Speakers

• Dr. Esther Brimmer, Professor of Practice of International Affairs, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University
• Dr. Erik Jones, Professor of European Studies and International Political Economy, and Director of European and Eurasian Affairs, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University
• Sir Michael Leigh, Senior Fellow, The German Marshall Fund of the United States

Moderator

• Mr. Derek Chollet, Counselor and Senior Advisor for Security and Defense Policy, The German Marshall Fund of the United States
   

If you have any questions, please contact Will McHenry at +1 202 683 2677 or [email protected].

The Brussels attacks have added urgency to the European Union’s efforts to grapple with its persistent disorders including the refugee crisis; state failure, authoritarianism, and violent conflict on its southern borders; incomplete transitions and instability to the east; the populist challenge to mainstream political parties; the euro’s unstable foundations; the spread of Euroskepticism; and the upcoming referendum on Britain’s future membership of the EU. The terrorist attacks in Brussels, Paris, Copenhagen, and other European cities pose sharper questions about Europe’s security services and the future of the Schengen open borders system, as well as Europe’s capacity to integrate its diverse minorities and to stabilize its neighborhood. How best can the EU and the United States respond, and how will these disorders play into upcoming elections and referendums? 

With this in mind, The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) invites you to a roundtable discussion with George Washington University Professor Esther Brimmer, John Hopkins SAIS Professor Erik Jones, and GMF Senior Fellow Sir Michael Leigh. The discussion will be moderated by GMF Counselor and Senior Advisor for Security and Defense Policy Derek Chollet.

Esther Brimmer has served as an adjunct senior fellow for international institutions at the Council on Foreign Relations since 2015. Brimmer served as the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro professor of international affairs from 2013 through 2015. Prior to this, she worked at the U.S. Department of State as the assistant secretary for international organization affairs from April 2009 to June 2013. She was deputy director and director of research at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) from 2001 to 2009, and was a member of the SAIS faculty. She also taught at the College of Europe in Belgium. She worked as a member of the Policy Planning Staff in the State Department from 1999 to 2001. From 1995 to 1999, she was a senior associate at the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict, and from 1993 to 1995, she served as special assistant to the under secretary for political affairs.

Erik Jones has served as director of European and Eurasian studies and professor of European studies and international political economy at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University since June 2013. He is also senior research fellow at Nuffield College in Oxford, United Kingdom. He served as director of the Bologna Institute for Policy Research from 2011 until 2015. Dr. Jones has been a professor of European studies at Johns Hopkins University since 2002.

Sir Michael Leigh is a senior fellow, consultant, and senior advisor to GMF. He focuses on European Neighborhood Policy, Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East as well as the future of the EU. In 2006, Leigh became director-general for enlargement with the European Commission after serving for three years as external relations deputy director-general with responsibility for European Neighborhood Policy, relations with Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus, Central Asia, Middle East, and the Mediterranean countries. He began his current role after more than 30 years in EU institutions, including as director in the Task Force for the EU Accession Negotiations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics, and economics from Oxford University and a Ph.D. in political science from MIT.

Derek Chollet is the counselor and senior advisor for security and defense policy at GMF. From 2012–15, Chollet was the U.S. assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, where he managed U.S. defense policy issues related to the nations and international organizations of Europe (including NATO), the Middle East, Africa, and the Western Hemisphere. Prior to joining the Pentagon, Chollet served at The White House as special assistant to the president and senior director for strategic planning on the National Security Council staff. From 2009 to 2011, he was the principal deputy director of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s policy planning staff. From 2008 to 2009, he was a member of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team. Chollet is the author, co-author, or co-editor of six books on U.S. foreign policy.