Events

It is central to European recovery and fiscal consolidation that growth orbits to a higher trajectory. Yet EU growth forecasts do not make encouraging reading. The recovery has so far been aneamic and the outlook for the next few years is not much brighter. The European Commission estimates growth to be 1.5% this year and 2% in 2012. Clearly, Europe has a structural growth problem and needs to take structural reforms seriously. But what should be the central elements of a new growth and competitiveness agenda?

Europe is edging closer to the final decision on the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (EUKOR). After some delays, and political haggling between member states, it is soon time for the European Parliament to vote on the trade agreement. EUKOR is the first of the new FTA negotiations initiated under the EU’s Global Europe strategy to come to fruition, and it is an important element in Europe’s ambition to gain better access to Asia’s growth markets. Yet the opposition to EUKOR has at times been strong, and there have been lots of myths surrounding the agreement. What will EUKOR achieve – and what are the relevant costs and benefits? What will this agreement mean for the future role of bilateral FTAs?

New initiatives have now been taken to advance the Doha Round negotiations to a successful end. After years of stalemate, there is increasing optimism in the Doha talks and trade ministers decided during the Davos meeting in January that serious efforts should be made to conclude the Round before the end of this year. What are the chances for new efforts to bear fruit – and how do the negotiation dynamics need to change for deals to be struck? If past approaches by governments remain intact, the result will be the same as in the past. So: what needs to change?

What’s the role of intellectual property rights in a modern economy – and has the role changed with globalisation and the structural re-orientation of Europe’s economy?

Does the EU need agricultural tariffs and subsidies to ensure its food security? The food price surges in 2007/08 and the 2010 spike in wheat prices have pushed this question into the headlines, while climate change and global population growth fuel concerns about the EU’s long-term ability to produce and import sufficient food supplies. Note new venue: Rue Montoyer 47, Representation of North Rhine-Westphalia

What is the role of Europe in spearheading trade reforms and global economic recovery? And what leadership role for the global economy and global institutions can the EU shoulder?

How should EU-Taiwan relations be enhanced as Europe generally steps up its trade and economic profile in Asia? And will the Cross Straits rapprochement enable the EU and Taiwan to move forward towards closer economic integration? Please note: this seminar is held at Sciences Po in Paris.

The European Union is stepping up its trade and economic profile in Asia. A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Korea has just been signed, and negotiations of FTAs are under way with India and selected countries in the Southeast Asian region. Furthermore, there have been talks about a new trade agreement with Japan, and the EU and China have in the last years been developing a new format for improved bilateral trade integration. One question that arises is: what are the strategies for bilateral trade integration with Asian countries outside the current trade strategy?

EU-Russia relations have lately been improving. After years of political turbulence fraught by Russian assertiveness and the Kremlin’s desire to regain global or regional power, there are signs that Russian leadership is warming up to a new approach that is more constructive and aims for deeper integration with world -and European markets through new commercial policy deals. Russia has now signaled it wants to resurrect its application to join the World Trade Organisation. Moreover, it has showed an interest to push forward belated negotiations with the EU, commencing with a new "Partnership for Modernization".

Ukraine will soon go to the polls, and the government’s new programme is naturally a key area for the current debate. The crisis hit Ukraine hard and Gross Domestic Product fell by 15 percent in 2009. The economy is now recovering, but economic growth will not return to pre-crisis levels anytime soon.