GLOBAL PANEL - Forum and Annual general meeting

November 10th/11th, 2003 - berlin

TOPIC OF THE GLOBAL PANEL FORUM

Recent political and diplomatic tensions that have developed between North America and Europe require analysis and (ultimately) resolution if the world’s most significant geopolitical alliance is to survive and prosper.

This second session of the Transatlantic Drift Debates will focus on three key areas. During the first panel, a selection of CEOs, Diplomats and Policy-makers from North America and Europe will assess the current state of transatlantic trade relationships. Panel two will focus on the broader issues facing North American and European Policy-makers, analyzing the implications of ‘Guallist’, ‘Atlanticist’ and ‘Unipolar’ perspectives. In the closing panel, Foreign Ministers from the four Visegrad countries will present their views on how states acceding to the E.U. can assist with transatlantic communication and cooperation.

The Transatlantic Drift Debates are designed to accommodate the perspectives of a wide-range of decision-makers from a wide-range of countries. Each ‘host’ country will play a key role in the debate, as many of the participating audience will be local decision makers.

PANEL 1

Trade relationships between European states and the US

“North America and Europe together form the world’s closest and most important trading and investment relationship. In the wake of the failure of the December 1999 World Trade Organization (WTO) Summit in Seattle, it is vital that this relationship be maintained and strengthened – for the economic, political and security benefit of both continents, and by implication for the world at large”

- How can E.U. manage economic policy between the E.U. and United States?
- Will E.U. regulations hamper current trade relationships between E.U. and the U.S.?
- Can the damage done to the trade relationships between Europe and the U.S. in the aftermath of the Iraq conflict be repaired?
- Is the E.U. in breach of the WTO and how can E.U. accession countries assist the WTO in standardizing trade agreements across the transatlantic space?

Primary speakers:
1 x U.S. CEO or policy-maker/diplomat
1 x German CEO or policy-maker/diplomat
1 x E.U. Accession state CEO or policy-maker/diplomat

PANEL 2

The Transatlantic Divide – Assessing problems, finding solutions

"The recent war in Iraq has triggered the most severe transatlantic tensions in a generation, dividing Europeans and Americans from each other and themselves. Pundits proclaim daily the imminent collapse of three vital pillars in the institutional architecture of world politics: NATO, the UN and even the EU. And yet some form of transatlantic cooperation clearly remains essential, given the vast mutual interests at stake. Where, then, should the Western Alliance go now?”

- What does ‘Gaullist’ Europe mean and how is it viewed by the U.S. and by Europe?
- Has the Iraq War strengthened the ‘Atlanticist’ view of American and British foreign policy-makers?
- What does an “American ‘Unipolar’ view of the World” mean and how is it viewed by the US and European States?

Primary speakers:
1 x Senior U.S. policy-maker or diplomat (Unipolar view)
1 x Senior U.S. policy-maker or diplomat (Atlanticist view)
1 x Senior British policy-maker or diplomat
1 x Senior German or French policy-makers or diplomat
1 x Senior E.U. Accession state policy-makers or diplomat

PANEL 3

Visegrad alliances with Europe and the U.S. – national interests in the transatlantic space

“We are committed to further strengthening cooperative relations between our countries by drawing from, and building upon the experience with other regional cooperation frameworks operating successfully in other regions of Europe. Our aim is to promote regional integration, cohesion and solidarity in Central Europe, as a part of the broader European and transatlantic structures.”

- When Visegrad countries join the E.U., how will they manage
a) divisions within the E.U.
b) their own interests within the Visegrad group?
c) the E.U. / U.S. divide
- Will Visegrad countries act as a group within the extended E.U.?

Primary speakers:
1 x Czech Foreign Minister or Deputy
1 x Polish Foreign Minister or Deputy
1 x Hungarian Foreign Minister or Deputy
1 x Slovakian Foreign Minister or Deputy

 

 

The GLOBAL PANEL FOUNDATION and the Prague Society bring to the table a delegation of high profile policy-makers and businessmen from new E.U. accession states and current E.U. member states to discuss the topics above from the European perspective. The American Foreign Policy Council brings U.S. policy-makers, current and former administration officials and top level CEO’s to respond to and ask questions of the European delegates.

During each panel, the moderators invite four primary speakers from around the table to give 5-8 minute presentations on the topic. Subsequently, questions and contributions will be fielded from the floor. Discussions are off-the-record (Chatham House rules) but are recorded.

Foreign Ministers from the other Visegrad countries together with representatives from the E.U. and the U.S. will develop the issues raised at this panel discussion during future panels. These will be held four times per year through 2006 and will alternate between North America and Europe as follows:

	January	April	July	November
2003			Washington D.C.	Berlin
2004	Toronto	Prague	Washington D.C.	London
2005	Bratislava	Paris	Washington D.C.	Prague
2006	Berlin	Warsaw	Washington D.C.	Prague