Institute of International and European Affairs
 | |
| Abbreviation | IIEA |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Charitable not-for-profit organization |
| Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland |
Region | European Union |
| Website |
www |
Formerly called | Institute of European Affairs |
The Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) is Ireland’s leading think tank on European and International affairs and is an independent, not-for-profit organisation with charitable status. Its extensive research programme aims to provide its members with high-level analysis and forecasts of the challenges on the global and EU policy agendas which impact on Ireland. It acts as a catalyst for new thinking, new solutions and policy options, which give its members from the private and public sector a significant competitive advantage.
The IIEA provides a forum in Ireland for corporate networking. It annually hosts over 100 events which afford its members unparalleled access to the highest-level speakers, decision-makers, and thought-leaders at national, EU and global level. The videos of these events are hosted on www.iiea.com.
Activities
Meetings
Every year the Institute holds over 100 high level events on business, economic, political and legal issues. These events include policy dialogues, keynote addresses, briefings, seminars and conferences. In 2009, the Institute held 110 events at which high-level Irish, EU and global decision makers and thought leaders addressed the members.
Meetings are generally held under Europe House rules of confidentiality. This means that speeches and presentations will be on the record while the Q&A session will be confidential to ensure frank and vibrant discussion.
Guest Keynote speakers
High profile keynote speakers at the Institute come under 7 main headings:
- Political leaders who have spoken at the Institute include Gordon Brown, Dominique de Villepin, Mikhail Gorbachev, Giuliano Amato, Chris Patten, John Podesta.
- Leading intellectuals who have given keynote addresses at the Institute in Dublin include Joseph Stiglitz (Harvard), Noam Chomsky (MIT), Joseph Nye (Harvard Kennedy School), Toomas Ilves.
- European decision-makers who have visited include: Catherine Day, Andris Piebalgs (EU Commissioner for Energy), Charlie McCreevy (Commissioner for the Internal Market), László Kovács, Javier Solana, Franco Frattini,
- Eminent legal experts including Lord Goldsmith PC QC, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg(US Supreme Court);
- Leaders of international financial institutions such as James D. Wolfensohn, Pascal Lamy, Hans Tietmeyer, and Jean Claude Trichet;
- International business leaders: Peter Sutherland (Chair of BP and Goldman Sachs), Martin Broughton (Chair of British Airways), Niall FitzGerald (Chair of Reuters), and Willie Walsh (CEO of British Airways);
- Leaders of international bodies include: Hans Blix (Chairman of the WMD Commission), Mohamed ElBaradei (Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)), Rajendra K. Pachauri, (chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change);
- Global thought leaders include: Jeffrey Sachs (Columbia University), Jeremy Rifkin (Wharton School of Business)
- Digital thought leaders include: Larry Sanger (co-founder of Wikipedia), Jonathan Zittrain (Harvard Law School Berkman Centre), Toomas Ilves (President of Estonia and early E-infrastructure advocate)
In addition, the Institute operates dedicated groups examining terrorism, which has attracted a number of important speakers including George Joffe, Peter Bergen, Magnus Ranstorp, Bruce Hoffman, and Tariq Ramadan.
Research
The Institute’s Research Department provides early warning of legislative and regulatory developments, and produces in-depth analysis of a wide range of policy issues. Recent publications from the Research Department include a National Energy Efficiency Retrofit Plan, an analysis of the Irish agri-food industry, a series of papers on the International Financial Crisis and research on Digital and ICT issues.
In addition to its dedicated core staff of full-time researchers, the Research Department also draws upon expertise from the Institute’s membership, including former Taoisigh (Prime Ministers of Ireland), Ministers, Secretaries General, business leaders, leaders of ICT EMEA headquarters, journalists and academics. Its high-level working groups discuss specific policy areas of relevance to the business and policy community. Each group has a high-calibre chair and project leader, and meets at regular intervals with contributions from visiting experts.
Membership
The Institute is primarily funded by membership subscriptions. Their members include:
Embassies - 53 out of 62 Embassies in Ireland Energy - 14 leading companies including ESB, Bord Gas, Bord na Mona, SEI, Eirgrid, Codema Education - 5 leading organizations including Trinity, UCD, UCC and Leargas Banking & Finance - 11 leading organizations including AIB, BOI, Goldman Sachs, the Central Bank and Irish Life & Permanent Government Departments - 18 Government Departments including Department of Taoiseach Government Bodies - All major government bodies including the Dail, the Senate, the Houses of the Oireachtas, Dublin City Council and others Law - 6 Major Law firms including Arthur Cox, BCM Hanby Wallace, William Fry and Mason Hayes & Curran Retail - Retail leaders including Tesco, Diageo and the Smurfit Kappa Group Semi-States - 11 Semi-State bodies including the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, Dublin Airport Authority and CEI Technology - Technology leaders including Google, Microsoft and Realex Payments Telecomms - 4 Telecomms Organisations including Vodafone, BT and ComReg Social Partners - 4 including IBEC, IMPACT, INTO and Siptu
Individual members include former heads of state and government, government ministers, parliamentarians, Secretaries General of government departments and other senior Civil Service officials, company chairpersons and CEO's and senior managers, members of the judiciary, ambassadors, senior barristers, partners in solicitors' firms, senior representatives from trade unions, academia, NGOs and professional and sectoral associations. Further, any interested individual can apply for membership.
Structure
Management and Staff The post of Director General of the Institute is held by Daithi O'Ceallaigh. Jill Donoghue is the Director of Research. There are also Directors of Finance, Communications and Development, three general administrative staff and an IT administrator.
Oversight There is a Management Team, of which the Chairman is Brendan Halligan, former Secretary General of the Labour Party, with six Vice-Chairpersons, a Secretary and a Treasurer. The membership elects an Executive Committee, with over 45 members.
Honorary positions
Patron Mary McAleese President of Ireland
President Dr. Garret FitzGerald former Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland
Members of the Comite d'Honneur: former Irish prime ministers Bertie Ahern, T.D. and John Bruton (now Ambassador of the European Union to the USA), Charles McCreevy European Commissioner for Internal Trade, Dr Patrick Hillery former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson former President of Ireland, Albert Reynolds former Taoiseach, Pat Cox former President of the European Parliament, Richard Burke former European Commissioner, David Byrne former European Commissioner, Pádraig Flynn former European Commissioner, Ray MacSharry former European Commissioner, Michael O'Kennedy former European Commissioner, Peter Sutherland former European Commissioner.
Location
The Institute is located in Dublin city centre. The address is Europe House, 8 North Great Georges Street, Dublin 1, Ireland (Google Maps directions here or see Google Earth view of North Great Georges Street).