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The fourth annual Think Tank Symposium, one of GMF’s flagship events, was convened this year in Vienna, Austria, on June 11 and 12.  Working with the generous support of the European Commission and in cooperation with the Vienna-based Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP), the Think Tank Symposium is a high-profile series of events that brings together more than 40 leading experts from both sides of the Atlantic to discuss issues of transatlantic concern. 

 

The symposium’s focus this year was to bridge and overcome the current debate between the “deepening” and the “widening” camps within the EU and how this has an impact on the United States.  Issues examined the future of the European Constitution, the situation in the Balkans, the common strategy for Iran, and transatlantic economic concerns.

 

Panel discussions were led by:

Ignasi Guardans Cambó, European Parliament;

Christian Lequesne, French Research Center for Social Sciences;

Tod Lindberg, Policy Review;

Joe Guinan, The German Marshall Fund of the United States;

Adam Posen, International Institute for Economics;

Jean Pisani-Ferry, Bruegel;

Gerald Knaus, European Stability Initivative;

Ivan Krastev, International Commission on the Balkans;

James O’Brien, The Albright Group;

Marcin Zaborowski, European Institute for Security Studies;

Karim Sadjadpour, The International Crises Group; and

Volker Perthes, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik. 

 

Each panelist submitted a written work on their area of expertise, which can be found at the bottom of this page.  By encouraging these papers and presentations, GMF tries to provide a sustained contribution to the current debate and state of U.S.-EU relations. GMF will publish the papers together with an overall report of the discussion in a little brochure.

 

The Honorable C. Boyden Gray, Ambassador of the United States to the European Union, delivered thoughtful remarks on what actions should taken by the United States and the EU on several issues like climate protection, economy, and trade. General Secretary of the Austrian Foreign Service, Dr. Kyrle, discussed the agenda of the formal and forthcoming U.S.-EU summit for us, and the points for consensus and common goals and strategies. Dr. Eberhard Busek delivered well-received thoughts on the new geo-strategy of Europe, especially the Balkans, and how Europe is going to deal with it. Final remarks were given by Dr. Ulrike Guérot, a leading scholar on the transatlantic relationship and a Senior Transatlantic Fellow with The German Marshall Fund of the United States’ Berlin Office. 

 

An institutional solution on the European Constitution can be found but the difficult part is how to convince the public to go over another series of difficult ratification and referenda proceedings.  Economic measures to take in order to keep United States and EU economies competitive include difficult policy-mix between deficits and investments in education and R&D , and the tendency to go for protectionism under electoral constraints. Discussion on the Balkans showed much transatlantic consensus on what both sides want commonly to achieve. However, to pave the way for the new Balkan countries to become EU members may reveal a difficult policy for Europeans given the obvious enlargement fatigue throughout the EU.

 

Think Tank Symposium meetings alternate annually between Washington, DC, and European capitals. All three past conferences were very successful and generated a considerable amount of praise from the think tank community; the reports for both events as well as the policy papers published are available on the GMF website.

 

Fourth annual U.S.-EU Think Tank Symposium Agenda, Participants List, and logistical information for participants.

 

Final Report (PDF)

Fourth Annual GMF Transatlantic Think-Tank Symposium (TTS) (104KB)

 

Conference Papers (PDF)

The EU: Machines rather than Brains? (77KB), Jean Pisani-Ferry

 

Enriching the Options: Europe, the United States, and Iran (106KB), Volker Perthes

 

European Union and the Balkans: Enlargement or Empire? (37KB), Ivan Krastev

 

Talking About the Balkans (36KB), Jim O'Brien

 

The Future of the European Union (48KB), Tod Lindberg

 

Which future for the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe? Elements for discussion (32KB),  Christian Lequesne

 

The US Non-Strategy for Competitiveness through Productivity Growth (70KB), Adam S. Posen

 

Diplomacy by default: A new US approach toward Iran? (44KB), Karim Sadjadpour

 

 

Links to past Think Tank Symposia

Third Annnual U.S.-EU Think Tank Symposium

Second Annual U.S.-EU Think Tank Symposium