→ Please find attached here the event’s official invitation and agenda for the public panel debate. |
Today’s polycrisis world challenges the European Union to adapt to a reshaped geopolitical order and identify the partners with which it can jointly engage. Development policy plays an increasingly supporting role in this repositioning of the EU and its related economic, foreign policy and geopolitical interests, which is also reflected in initiatives such as Global Gateway.
The EU and its member states collectively remain the world’s largest contributor of Official Development Assistance and international climate finance. While the EU continues to stress the importance of these investments, it faces major difficulties to strengthen its credibility and reliability in the eyes of its partners. With the 2024 European Parliament elections and subsequent leadership changes appearing on the horizon, the EU is challenged to reconsider its role as a development policy actor and its associated involvement in global issues and multilateral governance.
It is against this backdrop that the Elcano Royal Institute and the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) in cooperation with the European Think Tanks Group (ETTG) are organising a panel debate on Wednesday 10 May (16.30hr-19.30hr) to reflect on the future role of the EU as a global development actor. This initiative benefits from the support of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in charge of the upcoming 2023 Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU, and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.
The panel debate will be followed by an interactive discussion, and you are most welcome to join and participate. For more information on the panel’s background, objectives, high-level speakers and questions for debate, we are happy to refer to the below agenda.
Event Agenda :
16.30 – 16.40 Welcome by Stephan Klingebiel, Head of Programme Inter and Transnational Cooperation, German Institute of Development and Sustainability
16.40 – 18.15 Interactive roundtable: “Quo vadis EU as a global development player?”
With:
- Len Ishmael, Senior Fellow, Policy Centre for the new South
- Eva del Hoyo, Director General, Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and International Cooperation
- Erica Gerretsen, Deputy Director General, DG INTPA, Human Development, Migration, Governance and Peace (INTPA.G)
- Lidete Tadesse Shiferaw, Associate director – peaceful societies and accountable governance, ECDPM
Open debate with the audience
Moderator: Geert Laporte, Director, European Think Tanks Group
18.15 – 18.30 Concluding remarks, Charles Powell, Director, Elcano Royal Institute
18.30 – 19.30: Networking drinks