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Webinar - USA - UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO - Birgit DAIBER
2021-01-26 19:00 - 20:30 (Europe/Brussels)
University of Colorado (USA) invited Former Member Birgit Daiber on January 26 (11.00-12.15 MST/19.00-20.15 CET) to participate in the online panel discussion about Youth Employment in the EU. She talked about the current state of unemployment in the EU, particular to EU Youth, and how recovery and reconstruction would unfold.
As shown by earlier recessions, youth employment is more sensitive to the business cycle than adult employment and the economic recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to bring back dramatically high youth unemployment and NEET rates (young people who are not in education, employment or training). To further support an inclusive economic recovery, school to work transitions in the changing world of work, and ensure that young people make the most of the opportunities stemming from digital, resilient and green transitions, the European Union had developed programs and initiatives along with funding sources to address these needs.
For example, The Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) exclusively supports NEETs, including the long-term unemployed or those not registered as jobseekers. It ensures that in parts of Europe where the challenges are most acute, young people can receive targeted support. Typically, the YEI funds the provision of apprenticeships, traineeships, job placements and further education leading to a qualification.
The full webinar is available here below.

Public Roundtable “Together for the future of Europe - Digital transformation in the European way?"
2020-12-10 09:00 - 12:30
Programme

Profile of Speakers

Report on the Roundtable ‘Together for the Future of Europe’

Digital transformation is affecting the economic, political and social life in the European Union and globally. Is technology neutral? Has surveillance capitalism tipped the balance of power in politics? Are Deep Fakes the biggest risk to our future democracy? Can traditional media really protect against this growing threat?
To open the debate on these fundamental issues, we jointly organised a roundtable entitled “Digital transformation in the European way?” on 10 December, jointly with Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, European Progressive Studies Foundation, European Liberal Forum, Green European Foundation and European University Institute.
Europe must be the digital norm-setter, and this is critical for the recovery of our democracy in the face of strong and persistent challenges from agents of disinformation.
Continue reading the summary
Here you will find the press release on the roundtable. Panel I – “Democracy and Digital Transformation” Panel II – “European media” . If you missed our Kick-off event on 9 September 2020, read the summary here.

Virtual Conversation with Werner Hoyer, President of the EIB
2020-12-09 17:30 - 19:00
On the 9 December, the FMA hosted their yearly Annual Dinner event, online. Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank held a keynote speech followed by an interesting digital conversation.
The FMA was pleased to welcome special guests such as the political groups’ representatives Siegfried Muresan MEP (EPP Vice-President) and Robert Zile MEP (ECR Vice-President), and European Political Foundations’ representatives Dr. Eoin Drea, Svenja Hahn MEP and Jürgen Martens. Werner Hoyer delivered a keynote speech about the work of the European Investment Bank (EIB), especially in the context of the Covid-19 crisis and the climate challenges the EU currently faces. He introduced the participants to the history of the EIB and affirmed the growing relationship between the European Parliament and the EIB, especially due to the 2015 Juncker-Plan that prepared the way for a constructive interinstitutional relationship.
The EIB can be seen as a financial tool that enables money to flow into projects, however, many people are not aware of its power and magnitude.
“We are twice the size of the World Bank […] and you as policy shapers and policymakers must know what kind of powerful instrument you have in your hands,” he said. “The addition of advisory capacity brings us into a unique position. Lending, blending and advising should never be missing in an EU Bank”.
According to Werner Hoyer the EIB chooses their projects wisely under specific conditions, which are sustainability, financial viability and economic viability. During his time at the EIB, he explained, they already financed many projects and during the process, they make use of the advantage to have the best and advanced engineering department in the house. This ensures that EIB financed projects accomplish the needed characteristics. Often, other companies, for example, insurance companies, then show interest to co-finance a project. For Hoyer, it shows that there is the need to invest more in private activity.
Werner Hoyer introduced one of the main topics of this event, the Covid-19 crisis, with the example of BionTech in Germany, the company that produces one of the first vaccines. The EIB supported them already in their cancer research and within the trust they already had, decided to invest in the Covid-19 vaccine as well.
The second important topic was climate change. Climate challenges cannot be forgotten because of Covid-19.
“We dedicate 50% of our business to climate and environmental challenges, one trillion euro of climate action and environmental sustainability until 2030, we are the first multilateral bank to be Paris aligned by the end of the year”.
The EIB proposed a EIB Group Climate Bank Roadmap in November 2020 which got unanimously approved by all governments. This was another very important step towards the EU’s climate targets. The EIB has an enormous commitment to the Green Deal. Werner Hoyer promised that there would be even more investment in the future to help companies or institutions to align with the same values. The discussion covered various topics, such as fossil fuel investment, financing education, financing of infrastructures in neighbouring countries, Green Deal, Rule of Law, the UK after Brexit, among others. Research and development, climate policy and innovation have been suffering throughout the pandemic, but Hoyer remains positive mentioning that member states are welcomed to combine RFF packages with loans of the EIB. He also mentioned the need for lending, blending and advising and with that, the EIB can provide help to countries, not only financially. He added that Europe needs a system of green bond principles – reporting rules, transparency and accountability so investors can rely on their money being used for a purpose that is described by objectives of the European Union. The EIB will also focus and expand health and education projects in the future. Werner Hoyer pointed out that there is still apprehension and doubt about the transition to green energy instead of fossil fuels. He warned that investment in fossil fuels is no long-term investment anymore. This kind of Investment can only lead to harm, and this trend cannot be reversed in the next 15 years. Thus, he considered that it would be irresponsible to continue to invest in fossil fuels as a European bank.
The EIB and the UK will also go separate paths after the Brexit. UK money will gradually go back to the country and UK representatives within the EIB will be exchanged.
Other questions were about the preparation towards China’s non-sustainable investments in Africa and South America, obstacles the EIB faces, how long it will take to retrain non-workers into digital workers, worries about hydrogen energy and housing and the public market and its impact on emissions.
Werner Hoyer explained that the Chinese have flooded Africa and South America. However he says a growing trend of African investment reconsidering and rejecting Chinese projects as many are not durable and need to be rebuild after five years. The EIB needs to be present and help the African leaders to secure the future. He added that the investment in sustainable housing is one of the biggest projects to reduce emissions, therefore the EIB will increasingly invest in this field and go beyond European borders.
Finally, Hoyer addressed the concerns about the use of non-green hydrogen in the future to reach the EU’s climate goals. Hydrogen energy is currently seen as the top alternative to the use of fossil fuel but it needs to be guaranteed that its production does not cause carbon itself. That is why Hoyer explained, that it is with high demand that the EIB will only invest in hydrogen if it is green hydrogen. He himself is doing full research for every possibility concerning hydrogen energy because he does not believe that a focus on one energy will be sustainable for Europe’s future – technology should be open to benefit society.
The discussion ended on Hoyer’s last note that when different work cultures or institutions work together, it can be difficult. However, the interinstitutional cooperation between the EIB and the European shows that as when there is a constructive political dialogue that eventually translates in guidance on strategic issues and policy, Europe will be able to prevail challenging times.

The ESM and the EIB: comparison of some features
Just transition in EU regions
How the EU budget is spent: European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)
Guarantee Fund for External Actions

Webinar - GERMANY - GÖTTINGEN UNIVERSITY - Indrek TARAND
2020-12-03 11:30 - 13:30
University of Göttingen in Germany invited Former Member Indrek Tarand to participate in an online event on 3 December 2020. He was a guest in the seminar called Policy-making in the EU in challenging times and talked about the e-governance and security in Estonia.

Webinar - THE NETHERLANDS – MAASTRICHT UNIVERSITY – Eva LICHTENBERGER
2020-12-02 17:00 - 19:00
Maastricht University invited Former Member Eva Lichtenberger to participate in an online event called Roundtable on “EU Policy on AI and Innovation” on 2 December 2020 from 6-8PM. Eva Lichtenberger talked about Artificial Intelligence:
“Europe will and shall focus in the future on trustworthy AI that follows the values and principles of the European Union and hopefully thereby will set also global standards for this topic.”
You can find more information about the online lecture here.

Webinar - CANADA - YORK UNIVERSITY - Michael HINDLEY
2020-12-01 15:00 - 16:00
York University in Toronto, Canada invited Former Member of the European Parliament Michael Hindley to participate in an online event on 1 December from 7-8 PM (CET). Mr. Hindley was a guest in the seminar called Politics and Public Policy in Europe. He talked about The UK as Semi-Detached European.
You can find more information about the lecture here.

FRANCE - UNIVERSITY OF GRENOBLE (postponed)
2020-11-20 - 2020-11-22
The University of Grenoble has invited a former Member to participate in the activities organised and its program. (Theme to be defined).

Webinar - GERMANY - EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY OF FLENSBURG - Julie WARD
2020-11-18 13:00 - 15:00
The European University of Flensburg invited Former Member Julie Ward to participate in a seminar on Wednesday 18 November from 14.15 – 15.45 (CET). The main theme of the seminar was “Europe as Education Space”. Julie Ward talked about topics such as the Erasmus(+) program, Council recommendation on key competences for a lifelong learning, the Bologna process, the EU 2020 targets on education, the European Qualification Framework EQF, mutual recognition of diplomas and validation efforts of non-formal and informal learning.
Julie Ward during her lecture about the importance of #STEAM not simply #STEM & how the “+” in #ErasmusPlus
gives opportunities for marginalized groups to engage in informal learning.

Webinar - CANADA - YORK UNIVERSITY - Stefan GEHROLD
2020-11-17 14:00 - 15:00
York University in Toronto, Canada invited Former Member Stefan Gehrold to participate in an online event on 17 November from 6-7PM (CET). Mr. Gehrold was a guest in the seminar of Professor Maas called Politics and Public Policy in Europe where he talked about The Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Democracy-Building Worldwide.
You can find more information about the online event here.

Webinar - UNITED STATES - UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS IN URBANA-CHAMPAIGN - Benedek JAVOR - Hans-Olaf HENKEL
2020-11-12 18:00 - 20:00
University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign invited Former Member Mr. Javor and Mr. Henkel to participate in an event on 12th of November at 7pm called “The New Speed of Politics: the European Parliament and the U.S. between Solidarity and Conflict”. This moderated panel discussion explored what roles the EU Parliament and U.S. Congress can play in repairing transatlantic relations in the coming years. Mr. Javor and Mr. Henkel answered a couple of questions that moderator Peter Christensen prepared. Mr. Christensen is an environmental economist in the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences of University of Illinois. The Former Members responded to questions such as: The expansion of the Executive Power has made presidential elections more eventful in determining the state of transatlantic relations. In light of the result of the U.S. presidential election, what can we expect for the next four years of the incoming administration? What role can the Parliament and Congress play to provide stability regardless of the political parties in power? How strongly do members of the European Parliament prioritise ideological alliances along the right/left axis over the U.S./European axis? Has the EU Parliament been involved in developing and verifying the evolution of transatlantic relations?
You can watch the full webinar here.
On November 18 at 7PM (CET), Hans-Olaf Henkel and World business Chicago participated in a ‘virtual coffee’ event (Zoom meeting) with students to reflect on the lecture of November 12 about the new speed of politics.

Hans-Olaf Henkel
“If you look at the best thing that the EU achieved, it is the common market. But we don’t have a common market in the energy market. Each country is allowed to determine its own energy needs. If you have a European commitment but then leave it to each country to determine its own energy needs, you don’t achieve a common market. I believe that the ability to forcibly achieve this goal, top down, is very limited.”

“We must never forget that Europe is also competing with the rest of the world — China, the U.S., India. Nuclear energy is not something we can just ignore because we happen not to like it.”

“We need to do more on CO2 storage; we have got to face the fact that soon there will be 10 billion people in the world and what that means for CO2 emissions. Rather than always trying to spend a lot of money to reduce CO2 emissions, we should also spend some money to make sure that CO2, once emitted, can be removed.”

Benedek Jávor

“To build new nuclear plants, simply from a market perspective, is not a solution because they are much more expensive than other forms of energy production. Nuclear energy is not a good competitor for renewable energy, not only because of security or environment concerns, but simply because of financial and market considerations.”

“Technology itself is not the goal and does not solve problems alone. I think that we have to use technology, but we shouldn’t simply rely on technology and assume that it will solve all of our problems.”

“Some technologies of carbon capture and storage can be part of the mix of solutions, but CCS is very expensive and also has inherent risks. We should not rely solely on human technology. There are already carbon-eating machines: plants. Reforestation could be the best way to eat carbon from the atmosphere.”

Hans-Olaf Henkel and Benedek Javor during their online lecture, moderated by Peter Christensen.

GREECE- ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI (Postponed)
2020-11-10 - 2020-11-13
The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki has invited a former Member to participate on Annual meeting of the European Consortium for Church and State Research.

Webinar - CANADA - YORK UNIVERSITY - Jackie JONES
2020-11-10 19:00 - 20:00
York University in Toronto, Canada invited Former Member of the European Parliament Ms. Jackie Jones to participate in an online event on 10 November 2020. She gave a lecture about ‘Where to next in EU-Americas-UK Relations?’.
You can find more information about this lecture here.

Webinar - INDIA - MANIPAL ACADEMY OF HIGHER EDUCATION - Jackie JONES
2020-11-06 03:00 - 04:00
The Manipal Academy of Higher Education invited Former Member Jackie Jones to participate in an online event called Young Research Forum Distinguished Speaker Series. The main theme of the event will be Asia-EU Relations: Challenges and Future Prospects. Jackie Jones will speak on the 6th of November about gender, human rights and the EU.
Find here more information about the lecture.

Webinar - INDIA - MANIPAL ACADEMY OF HIGHER EDUCATION - Manuel PORTO
2020-11-04 10:30 - 12:00
The Manipal Academy of Higher Education invited Former Member of the European Parliament Manuel Porto to participate in an online event called Young Research Forum Distinguished Speaker Series. The main theme of the event was the Relation between Asia and the EU: Challenges and Future Prospects. Mr. Porto gave a lecture on 4 November about his expertise in European integration and especially migration in the EU.
You can find more information about his lecture here.

Webinar – UNITED STATES – UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER – Saïd EL KHADRAOUI
2020-10-27 11:00 - 12:30
The University of Colorado Boulder invited Saïd El Khadraoui to participate in an online event on 27th of October from 12:00 – 1:30 PM (MST). The main theme of the event was the European Green Deal.
You can find here the presentation and full webinar of Mr. El Khadraoui.

Online FMA Visit to Germany
2020-10-26 09:00 - 2020-10-28 22:59
From 26 to 27 October 2020 an FMA Delegation led by President Hans-Gert Pöttering participated in a virtual visit to Germany on the occasion of the Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The FMA, in co-operation with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Berlin, set up a programme aimed at evaluating the achievements of the EU Presidency. The event included official meetings with Parliament and government as well as a debate with civil society organisations.
Please find here the programme of the online visit, the list of speakers, the list of participants and the dossier about Germany. You can find as well a document prepared by the EPRS.
You can read a full report of the virtual visit here.

Virtual Roundtable "Responding to COVID-19- A Global Discussion”
2020-10-23 00:00 - 01:30
On 22 October 2020, for the first time the European Parliament Former Member Association (FMA) and Global Former Parliamentarians from across the world participated in a special virtual roundtable on “Responding to COVID-19 – A Global Discussion”.

The Former Members Association of European Parliament was presented by Lord Richard Balfe,
The USA Former Members of Congress was presented by President Charles Boustany,
The Former Members of New Zealand Parliament was presented by Peter Dunne.

The moderator of this event was Rafael Bernal, a journalist based in Washington DC working for The Hill.
Here below you can watch the video if you missed it.

Webinar - UNITED STATES - UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS IN URBANA-CHAMPAIGN - Maria Gabriela ZOANA
2020-10-16 22:00 - 23:00
The University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign invited Mrs Zoana, former member of the European Parliament, to participate in an online event on Friday 16 October at 8 PM called “The New Speed of Politics” : Deliberation and Decision in European Governance“. This moderated panel discussion explores how the EU Parliament has tried, succeeded or failed to adapt to the speed of requests that it is receiving for intervention. Rather than deliver a prepared talk, the university wishes the former MEP to respond to a moderator’s questions such as: How the EU Parliament has tried, succeeded or failed to adapt to the speed of the requests of intervention. Did the Parliament manage to retain or expand its role in the face of the cycle of crises of the last two decades? How does the EU parliament compare, in this perspective, with national parliaments in Europe or in the U.S.? What initiatives the EU parliament has adopted to protect and expand its role? Is an expansion of the role of the parliament even desirable?
You can watch the full lecture of Ms. Zoana about ‘The New Speed of Politics: Is Gender Equality Accelerating or Shutting Down?‘ here.

Webinar – UNITED STATES – UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER - Edit HERCZOG
2020-10-06 22:00 - 23:00
The University of Colorado Boulder invited Former Member Edit Herczog in an online event on 6th of October at 7:30pm. The main theme of the event was the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
The full webinar is now available online. You can find more information about the event here. About the event:
“The Multi Financial Framework and Next Generation EU: A Tale of Timing”
The multiannual financial framework (MFF) budget of the European Union; a proposal which drags on for two years without negotiations is recasted, and then gets consensus in five days in an institution of 27 members. The same proposal gets consensus in a few months, but then is stalled for more than a year, only for it to be recasted in another institution of 705 members.

The legislative procedure of the European Union is complex and for many looking from a distance, chaotic. It is particularly true in 2020, when the legislative and the financial cycles coincide and get entangled with the lengthy Brexit negotiations. If this was not enough, COVID- 19 made a disruptive change on both the political goals, the budget allocations, and the timeline of the negotiations at the finish line.

The lecture will be made of three parts:

Ready: What is the MFF and why it is different from any state budgets? What are the political motivations behind the numbers?
Set: What are the main changes? How does the future EU budget differ from the current one? What are the consequences of Brexit? What are the yet open questions?

Go: Will the new structure weaken democratic oversight? Will international participation be allowed in the EU programs?

Edit Herczog was a Member of European Parliament (MEP) from 2004- 2014. Her own small consultancy is providing long term compass to generate competitive advantage based on excellence. Interested in the future and prosperity she mostly works on subjects of Data, Research, ICT and Energy, and the Budget as a main ingredient to them. This is the third MFF in which she is engaged. Edit is a committed ‘transatlanticist’. She is a Board member of the Transatlantic Policy Network an NGO registered in Washington DC to build bridges between EU and US Parliamentarians, civil servants, and businesses. She is also member of the Global Council of the Research Data Alliance. She visited Denver in 2016 as a keynote speaker at the RDA Plenary.
Edit is Hungarian and lives in Brussels. Before being elected as a politician, she worked for Unilever and ICI. She understands the East and West divide. Her motto from the beginning of her career is: “find what unites and understand what divide us”.
More information about CEUCU here.

Online Study Visit 2020 to North Macedonia
2020-10-04 - 2020-10-06
Dossier
Profile of Speakers
Programme
Full report

According to the EP President’s Decision of 26 August 2020, EP Delegations’ missions remain cancelled. Moreover, the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic remains quite problematic in many EU countries making the situation very uncertain. Thus, the Board had decided to hold the Study Visit remotely and no longer with the physical participation of FMA Members. On 5 and 6 October 2020, an FMA Delegation of former MEPs led by FMA President and European Parliament Former President (2007-2009) Hans-Gert Pöttering participated in the first virtual Study Visit to North Macedonia.

The visit started with a briefing from H.E. David Geer, EU Ambassador in North Macedonia, on the country’s political status-quo after the recent elections and topics such as Human Rights, EU accession, COVID-19 and EU economic support to North Macedonia and co-operation in the region.
During the morning session, the delegation met H.E. Mr Talat Xhaferi, President of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, who supported the good practice of the Jean Monnet Dialogues and added that the Berlin Plus Initiative is very much welcome by North Macedonia. Dr. Arbr Ademi, Chair of the Committee on European Affairs and Dr. Antonijo Milososki, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Policy agreed that joining the EU could bring stability to the whole region. Dr Arbr Ademi in particular talked about the history of the country and the road to EU integration as a strategic goal to reach stability in the whole region. He also emphasised that “similar to the EU members, we need to put our differences aside and work together in the future”.
The North Macedonian Government’s representatives and the FMA members had vivid and constructive exchanges on different topics such as relations with neighbouring relations, gender issues, church-state relations, SMEs, security and the Covid-19 crisis.
In the afternoon, the delegation met representatives of ten civil society organisations for a vibrant discussion: Open Society Institute Macedonia, Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation, Institute for Democracy ‘Societas Civilis’, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, European Policy Institute, Centre for Civil Communications, Institute for Human Rights, Centre for Legal Research and Analysis, Citizens Association MOST, Macedonian Institute for Media.

Aleksandar Krzhalovski from Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation, explained that in 2016 a citizens uprising began leading to the early elections and to the arrival of power of the current government, breaking with a past of chaotic relations with the political elites, absolute immunity and abuse of power. Arriving to politics from grassroots movements, the new government members show a more cooperative approach to create new policies and reform the country’s institutions. One example was the amendment of the Law on Audio and Audio-visual Media Services of the Republic of North Macedonia that now is in general accordance with European and international standards on audio-visual media.

Nevertheless, there are still a lot of challenges ahead, such as fighting corruption, having well informed citizens and restoring the people’s engagement. Just like many other countries in the world, also North Macedonia struggles with “fake news” or rather “disinformation” as Biljana Petkovska from Macedonian Institute for Media, prefers to call it “because fake news has the objective of harm”.
The speakers explained that the CSOs still depend on international capital and should change to a more domestic funding. Zharko Hadji-Zafirov expressed that besides financial support, they especially need moral support.
Further issues discussed as well were minority rights, gender equality and climate change.
At the end of the first day, the delegation met the Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation to the EU-North Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee, Mr Andreas Schieder, MEP. He explained the issues that North Macedonia might tackle in order to become member of the European Union, such as its relations with neighbouring countries and the polarization in the society. The MEP indicated that “It is in the interest of North Macedonia to make the necessary reforms”.

On the second day of the virtual Study Visit to North Macedonia, the delegation met with President H.E. Mr. Stevo Pendarovski, Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. Mr. Bujar Osmani and Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs H.E. Mr. Nikola Dimitrov.
Mr Osmani explained that because of North Macedonia’s ongoing problems with especially Greece and Bulgaria, the country had not met the EU’s values and criteria to join. He gladly announced that he will visit Bulgaria’s capital to work further on the relationship between the two countries, and that North Macedonia’s ties with Greece have become much closer. He indicated that North Macedonia represents a successful model for the entire region in respect of good neighbouring relations and an inclusive society for minorities.
President Stevo Pendarovski said that the working process towards becoming an EU member is not finished yet. Being almost a year without government, plus facing the pandemic and therefore having to postpone the elections was not helpful in the progress. But now, the government is set and the negotiations with the EU and with the neighbouring countries can start. For Pendarovski, the latter is crucial in order for the Balkan countries to have a clear vision towards the European Union. He stressed the shared history: “History connects us, and does not separate us”. He concluded by saying that accession of North Macedonia is not an enlargement of the EU but its completion.
The last speaker of the North Macedonian Government was Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, Nikola Dimitrov. He emphasized that in order to become more attractive to the EU, North Macedonia needs to work on its relations with the other Balkan countries and talked of the priority for infrastructure investment to connect capitals in Western Balkans from EU accession budget investment. He concluded that they opened a new chapter between two neighbours, North Macedonia and Greece, and they now need to write empty pages.

To finalise the successful visit, the delegation had a meeting with several students from different North Macedonian universities who expressed their desire to become citizens of the European Union and showed interest in a variety of issues such as Fake news, dispute between Bulgaria and North Macedonia, Brexit and Rule of Law

UKRAINE - UKRAINIAN EUROPEAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION (postponed)
2020-09-30 - 2020-10-01
The Ukrainian Association for European Studies invited a former member to participate in the XIV Congress of the UESA. (Theme to be defined)

2020 AGA
2020-09-10 09:00 - 11:00
The 2020 Annual General Assembly took place on Thursday 10 September from 10.00 am to 12.00 pm. Interpretation was provided in FR, DE, IT, EN, and ES.
The AGA notice and dossier, including a proxy form, were sent to all FMA members by email. The documents are also available on the FMA intranet.
You can read here the press release with the results of the AGA

2020 Dinner Debate - Cancelled
2020-09-09 17:30 - 20:00 | European Parliament, Rue Wiertz 60, Brussels, 1050, Belgium
Due to coronavirus, the 2020 Dinner Debate has been cancelled.
According to the President’s Decision of 26 June 2020 on measures in relation with COVID-19 and community masks, events in Parliament premises remain cancelled until further notice, irrespective of their organiser or authorising authority.

Memorial Service 2020 - Postponed
2020-09-09 16:30 - 17:30 | European Parliament, Rue Wiertz 60, Brussels, 1050, Belgium
Due to coronavirus, the 2020 Memorial Service has been postponed.

Webinar "Together for the future of Europe" - Kick-off event
2020-09-09 16:00 - 18:00 | European Parliament, Rue Wiertz 60, Brussels, 1050, Belgium
Programme

Profile of Speakers

Report on the Roundtable ‘Together for the Future of Europe’

On 9th September, the Former Members Association in co-operation with the main European Political Foundations and the European University Institute organised a webinar on “Together for the future of Europe“. You can find here below the programme of the events and here the press release.

Webinar -ITALY- UNIVERSITY LA SAPIENZA OF ROME - Eva LICHTENBERGER
2020-07-07 - 2020-07-08
The Sapienza Università di Roma has invited Eva LICHETENBERGER to participate in the talks and discussions on EU Transport Infrastructures on the 8th of July. The title of the webinar is “The Trans-European transport network: evolution of the European regulation and current legal issues”.
Link to connect via Google Meet platform: https://meet.google.com/tjj-wpmq-vsa
Find the programme here.
Please find below Mrs. Eva Lichtenberger’s article about this event. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, this part of the EU to Campus programme was held in an online format. The debate on the TEN-T Network at the Sapienza University in Rome was organised by Dr Giovanni Marchiafava (Sapienza University, Jean Monnet Module) and, together with Professor Carlo Secchi, EU Coordinator for the Atlantic Corridor and Vice-President of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, we discussed the development of the trans-European corridors from the idea of an internal European market up to the current debate on evaluating the project.
This is not simply a technocratic exercise as transport policy also always has economic and environmental policy implications and a high financial impact. Since the economic crisis of 2008, progress with trans-European routes seems to have slowed down a bit due to the budgetary situation in the Member States, which has lowered the co-financing capacity. During the debate we also touched on other important legal dossiers that have an impact on transport, such as driving and rest times for drivers, the European Rail Traffic Management System and the hurdles for its implementation, and the White Paper on Transport in Europe. We spoke about the distortion of competition between road and rail caused by different pricing systems and the new ‘Euro-charging’ proposal for motorway tolls, which is currently stuck in the Council and should be decided on soon.
Eva Lichtenberger with Carlo Secchi during the webinar

Finally, we also discussed the major challenge right now for transport infrastructure – the European Green Deal. Considering the fact that one quarter of climate-relevant emissions come from transport (of which 75 % from road traffic), the Commission’s plan to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050 requires enormous efforts to reorganise our transport systems so as to reduce emissions. At present, only a small proportion of heavy goods transport is carried out by rail, which would be a more eco-compatible mode compared to road transport. The concept of trans-European corridors must be revisited and adapted to the requirements of the European Green Deal, and multimodality must be a central topic of the revision. Using electric energy on our roads will require around one million charging stations along Europe’s main highways, as is also stated in a Commission paper. There is also still a lot to do as regards research in the field of engines and drives to make these environmentally compatible, and Europe-wide cooperation will play an important role in these efforts.
It was an interesting experience to hold this debate online. The COVID-19 crisis has reinforced the trend towards online teaching, and greater use will probably be made of this method in the future, especially at universities. This was also perhaps the start of new formats for Former Members.
This article was also published in our September 2020 FMA Bulletin.

CYPRUS- UCLAN CYPRUS UNIVERSITY (postponed)
2020-06-01 - 2020-06-04
The Uclan Cyprus University has invited a former Member to participate on EU SUMMER SCHOOL (Theme to be defined)

Webinaire -GEORGIE - Université d'Etat de Ilia - Michael HINDLEY
2020-05-24 - 2020-05-25
Rapport

Michael Hindley, membre de l’AAD, a participé à un webinaire à l’Université d’État d’Ilia en Géorgie le 25 mai.
Le sujet de la discussion était l’histoire de l’intégration économique de l’UE et les perspectives futures de l’intégration économique dans l’ère post-Brexit.
En raison de la pandémie de coronavirus, les programmes du PE sur les campus prévus en mars et avril ont dû être reportés. Nous encourageons les professeurs Jean Monnet à faire participer les anciens députés européens aux activités d’enseignement à distance.

Webinar -GEORGIA- ILIA STATE UNIVERSITY - Michael HINDLEY
2020-05-24 - 2020-05-25
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FMA member Michael Hindley participated in a webinar at Ilia State University in Georgia on 25th May.
The topic of the discussion was the history of EU economic integration and the future prospects of economic integration in the post Brexit era.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic the EP to Campus programmes scheduled in March and April had to be postponed. We are encouraging the Jean Monnet professors to involve former MEPs in distance learning activities.

“Thanks to Michael Hindley. His insights about the evolution of the single market, his tenures in the EP in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as future of trade and economic relations between EU and UK were extremely helpful and interesting.” By Prof Sergi Kapanadze
“It was most enjoyable – intelligent, polite, knowledgeable students.” by Michael Hindley

Webinar -TURKEY- IZMIR UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC - Hans-Olaf HENKEL
2020-05-21 - 2020-05-22
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Recording

FMA member Hans-Olaf Henkel participated in a webinar in Izmir university of Economic on 22th May.
The topic of the discussion was the Strategies against the Corona recession: recommendations for the EU and Turkey.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic the EP to Campus programmes scheduled in March and April had to be postponed. We are encouraging the Jean Monnet professors to involve former MEPs in distance learning activities.

“The EU and Turkey decided to move apart from each other. However, every crisis also provides elements for new options. The departure of Britain from the EU and the non-membership of Turkey in the EU opens the gate for another partnership at the EU’s borders.” By Hans Olaf Henkel EURAC Report
Seminar on EU’s economic policies and relations with Turkey
Hans-Olaf Henkel, Member of the European Parliament 2014 – 19, President of the Federation of German Industries 1995-2001, and President of IBM Germany 1987-2003 and of IBM Europe, Middle East & Africa 1993 – 95, Professor at the University of Mannheim 2001-2010, held an EURAC Online Seminar on 22 May 2020 on the EU’s economic policies and EU-Turkey relations. He characterised the Corona recession as the biggest economic crisis in the Europe since the end of WW2, but expressed his scepticism regarding the currently discussed monetary transfers from the EU budget to the most crisis-affected member states. As regards EU-Turkey relations, he is convinced that Turkey’s full membership would create an economic win-win situation for both sides. However, he said that due to the political alienation, membership cannot be realised for a long time.
The European Parliament Former Members Association through its ‘EP to Campus’ programme, which is in part sponsored by CANDRIAM, has supported the seminar. 60 Bachelor- and Master-students, faculty of the Political Science and International Relations Department, as well as guests from further universities in Izmir attended the event.
