Events of 2008

Greening Europe
18/12/2008
On the road to Copenhagen - The outlook for climate policy
Just days after the EU’s summit agreement on emissions targets, there is renewed hope that efforts to tackle global warming can eventually translate into firm policies. But at the ‘Café Crossfire’ lunch debate co-organised by Friends of Europe and the Nickel Institute, there were warnings that the hard work has only just begun for next year’s UN summit in Copenhagen.
Life Quality Europe, Competitive Europe
10/12/2008
Lessons of the financial meltdown: What new rules and architecture?
Friends of Europe in partnership with the Financial Times and with the support of APCO Worldwide will address the issues of the financial crisis in this Café Crossfire debate. It will take place on Wednesday, 10 December at the Bibliothèque Solvay and will start at 12.30.
Life Quality Europe
08/12/2008
Long live Europe! Shaping our healthcare revolution
More than 270 attended this one-day European Policy Summit co-organised by Friends of Europe and Novartis, together with media partner Europe’s World. Against the backdrop of the global financial meltdown, speakers agreed that now more than ever, it is critical not to cut healthcare budgets nor reduce R&D spending.
International Development
16/11/2008
Development: Does the media help or hinder?
At the Friends of Europe Development Policy Forum (DPF), held in Strasbourg in conjunction with the European Commission’s third edition of European Development Days, journalists, media representatives and development aid officials, along with numerous participants, debated whether the media helps or hinders development. The event was preceded by the release of a Friends of Europe DPF background report, 'How Reporters See the Aid World', which argued that aid agencies frequently misunderstand both the role of and constraints on media when covering development aid stories.
Greening Europe
05/11/2008
Saving Europe's Water: Its Place in the EU's Green Strategy
The event was co-organised by Friends of Europe and the European Water Partnership (EWP), with the support of The Coca-Cola Company, Dow and Veolia Environnement. It was held on Wednesday 5 November at the Bibliothèque Solvay, Brussels and included the participation of EU Commissioner for the Environment Stavros Dimas.
Greening Europe, The Future of Europe
30/10/2008
Defining Europe's energy strategy: The long-term view
This October 30th, Friends of Europe held its 5th Annual Energy Conference: Defining Europe’s energy strategy: The long term view. By 2030 global energy demand will be greater than 50% today, with fossil fuels still accounting for the bulk of that. The EU’s efforts to combat climate change have to take into account several factors, including external relations and reaching international dialogue. Having looked towards taking more decisive action in a post-Kyoto Protocol agreement, this debate involved some of the key players and put the important issues forward for lively discussion.
Greening Europe, Competitive Europe
14/10/2008
Can we define the changing role of Europe's energy majors?

European and Russian divisions over how to deal with the looming global energy crunch shone through at a Friends of Europe debate, co-organised with Total, on the role that energy companies should play in ensuring the EU’s energy security and combating global warming.
The Future of Europe
09/10/2008
President's Dinner 2008
Our 200 VIP guests were served a good meal, and a unique cocktail of Irish “yes” and “no” campaigners, leading Christian-democrat, socialist and liberal voices ahead of the elections, blended with some BBC and Economist flavour and, of course, a good degree of Friends of Europe debating with critical voices….
The Future of Europe
09/10/2008
The State of Europe: Creating a Sense of Society
On October 9, Friends of Europe hosted its fifth annual VIP brainstorming roundtable “The State of Europe: Creating a Sense of Society” organised in partnership with Microsoft, Veolia Environnement, Gallup and the Constantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy. Looking at the challenges and opportunities facing Europe, over 100 senior EU and national decision-makers, business and NGOs leaders and editors-in-chief gathered in the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels to discuss Europe’s future.
Greening Europe, Competitive Europe
19/09/2008
Developing Europe’s energy security: Is the Arctic the future frontier?
Competition for the Arctic is intensifying just as worries about the melting of the polar ice cap are deepening. Soaring energy prices are making Arctic exploration and production of oil and gas feasible, even though still some time away.
International Development
16/09/2008
Outlook Africa: Investing in Africa's Growth and Health
Following last year’s successful summit – “Africa Unbound: Development, Health and Investment Strategies 2010-2020” – attended by some 350 participants, we at Friends of Europe together with the Global Business Coalition (GBC) on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are making this summit an annual event in Brussels to provide a solid platform for discussing EU-Africa relations.
Competitive Europe
26/06/2008
Beyond Lisbon - Europe's opportunities and challenges in a globalising world
Comparing the European Union to his large multinational company, Patrick Cescau, CEO of Unilever, presented his “recipe for success in a globalised world” to a Friends of Europe Policymakers' Lunch Debate on 26 June.
Global Europe
24/06/2008
A Balkans balance sheet
Reverberations from the Irish "no" did not dampen enthusiasm for recent positive developments in the Balkans region. This was one of the outcomes of Friends of Europe’s ninth annual Balkans summit, “A Balkans Balance Sheet”, held in Brussels on 24 June.
International Development
12/06/2008
Does today's international aid architecture help or hinder aid effectiveness?
Participants at the third Development Policy Forum (DPF) tackled the question of whether international aid architecture actually gets in the way of aid effectiveness. Today’s growing plethora of aid actors have a wide range of instruments at their disposal, but their much-welcomed additional resources are making the coordination of aid efforts more difficult – and putting an unwieldy burden on recipient countries.
Greening Europe
11/06/2008
Climate change and international security: Can Copenhagen 2009 lead to a global deal?
The impact of climate change on developing and industrialised countries threatens to be enormously destabilising; widespread droughts, floods and soil degradation may trigger famine, land use conflict, environmentally induced migration and armed clashes. Military experts predict that climate change will jeopardise national and international security by acting as a threat multiplier for instability in some of the most volatile regions.
Greening Europe
04/06/2008
In Search of Global Green Policies
On the occasion of Green Week 2008, Friends of Europe co-organised a one-day European Policy Summit together with the European Commission Directorate General for Environment, Unilever, the European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries (Eurofer) and Gallup, with the support of the European Information and Communications Technology Association (EICTA), Dow, Volvo Group and Tetra Pak.
Greening Europe
27/05/2008
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): Making it Happen
“CCS is necessary if we are serious about fighting climate change, it’s as simple as that,” said EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs at the roundtable debate “Carbon capture and storage: Making it happen” held at Friends of Europe. 
Competitive Europe
26/05/2008
Competition and innovation policies: Getting the balance right
EU and US policymakers and regulators are struggling to balance fair competition rules that protect consumers with new policies designed to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. But there are differences between the approaches on both sides of the Atlantic, with the EU accused of being too quick to intervene when one company dominates in any sector.
Global Europe, Competitive Europe
20/05/2008
Dealing with the credit crunch
The global financial crisis has many causes and many different effects, but is it a concern if the European Union and the United States take different approaches to address the problem? EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquín Almunia told the Friends of Europe Policymakers’ Dinner Debate that transatlantic coordination was already good, but he’d like to see it go further.
Global Europe
13/05/2008
Romania's economy after EU accession: Can rapid growth be sustained?
Like other new EU member countries from central and eastern Europe, Romania’s economy has shown pretty high growth rates during this decade. Its GDP has averaged over 6% growth during this decade and its growth rate until 2010 is being forecast at over 5.5% yearly.
International Development, Life Quality Europe
06/05/2008
Are sustainable development and economic growth mutually exclusive?
A Café Crossfire evening debate organised on the occasion of the general assembly of Vinyl 2010.
Life Quality Europe
15/04/2008
Could better food information help win the EU's war on obesity?
The European Union has only recently begun addressing the rising levels of obesity, as the phenomenon is a relatively new one. At this Café Crossfire Evening Debate, labeling was hailed as a useful weapon in educating consumers, although there was caution about whether it was enough to reverse Europe’s obesity surge.
Life Quality Europe
14/04/2008
Time to re-assess and fine-tune PPPs linking non-traditional allies?
At this Café Crossfire evening debate organised on 14 April by Friends of Europe in collaboration with the Rainforest Alliance, Jonathan Horrell, Manager for Corporate and Governmental Affairs at Kraft Foods UK and Ireland, Gyula Hegyi, Member of the European Parliament, Michael Scannell, Head of Unit at the European Commission Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection, and Tensie Whelan, President of the Rainforest Alliance, discussed the importance of partnerships between public, private and civil society sector players in tackling major problems such as food security, climate change and poor labour conditions.
Greening Europe, Life Quality Europe, Competitive Europe
07/04/2008
Shell Energy Scenarios to 2050
With global energy demand likely to double by 2050, what will be the path to a sustainable energy future?
International Development
03/04/2008
How best can business contribute to Europe's aid efforts?
The public and private sectors must show leadership, imagination and social responsibility, and must form true partnerships in order to alleviate poverty in developing countries.  Those were the key messages from speakers and participants at the second Development Policy Forum (DPF) Roundtable on 3 April, which focussed on ways that business can contribute to Europe’s aid efforts.
International Development
31/03/2008
Lunch Debate with Gareth Thomas MP
On Monday 31 March, Friends of Europe, in partnership with the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), presented a Policy Spotlight lunch debate with Gareth Thomas MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at DFID.
International Development
26/02/2008
Is EU development aid entering a new era in the wake of the Lisbon Treaty?
Following the successful launch debate of the Development Policy Forum (DPF), Friends of Europe organised a roundtable on 26 February entitled “Is EU development aid entering a new era in the wake of the Lisbon Treaty?”. The debate addressed two main questions: whether beefing up the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) will risk sidelining development aid; and whether European NGOs are right to be concerned over key aspects of the Lisbon Treaty.
Life Quality Europe
31/01/2008
Europe's Looming Demographic Crunch - The Search for New Labour and Welfare Policies
Speaking at Friends of Europe’s European Policy Summit entitled ‘Europe’s Looming Demographic Crunch – The Search for new Labour and Welfare Policies’ on 31 January 2008, Commissioner Joaquín Almunia insisted that ageing was a good news story. He wanted all EU citizens to enjoy the benefits of longer lives, and he wanted those lives to be spent in good health.
Life Quality Europe
21/01/2008
Adapting the CAP to the new realities
The fashioning of Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and of subsequent reform packages largely reflected the needs of food producers and those responsible for food security. But with a radical re-think of the EU’s entire budget now putting heavy pressure on CAP structures, the outlook is also clouded by the introduction of so many new considerations.