

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Friday 22 November | 14.30 - 16.00 | ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Theatre, Centre Building, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

The Westminster battle over Brexit: Experiences on the front line

Speaker: Kenneth Clarke, Conservative MP since 1970 and ‘Father of the House’; UK government minister, 1972-74, 1979-97 and 2010-14, including as Home Secretary (1992-93) and Chancellor of the Exchequer (1993-97)

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Friday 15 November | 16.30 - 18.00

Trade in turbulent times: Inside EU external trade policy

Speaker: Maria Åsenius, Chef de cabinet to Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Trade and (previously) Home Affairs, since 2010; Swedish State Secretary for Europe (2008-10).

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Friday 25 October | 16.30 - 18.00

Open knowledge in Europe (and Brexit Britain): Will it be a free, fair and open future?

Speaker: Catherine Stihler, Chief Executive Officer, Open Knowledge Foundation; Labour MEP for Scotland (1999-2019); Rector of St Andrews University (2014-17).

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Friday 18 October | 16.30 - 18.00

The EU’s response to emerging cyber-security threats

Speaker: Nele Eichhorn, Deputy Head of Unit, CFSP/CSDP implementation; SG, European Commission; member of cabinet of Cecilia Malmström, Commissioner for Trade (2014-19).

 

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Friday 11 October | 16.30 -18.00

Chronicle of Brexit foretold? - Britain and Europe from Heath to Blair

Speaker: Sir Stephen Wall, UK Permanent Representative to EU (1995-2000); Head of Cabinet Office European secretariat (2000-04); author of ‘The Official History of Britain and the EU’ volumes 2 and 3, and of ‘A Stranger in Europe’.

 

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Friday 4 October | 16.30 - 18.00 

European and UK security after Brexit

Speaker: Gijs de Vries, EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator (2004-07), Dutch interior minister (1998-2002), MEP (1984-98) and Leader of the ALDE Group, EP (1994-98)

Autumn Term 

Friday 5 October | 16.30 - 18.00 

‘Brexit: How much does it matter and is it really inevitable?’

(Lord) John Kerr, UK Permanent Representative to EU, 1990-95; UK Ambassador to US, 1995-97; Permanent Secretary, FCO, 1997-2002; SG of European Convention, 2002-03.

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Friday 12 October | 16.30 - 18.00 

‘The new political game in Europe’

Dr Sara Hagemann, Associate Professor in European Politics, European Institute, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳; former senior policy analyst, European Policy Centre; Co-founder, VoteWatch Europe.

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Friday 19 October | 16.30 - 18.00 

‘Parallel universes? Political reporting of the EU in Brussels and London’

Ryan Heath, Political editor, Politico Europe; Editor, Brussels Playbook, Politico Europe, 2015-18; Spokesperson for VP Neelie Kroes, European Commission, 2011-14.

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Friday 26 October | 16.30 - 18.00 

‘The politics of migration in Europe: Past, present, future’

(Lord) Alf Dubs, Campaigner for refugee rights; Chief Executive, Refugee Council, 1988-95; Labour MP, 1979-87; Chair, Broadcasting Standards Commission, 2002-03. 

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Friday 2 November  | 16.30 - 18.00 

‘Brexit: What will happen in the next 147 days?’

Mij Rahman, Managing Director for Europe, Eurasia Group; Adjunct Professor, NYU Stern, Business School; former official, HM Treasury and European Commission. 

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Friday 16 Novemeber  | 16.30 - 18.00 

‘Speaking European truth to power: The evolution of UK policy co-ordination in Whitehall and Brussels since 1973’

Sir Martin Donnelly, Permanent Secretary, BIS, then Department of International Trade, 2010-17; Director-General for Europe and Globalisation, FCO, 2004-08.

 

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Friday 23 Novemeber  | 16.30 - 18.00 

‘The rule of law and the rise of populism’

Gina Miller, Campaigner against Brexit and winner of 2016 UK Supreme Court case on Article 50; Founding partner, SCM Direct; founder, True and Fair Foundation.

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Friday 30 November  | 16.30 - 18.00 

‘Understanding the role of the legal services of the EU institutions’.

Michel Petite, Avocat of Counsel, Clifford Chance, Paris; Director General, Legal Service of European Commission, 2001-08; Chef de cabinet to Romano Prodi, 2000-01. 

 

Winter Term

Friday 18 January | 16.30 - 18.00

‘Through a glass, darkly: The role of the media in misunderstanding the European Union’

Quentin Peel, Former associate editor, foreign editor, chief Brussels and chief German correspondent, Financial Times; Associate Fellow, Chatham House (RIIA).

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Friday 25 January | 16.30 - 18.00

‘European defence after Brexit and Trump: Risks and opportunities for EU-NATO relations’

Jamie Shea, Deputy Assistant Secretary General, NATO, 2010-18; former Director of Policy Planning, NATO; Professor of Strategic Studies, Exeter University.

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Friday 8 February | 16.30 - 18.00

‘Is Brexit an opportunity for Europe? A regional perspective’

François Decoster, Mayor of Saint Omer; Regional Councillor, Nord-Pas de Calais; Member of European Committee of the Regions; Visiting Professor, College of Europe.

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Friday 15 February | 16.30 - 18.00

‘Politics, patriarchy and power in the Brussels system’

Joanna Maycock, Secretary General, European Women’s Lobby; former Head of Europe, ActionAid, and President, CONCORD (confederation of development NGOs).

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Friday 1 March | 16.30 - 18.00

‘Can illiberal Europe work? The populists’ agenda for the EU and its consequences’

Heather Grabbe, Director, Open Society European Policy Institute, Brussels; Senior Adviser to European Commissioner Olli Rehn, 2004-09; former Research Fellow, EUI.

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Friday 8 March | 16.30 - 18.00

‘What the 2018 mid-terms tell Europe about the 2020 US elections’

Anthony Gardner, US Ambassador to the EU, 2014-17; former Director for European Affairs, National Security Council, White House; Senior counsel, Sidley Austin LLP.

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Friday 15 March | 15.00 - 16.30

‘Where does the European Union go from here?’

Alexander Stubb, Vice-President, European Investment Bank (EIB); Prime Minister of Finland, 2014-15; Minister for Foreign Affairs, Finance or Europe, 2008-14; MEP, 2004-08.

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Friday 22 March | 16.30 - 18.00

'Improvising politics on the European stage: Ten years of crises'

Luuk van Middelaar, Professor, Leiden University; Speech-writer to President of the EuropeanCouncil, 2009-14; author, ‘The Passage to Europe’ and ‘Alarums and Excursions’

 

Autumn Term 

Friday 29 September | 16.30 - 18.00 

‘German politics and Europe: The meaning of the September 2017 election’

Quentin Peel, Former associate editor, foreign editor, chief Brussels and chief German correspondent, Financial Times; Associate Fellow, Chatham House (RIIA)

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Friday 6 October | 16.30 - 18.00 

‘The parliamentary battle to come: Can Britain’s Labour Party stop Brexit?’

(Lord) Roger Liddle, Europe Adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair, 1997-2004; Senior Policy Adviser  to José Manuel Barroso and Peter Mandelson, European Commission, 2004-07 

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 Friday 20 October | 16.30 - 18.00 

‘The Trump Administration and the European Union’

Anthony Gardner, US Ambassador to the EU, 2014-17; former Director for European Affairs,  National Security Council, White House; Visiting Professor, College of Europe

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Friday 10 November | 16.30 - 18.00 

‘Scotland, Brexit and Europe: Negotiating the politics of two Unions’

Dr Kirsty Hughes, Director, Scottish Centre on European Relations; former policy analyst at  Chatham House and CEPS; former Senior Adviser, European Commission

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Friday 17 November | 16.30 - 18.00 

‘Ups and downs in the Berlaymont: My ten years as Secretary General of the European Commission’

Catherine Day, Secretary General of the European Commission, 2005-15; Director General, DG Environment, 2002-05; member of three Commissioners’ cabinets

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 Friday 24 November | 16.30 - 18.00 

‘The Politics of Economic and Monetary Union: Past, Present and Future’

Joaquín Almunia, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs (2004-10) and Competition (VP, 2010-14); Spanish minister, 1982-91; Visiting Professor, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

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Friday 1 December | 16.30 - 18.00 

‘Selling change to unbelievers: EU policy in trade, biotech and AI'

Robert Madelin, Director General, European Commission (successively DG Health and DG Connect), 2004-15; Director, DG Trade, 1997-2004

Winter Term 

Friday 19 January | 16.30 – 18.00

‘The new Future of Europe debate: What architecture for the EU-27?’

Sir Michael Leigh, Director General for Enlargement, European Commission, 2006-11; Deputy DG, External Relations, 2003-06; currently Senior Fellow, German Marshall Fund

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Friday 26 January | 16.30 - 18.00

‘How Brexit and Euroscepticism are creating new dividing-lines in British and European politics’

Professor Sara Hobolt, Chair in European Institutions, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳; author, ‘Europe in Question: Referendums on European Integration’ (2009) and co-author of ‘Blaming Europe?’ (2014)

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Friday 2 February | 16.30 - 18.00

‘Britain, Europe and the World: The Challenge of Brexit ’

Alexander Downer, Australian High Commissioner to the UK since 2014; Australian foreign minister, 1996-2007; Australian MP, 1984-2007; former UN envoy for Cyprus

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Friday 9 February | 16.30 - 18.00

'Politics and Power in the Brussels System'

Sir Ivan Rogers, UK Permanent Representative to EU, 2013-17; Principal Private Secretary to PM Tony Blair, 2003-06; Chef de cabinet to Sir Leon Brittan, 1996-99

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Friday 23 February | 16.30 - 18.00                            

‘The Delors experience revisited: Building Europe’s single market with Lord Cockfield in the 1980s’

Sir Andrew Cahn, Michel Petite and Sebastian Birch  
Three former members of the Cabinet of Lord Cockfield, European Commissioner for the internal market (1985-89), discuss the experience of working in the Delors Commission on completing the EU single market. 

After serving in the Cockfield cabinet, Andrew Cahn later went on to become chef de cabinet to Neil Kinnock as Vice-President of the European Commission, Michel Petit became Director General of the Commission’s legal service, and Sebastian Birch became the Commission’s senior adviser on the abolition of fiscal frontiers.

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Friday 2 March | 16.30 - 18.00                         

‘Ireland, Brexit and Europe’

Professor Brigid Laffan, Director, Robert Schuman Centre, European University Institute (EUI); former Vice President, UCD; co-author of ‘Ireland and the European Union’ (2008)

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Friday 9 March | 16.30 - 18.00           

‘The Russia-Europe stand-off: Putin’s choice?’

Professor Marie Mendras, Professor, Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po; Research Fellow,CNRS; author of ‘Russian Politics: The Paradox of a Weak State’ (2012)

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Friday 16 March | 16.30 - 18.00

'The 2018 Italian general election and its implications for Europe’

Lorenzo Codogno, Chief Economist and Director General, Treasury Department, Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, 2006-15; Visiting Professor, European Institute, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

Autumn Term

Friday 14 October 2016 | 16.30 - 18.30
‘Political Europe versus Eurocratic Europe: An insider’s view’
Denis MacShane, UK Minister for Europe 2002-05; Labour MP 1994-2012; Author of ‘Brexit: How Britain will leave Europe’ (2015) and ‘François Mitterrand’ (1982)

Friday 21 October 2016 | 16.30 - 18.30 
‘Where did the 2016 Brexit referendum come from?’
Martin Westlake and Anthony Teasdale, Visiting Senior Fellows, European Institute, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

Friday 28 October 2016 | 16.30 - 18.30 
‘Financial markets and European political risk in 2016-17’
Mij Rahman, Managing Director for Europe, Eurasia Group; Adjunct Professor, NYU Stern Business School; former official, HM Treasury and European Commission

Friday 11 November 2016 | 16.30 - 18.30 
‘What kind of Brexit? Where do the EU institutions and member states stand?’
Philippe Legrain, Senior Policy Adviser to José Manuel Barroso, 2011-14; author of ‘European Spring’, ‘Aftershock’ and ‘Open World: The truth about globalisation’ 

Friday 18 November 2016 | 16.30 - 18.30 
‘Before the Brexit referendum: How was the UK’s ‘new settlement’ within the EU negotiated?’
Jonathan Faull, Director General for Communication, JHA, and Internal Market and Services, European Commission, 1999-2015; Head of task force on EU referendum, 2016

Friday 25 November 2016 | 16.30 - 18.30 
‘After the Brexit referendum: Do any of Britain’s options add up?'
(Lord) John Kerr, UK Permanent Representative to EU, 1990-95; UK Ambassador to US, 1995-97; PUS, FCO, 1997-2002; Secretary General of European Convention, 2002-03

Friday 2 December 2016 | 16.30 - 18.30 
‘Being an EP committee chair: Exploring the power of co-decision'
(Baroness) Sharon Bowles, Chair, Economic and Monetary Committee (ECON), European Parliament, 2009-14; Liberal Democrat MEP, 2005-14. Non-executive director, BoE.

Winter Term 

Friday 27 January | 16.30 - 18.00
‘Being a Permanent Representative: Politics and policy in the Council system’
Sir Nigel Sheinwald, UK Permanent Representative to the EU, 2000-03; UK Ambassador to US, 2007-12;  Foreign policy adviser to UK Prime Minister, 2003-7; Visiting Professor, KCL

Friday 3 February | 16.30 - 18.00
‘National parliaments and the European Parliament: Partners or rivals?’
Agata Gostyńska, Research Fellow, Centre for European Reform; Author of ‘A ten-point plan to strengthen Westminster’s oversight of EU policy’ (2015)

Friday 10 February | 16.30 - 18.00
'The British Politics of Brexit'
Professor Vernon Bogdanor, King's College London (KCL); Emeritus Professor of Government, Oxford University. Author of 'The New British Constitution' and 'The Coalition and the Constitution'.

Friday 24 February | 16.30 - 18.00
‘How is EU trade policy really made?’
Karl Falkenberg, Director General, DG Environment, European Commission, 2009-15; Deputy Director General, DG Trade, 2005-08; EU trade negotiator in WTO and on Uruguay Round

Friday 3 March | 16.30 - 18.00
‘Britain and the European Union: Successes, failures and the future’
(Lord) Neil Kinnock, European Commissioner for Transport, 1995-99; Commission Vice-President for Administrative Reform, Audit, Personnel, Logistics and Linguistics, 1999-2004

Friday 10 March | 16.30 - 18.00
‘How the European Union is changing under populist pressures’
Heather Grabbe, Director, Open Society European Policy Institute, Brussels; Senior Adviser to European Commissioner Olli Rehn, 2004-09; former Research Fellow, EUI

Friday 17 March | 16.30 - 18.00
‘Squaring a circle: The politics of EU Budget reform’
Gijs de Vries, Visiting Senior Fellow, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳; former Minister in Dutch government, member of the European Court of Auditors, MEP and Leader of the ALDE Group

Autumn Term 

Friday 23 October
‘The rise of European political parties’
Sir Graham Watson, Member of European Parliament, 1994-2014;  Leader, Liberal (ALDE) Group in the European Parliament, 2002-09;  President, ALDE Party since 2011.

Friday 30 October
‘Being a Permanent Representative: Politics in COREPER and the Council'
Sir Jon Cunliffe, Deputy Governor, Bank of England since 2013;  UK Permanent Representative to  the EU, 2012-13;  Europe Adviser to British Prime Minister, 2007-11.

Friday 13 November
‘Inside eurozone economic governance’
Lorenzo Codogno, Director General and chief economist, Treasury department of Italian Finance Ministry, 2006-15; Chair, EU Economic Policy Committee, 2010-11

Friday 20 November
‘The changing media landscape in Brussels’
Tim King, Editor, European Voice, 2009-15;  former Brussels correspondent, Bridge News and The Business;  currently contributor to Politico Europe

Friday 27 November 
‘Europe’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis'
Hugo Brady, Speech-writer and adviser to Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, since 2015; former analyst, Centre for European Reform and EUISS

Winter Term 

Friday 22 January 2016 | 16.30 - 18.00 
‘Reporting Europe, Selling Europe: News, propaganda or smear? The viewfrom Brussels and London’
Shirin Wheeler, Principal adviser for international press, EIB since 2015; Spokesperson, EuropeanCommission, 2012-15; Presenter of BBC's 'The Record: Europe', 2006-12

Friday 29 January 2016 | 16.30 - 18.00
‘The Role of the Court of Justice of the European Union’
Judge Christopher Vajda, UK Judge at the CJEU since October 2012. UK Barrister 1979-2012; Recorder ofthe Crown Court, 2003-12; QC 1997; Bencher of Gray's Inn, 2003

Friday 5 February 2016 | 16.30 - 18.00
‘Inside the Berlaymont: EU policy-making in development, communicationand social policy’
Lieve Fransen, Senior Adviser, European Policy Centre (EPC), Brussels; Director, EuropeanCommission, 1993 -15; former Vice-Chair, The Global Fund (GFATM)

Friday 12 February 2016 | 16.30 - 18.00
‘Five years as EU High Representative: Lessons from foreign policy’
Baroness Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative and Vice President of the European Commission, 2009-14; European Commissioner for Trade, 2008-09; former Leader, House of Lords

Friday 26 February 2016 | 16.30 - 18.00
‘Winning hearts and minds: Opportunities for and limits of EU soft power’
Gijs de Vries, Leader of Liberal Group in the EP, 1994-98; Dutch MP and Minister, 1998- 2002;EU Anti-Terrorism Coordinator, 2004-07; Member EU Court of Auditors, 2011-15

Friday 4 March 2016 | 16.30 - 18.00
‘Policy-making in the dark: How the European Union is changing underpopulist pressures’
Dr. Heather Grabbe, Director, Open Society European Policy Institute; Senior Adviser to CommissionerOlli Rehn, 2004-09; former Deputy Director, Centre for European Reform.

Autumn Term

Friday 31st October 2014 | 16.30 - 18.00
‘Five Years with Van Rompuy: Politics in the European Council’
Luuk van Middelaar, Author of ‘The Passage to Europe’; Speech-writer to Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, 2009-14

Friday 7th November 2014 | 15.00 - 16.30
‘The European Constitution ten years on:  Did Giscard and the Convention get Europe’s new institutional design right?’
Lord John Kerr, Secretary-General of the Convention on the Future of Europe, 2002-03;UK Permanent Representative to the EU, 1990-95

Friday 14th November 2014 | 16.30 - 18.00
'German Power in Europe - 25 years after the Fall of the Wall'
Quentin Peel, Former associate editor and chief German correspondent, Financial Times: Visiting Fellow, Chatham House (RIIA) 

Friday 21st November 2014 | 16.30 - 18.00
‘Problematic Partners: de Gaulle, Thatcher and Europe’ 
Piers Ludlow, Department of International History, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳; author of ‘The EC and the Crises of the 1960s’ and ‘Europe and the End of the Cold War’

Friday 28th November 2014 | 16.30 - 18.00
‘How and why did Junker become Commission President in 2014?’
Martin Westlake, Secretary General, European Economic and Social Committee, 2008-13; author of ‘The Council of the EU’ and ‘Commission and Parliament’

Friday 5th December | 16.30 - 18.00
‘The eurozone debt crisis: lessons for Europe’s future'  
Fabrizio Saccomanni, Visiting Professor in Practice European Institute; Italian Minister of Finance, 2013-14; Director General, Bank of Italy, 2006-12; Vice President, EBRD, 2002-06

Winter Term

Friday 23 January 2015 | 16.30 - 18.00
‘The European Union: An unidentified flying political object?’
Alain Lamassoure, Member of European Parliament1989-93 and since 1999; former Chair, EP Budgets Committee; former French député and Europe and Budget minister

Friday 30 January 2015 | 16.30 - 18.00
‘The decline of the European Commission - and can anything be done to revive it?’
Charles Grant, Director, Centre for European Reform since 1998; Brussels correspondent, The Economist, 1989-93; author of ‘Delors: Inside the House Jacques Built’

Friday 6 February 2015 | 16.30 - 18.00
‘Political reporting of the EU: The views from Brussels and London’
Shirin Wheeler, Spokesperson for Regional Policy, European Commission, 2012-15; BBC Brussels correspondent and presenter of 'The Record: Europe', 2006-12

Friday 13 February 2015 | 16.30 - 18.00
‘Inside the Berlaymont: The Politics of the European Commission’
Joaquín Almunia, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs (2004-10) and Competition (2010-14); Spanish minster, 1982-91; Visiting Professor, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

Friday 20 February 2015 | 16.30 - 18.00
‘Towards improved accountability and performance in EU spending: A perspective from the European Court of Auditors’
Phil Wynn Owen, Member of the European Court of Auditors since 2014; former Director General, DECC and DWP, and Director, HM Treasury

Friday 27 February 2015 | 16.30 - 18.00
‘The crisis in the eurozone: Have the right lessons yet been learned?’
Philippe LegrainSenior Policy Adviser to José Manuel Barroso, 2011-14; author of ‘European Spring’, ‘Aftershock’ and ‘Open World: The truth about globalisation’

Autumn Term

Friday 18 October 2013
'Will the May 2014 European Elections be different?'
Sir Julian Priestley, Secretary General of the European Parliament, 1997-2007; author of Six Battles that shaped Europe’s Parliament (2008) and Europe's Parliament: People, Places, Politics (2012) 

Friday 25 October 2013
‘The EU and NATO: Are they still living in the same city but on different planets?’
Dr Jamie Shea, Deputy Assistant Secretary General, NATO since 2010; Director of Policy Planning, NATO, 2005-10

Friday 8 November 2013
‘How is EU Common Foreign and Security Policy really made?’
Julian Braithwaite, UK Ambassador to the EU Political and Security Committee since 2011

Friday 15 November 2013
‘Angela Markel and Europe: The View from Berlin’
Quentin Peel, Associate Editor and chief German correspondent, Financial Times

Friday 22 November 2013
‘Britain, Europe and a referendum: What do the opinion polls say?’
Peter Kellner, President, YouGov since 2007; former Political Editor, New Statesman

Friday 29 November 2013
‘Insiders, outsiders and unofficial alliances: Who and what influences policy within the EU system?’
Heather Grabbe, Director, Open Society European Policy Institute, Brussels; former Senior Adviser to European Commissioner Olli Rehn

Friday 6 December 2013
‘From Suez to Syria: The Politics and Economics of Transatlantic Relations’
Ana Palacio, Spanish Foreign Minister, 2002-04; Chair, Legal Affairs Committee,European Parliament, 1999-2002; General Counsel, World Bank, 2006-08

Winter Term

Friday 17 January 2014 | 16.00 - 17.30
‘Politics and power in the European Union: How united? How divided?’
György Schöpflin, MEP since 2004 (EPP Group, Hungary); Professor of Politics, UCL, 1998-2004; author of ‘Politics in Eastern Europe 1945-92’ and ‘Nations, Identity, Power’ 

Friday 7 February 2014 | 16.00 - 17.30
‘The struggle for top jobs in Brussels in 2014’
Dr Martin Westlake, Secretary General, European Economic and Social Committee, 2008-13; author of ‘The Council of the European Union’ and ‘Commission and Parliament’

Friday 14 February 2014 | 15.30 - 16.45
‘The coming politics of the May 2014 European Parliament elections’
Andrew Duff, MEP since 1999 (ALDE Group, UK); former Director, Federal Trust; author of ‘Saving the European Union: The Logic of the Lisbon Treaty’

Friday 21 February 2014 | 16.00 - 17.30
‘What kind of European Commission - and Commission President - for 2014-19?’ 
(Lord) Roger Liddle, Europe Adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair, 1997-2004; Senior Policy Adviser to Jose Manuel Barroso and Peter Mandelson, European Commission, 2004-07

Friday 7 March 2014 | 16.00 - 17.30
‘Inside the Berlaymont: my life as a Eurocrat, 2011-14’
Philippe Legrain, Senior Policy Adviser to Jose Manuel Barroso, 2011-14; author of ‘Open World: The truth about globalisation’ and ‘Immigrants: Your country needs them’

Friday 14 March 2014 | 17.15 - 18.45
‘Lessons of the Van Rompuy years: What kind of European Council for 2014-19?'
Dr. Richard Corbett, Political Adviser to Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, 2009-14; MEP 1996-2009 (S&D Group, UK); author of ‘The European Parliament’

Autumn Term 

Friday 19 October 2012 | 16.00
'Britain and Europe: Lessons from 40 years of EU membership'
Sir Stephen Wall, UK Permanent Representative to the EU, 1995-2000, and Head of European Secretariat, Cabinet Office, 2000-2004; Author of 'A Stranger in Europe' and 'From Rejection to Referendum, 1963-1975'

Friday 26 October 2012 | 16.00
'How does the European Court of Justice really work?'
Sir Francis Jacobs QC, Advocate General, European Court of Justice, 1998-2006; President of the Centre of European Law and Professor, King's College, London 

Friday 2 November 2012 | 16.00
'How the media report the European Union today'
Shirin Wheeler, Spokesperson for Regional Policy, European Commission; BBC Brussels correspondent and presenter of 'The Record: Europe', 2006-12

Friday 16 November 2012 | 16.00
'The euro crisis and the President of the European Council'
Richard Corbett, Political Adviser to Herman Van Rompuy, President of the EuropeanCouncil; Labour MEP, 1996-2009; Co-author, 'The European Parliament'

Friday 23 November 2012 | 16.00
'Why the CFSP is more than a lowest common denominator'
Robert Cooper, Visiting Professor, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳, and was Counsellor to Cathy Ashton, High Representative for CFSP, 2010-12, and Director General,External and Politico-Military Affairs, Council secretariat, 2002-10.Angus Lapsley, Director for European and Global issues, Cabinet Office, and was previously Head of CFSP/CSDP, UK Representation to EU

Winter Term 

Friday 1 February 2013 | 16.00 
'How has the ECB responded to the euro crisis - and is a new system of euro area decision-making emerging?'
Dr. Johannes Lindner, Head of EU Institutions, European Central Bank (ECB); author of 'Conflict and Change in EU Budgetary Politics'

Friday 8 February 2013 | 16.00
'Politics, Position and Power: Working as a Director General in the European Commission'
Sir Michael Leigh, Director General for Enlargement, European Commission, 2006-11;currently Senior Adviser, German Marshall Fund, Brussels

Friday 22 February 2013 | 16.00
'The European Parliament and EU Inter-Institutional Relations'
Klaus Welle, Secretary General, European Parliament since 2009; former Secretary General, EPP Group and EPP transnational party

Friday 1 March 2013 | 16.00
'Working with Barroso: Life at the top of the Berlaymont'
Dr. João Marques de Almeida, Political Adviser to José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, 2006-12. Director, Portuguese National Defence Institute, 2004-06

Friday 8 March 2013 | 16.00
'The United States and the European Union: Transatlantic Perspectives from Washington, Brussels and London'
Dr. Kristina Kvien, Economic Counselor, US Embassy, London; Director for the EU, Ukraine and Belarus, National Security Council, White House, 2008-10