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The State of the Union
The 2012 edition of The State of the Union, organised by the European University Institute (EUI), is again hosted in the historic Salone dei Cinquecento of Palazzo Vecchio (Florence City Hall). The Conference takes place on 9 May, the anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, and continues on 10 May. It aims at contributing to the analysis and debate of the European Union’s current situation, EU policies and the functioning of EU institutions and it brings together high-level policy-makers, leading academics and opinion leaders.
Sessions 1 and 2
The State of the Union Conference is opened by the Prime Minister of Italy, Mario Monti and features the participation of the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso.
The Conference opening remarks will be made by EUI President Josep Borrell, with an intervention of Matteo Renzi, Mayor of the City of Florence.
Josep Borrell
President, European University Institute
On 9 May there are two sessions.
The first session, entitled “Economic Governance for Europe”, addresses questions on the European sovereign debt crisis and the current challenges of the Eurozone and Europe as a whole. It is coordinated and introduced by EUI Professor Elena Carletti and is divided into two panels: Panel 1, "The Eurozone Crisis and EU Institutions: What is the Optimal Design?", and Panel 2, "What implications for the Integration Process and the Outer World?".
Elena Carletti
Professor of Economics, European University Institute
Panel 1, "The Eurozone Crisis and EU Institutions: What is the Optimal Design?", is moderated by Tony Barber, Europe Editor, Financial Times, and the participants are Vítor Constâncio, Vice-President, European Central Bank, Fulvio Conti, CEO, Enel, Barry Eichengreen, Professor of Economics and Political Science, UC Berkeley, Daniel Gros, Director, Centre of European Policy Studies, and Olli Rehn, Vice President, Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, European Commission.
Tony Barber
Europe Editor, Financial Times
Fulvio Conti
CEO, Enel
Daniel Gros
Director, Centre of European Policy Studies
Olli Rehn
Vice President, Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, European Commission
Panel 2, "What implications for the Integration Process and the Outer World?", is moderated by Alessandro Plateroti, Deputy Director, Il Sole 24 Ore, and the participants are Edmond Alphandéry, Chairman of the Board, CNP Assurances and Former Minister of Economy of France , Michel Barnier, Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, European Commission, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, President, Ferrari S.p.a., and Harold James, Professor of History and International Affairs, Princeton University.
Alessandro Plateroti
Deputy Director, Il Sole 24 Ore
Edmond Alphandéry
Chairman of the Board, CNP Assurances, and Former Minister of Economy of France
Michel Barnier
Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, European Commission
Harold James
Professor of History and International Affairs, Princeton University
The second session, entitled “The EU and the New World”, concentrates on the challenges of globalisation and on the role of the EU as a global actor. The session is coordinated and introduced by EUI Professor Miguel Maduro and it features Panel 3, "What is New in the World and Why Does it Matter for the EU?", and Panel 4, "What EU for a New World?".
Miguel Maduro
Director of the Global Governance Programme, European University Institute
Panel 1, "What is New in the World and Why Does it Matter for the EU?", is moderated by David Tweed, Europe Editor, Bloomberg Television, and the participants are: Kemal Dervis, Vice President and Director of the Global Economy and Development Program, Brookings Institution and Former Head of the United Nations Development Programme, Zhou Hong, Director, Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Oleg Kharkhordin, Rector, European University at St. Petersburg, Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires,Former President of Cape Verde and winner of the 2011 Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, and Jan Zielonka, Professor of European Politics at Oxford University.
Kemal Dervis
Vice President and Director of the Global Economy and Development Program, Brookings Institution and Former Head of the United Nations Development Programme
Zhou Hong
Director, Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires
Former President of Cape Verde and winner of the 2011 Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership
Jan Zielonka
Professor of European Politics, Oxford University
Panel 2, "What EU for a New World?" is moderated by Quentin Peel, Berlin Chief Correspondent, Financial Times, and the participants are: Mark Leonard, Director, European Council on Foreign Relations, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Princeton University / Former Director of Policy Planning for the United States Department of State, Helga-Maria Schmid, Deputy Secretary General, European External Action Service, and Javier Solana, President of ESADEgeo and Former EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy
Quentin Peel
Berlin Chief Correspondent, Financial Times
Mark Leonard
Director, European Council on Foreign Relations
Anne-Marie Slaughter
Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University, and Former Director of Policy Planning for the US Department of State
Javier Solana
President of ESADEgeo and Former EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy
Session 3
On 10 May the Conference will be dedicated to assessing EU Energy Policy and will be structured in four panels: “Achieving the Internal Market”, “Mitigating Climate Change”, “Implementing Security of Supply” and “Three Energy Pillars or Three Energy Policies?”.
The first panel "Achieving the Internal Market" will be devoted to the analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the EU Internal Market policy applied to the Energy sector. The session is chaired by Claude Mandil, Former Director, International Energy Agency. Confirmed speakers are Philip Lowe, Director-General, European Commission - DG Energy, and David Newbery, Professor at Cambridge University. Panellists for this session include Inge Bernaerts, Head of Unit, European Commission - DG Energy, Guido Bortoni, President, Autorità per l'Energia Elettrica e il Gas (AEEG), Daniel Dobbeni, CEO Elia and President, ENTSO-E, Juan Perez, Director of Strategy & Business Development at EPEX Spot, Alberto Pototschnig, Director, ACER, and Pippo Ranci, Professor at Cattolica University.
Philip Lowe
Director-General, European Commission - DG Energy
David Newbery
Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Cambridge
Guido Bortoni
President, Autorità per l'Energia Elettrica e il Gas (AEEG)
Juan Perez
Director of Strategy & Business Development, EPEX Spot
Pippo Ranci
Professor of Financial Ethics, Cattolica University
The second panel is dedicated to Mitigating Climate Change and will be chaired by Denny Ellerman, Director, Climate Policy Research Unit (LdP/EUI). The speakers for this session are Carlo Carraro, Rector, University Ca' Foscari of Venice, and Coordinator, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Programme (FEEM), and Jos Delbeke, Director-General, European Commission - DG Climate Action. Panellists include Carlos Batlle, Associate Research Professor at Comillas University and Visiting Scholar at MIT, Ronnie Belmans, Professor at KULeuven, Simon Blakey, Special Envoy, Eurogas, Karsten Neuhoff, Head of Department Climate Policy at DIW Berlin, and Jorge Vasconcelos, Chairman, NEWES.
Denny Ellerman
Director, Climate Policy Research Unit, Loyola de Palacio Chair (LdP), European University Institute
Carlo Carraro
Rector, University Ca' Foscari of Venice; Coordinator, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Programme (FEEM)
Jos Delbeke
Director-General, European Commission - DG Climate Action
Carlos Batlle
Associate Research Professor, Comillas University; Visiting Scholar, MIT
Ronnie Belmans
Professor of Electric Power and Energy Systems, University of Leuven; Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors, Elia
The third panel is dedicated to Implementing Security of Supply and will be chaired by Leigh Hancher, Professor at Tilburg University. Confirmed speakers include Jeff Makholm, Senior Vice President, NERA, and Jean-Arnold Vinois, Acting Director, European Commission - DG Energy. Panellists for this session are Walter Boltz, Managing Director at E-Control and Vice President at CEER, Jacques de Jong, Senior Fellow, CIEP, Francisco de la Flor, President, GLE, and Helmut Schmitt von Sydow, Professor at University of Lausanne.
Jeff Makholm
Senior Vice President, NERA Economic Consulting
Jean-Arnold Vinois
Acting Director of Directorate General, European Commission - DG Energy
Walter Boltz
Managing Director, E-Control; Vice President, CEER
The fourth panel will assess the topic Three Energy Pillars or Three Energy Policies? It will be chaired by Jean-Michel Glachant, Director of the Florence School of Regulation and Holder of the Loyola de Palacio Chair (EUI) and will host Heinz Hilbrecht, Former Director, European Commission - DG Energy, and Ignacio Pérez-Arriaga, Professor and Director of the BP Chair on Sustainable Development, Comillas University; Permanent Visiting Professor, MIT.
Jean-Michel Glachant
Director, Florence School of Regulation (FSR); Holder, Loyola de Palacio Chair (LdP), European University Institute
Heinz Hilbrecht
Former Director, European Commission - DG Energy
Ignacio Pérez-Arriaga
Professor and Director of the BP Chair on Sustainable Development, Comillas University; Permanent Visiting Professor, MIT
The final Roundtable chaired by Simon Wright, The Economist, will host Ferdinando “Nani” Beccalli-Falco, President and CEO of GE Europe & North Asia, andCEO, GE Germany, Jean-François Cirelli, President of Eurogas and President of Gaz de France-Suez, Fernand Felzinger, President of IFIEC Europe, Jürgen Großmann, CEO at RWE, Christian von Hirschhausen, Professor at TU Berlin and Research Director at DIW Berlin, and Umberto Vergine, COO at ENI.
Contact: Serena Burgisser, External Relations - Communications Service, +39 055 4685 378.
Information on the 2011 edition.