The Europe Center is jointly housed in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Stanford Global Studies Division.
FSI researchers strive to understand how countries relate to one another, and what policies are needed to achieve global stability and prosperity. International relations experts focus on the challenging U.S.-Russian relationship, the alliance between the U.S. and Japan and the limitations of America’s counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan.
Foreign aid is also examined by scholars trying to understand whether money earmarked for health improvements reaches those who need it most. And FSI’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center has published on the need for strong South Korean leadership in dealing with its northern neighbor.
FSI researchers also look at the citizens who drive international relations, studying the effects of migration and how borders shape people’s lives. Meanwhile FSI students are very much involved in this area, working with the United Nations in Ethiopia to rethink refugee communities.
Trade is also a key component of international relations, with FSI approaching the topic from a slew of angles and states. The economy of trade is rife for study, with an APARC event on the implications of more open trade policies in Japan, and FSI researchers making sense of who would benefit from a free trade zone between the European Union and the United States.
European Political Systems Seminar
Encina Ground Floor Conference Room
Session I: Analytical Frameworks for Studying Farm Policy Reform
Speaker: Wayne Moyer, Grinnell College
Discussant: Christophe Crombez, University of Leuven and Stanford University
Session II: The Evidence of a Hallian Paradigm Shift in Farm Policy
Speaker: Timothy Josling, Stanford University
Discussant: David Orden, Virginia Tech
Session III: Experience with Farm Policy Reform, 1990-1995
Speaker: Timothy Josling, Stanford University (GATT/WTO: UR up to Heysel, 1990)
Discussant: Stephen Tangermann, University of Gottingen; Lee Ann Patterson, UCSF
Speaker: Wayne Moyer, Grinnell College (US 1990 Farm Bill)
Discussant: David Orden, Virginia Tech
Speaker: Timothy Josling, Stanford University (Blair House, 1992-1993 and URAA, 1994)
Discussant: Wayne Moyer, Grinnell College (EU 1992 CAP Reform)
Session IV: Farm Policy Reform, 1996-2000
Speaker: Wayne Moyer, Grinnell College (US 1996 Fair Act)
Discussant: David Orden, Virginia Tech
Speaker: Wayne Moyer, Grinnell College (EU Agenda 2000)
Discussant: Stefan Tangermann, University of Gottingen; John Gillingham, University of Missouri
Session V: Future of Farm Policy Reform
Speaker; Tim Josling, Stanford University (WTO 2000 Round)
Speaker: David Orden, Virginia Tech (US Farm Policy Futures)
Speaker: Stefan Tangermann, University of Gottingen (CAP Reform Possibilities)
Discussant: All
Daniel and Nancy Okimoto Conference Room
Session I: The World Banana Market
Speaker: Tom Spreen, University of Florida
Discussant: Micky Paggi, Congressional Budget Office
"The World Banana Market"
Session II: Bananas and the EU
Speaker: Stephan Tangermann, University of Gottingen
Discussant: Jo Swinnen, Leuven and EU Commission
"Bananas and the EU"
Session III: Bananas and Multinationals
Speaker: Tim Taylor and Xavier Abufele, University of Florida
Discussant: Micky Paggi, Congressional Budget Office
"Bananas and Multinationals"
Session IV: Bananas and the Caribbean
Speaker: Tim Taylor, University of Florida; Patrick Antoine, RNM, Barbados
Discussant: John Stovall, NCFAP, Washington
"Bananas and the Carribbean"
Session V: Bananas and the WTO
Speaker: Timothy Josling, Stanford University
Discussant: Stephan Tangermann, University of Gottingen
"Bananas and the WTO"
Session VI: Lessons for Trade Policy
Session VII: Group discussion about the completion and publication of the book "Going Bananas"
Daniel and Nancy Okimoto Conference Room
Conference in Honor of the 25th Anniversary of the Visiting Austrian Professorship at Stanford
Thursday, October 18
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Session I: Managing the Global Economy
Lead Presenter: Ronald McKinnon, Stanford University, "The Evolving World Dollar Standard"
Panel: David Brady, Stanford University; Gerhard Hafner, University of Vienna; Stefan Schleicher, University of Graz
1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Session II: International Environmental Policy
Lead Presenter: John Weyant, Stanford University
Panel: Stefan Schleicher, University of Graz; Fritz Steinhausler, University of Salzburg
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Session III: European Security Policy
Lead Presenter: Hanspeter Neuhold, University of Vienna
Panel: Heinz Gaertner, Stanford University; David Holloway, Stanford University; Fritz Steinhausler, University of Salzburg
7:00 p.m
Dinner
Westin Hotel, El Camino Real, Palo Alto
Speaker: Gerhard Casper
Friday, October 19
8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Session IV: Trade and Society
Lead Presenter: Tim Josling, Stanford University, "Biotech Regulations in the US and Europe: Consumer Protection or Consumer Protectionism"
Panel: John Barton, Stanford University
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Session V: Development of Democracy in Europe
Lead Presenter: Christophe Crombez, Stanford University, "Democracy in the European Union"
Panel: Coit Blacker, Stanford University; Roberto D'Alimonte, Stanford University
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Session VI: Roundtable on the Future of Transatlantic Relationship
Chair and Moderator: Bill Perry, Stanford University
Panel: Mike McFaul, Stanford University; Hanspeter Neuhold, University of Vienna; Gerhard Hafner, University of Vienna
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Follow-up session on future Stanford/Austria research collaboration
Daniel and Nancy Okimoto Conference Room
Encina Ground Floor Conference Room
Encina Ground Floor Conference Room
Encina Ground Floor Conference Room
Stanford Law School
Transatlantic Technology Law Forum
559 Nathan Abbott Way
Stanford, CA 94305-8610
Siegfried Fina is co-director of the Stanford-Vienna Transatlantic Technology Law Forum (a joint venture of Stanford Law School and the University of Vienna School of Law) and an associate professor of European Union Law and Technology Law at the University of Vienna School of Law in Austria. His work focuses on the business-related and the technology-related law and policy of the European Union as well as on the legal aspects of the EU-U.S. trade and the economic governance issues of the transatlantic marketplace.
Until 2002, Fina was an associate professor of law at the Vienna University of Technology. He also is an adjunct associate professor of law at Danube University Krems in Austria. He is a member of the board of directors of the International Federation for European Law (FIDE) and a member of the European Union Studies Association of the U.S. and Austria. Fina received a JD and JSD from the University of Vienna School of Law. In addition, he received a Diploma in Business Administration from the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, a Diploma in Political Science from the University of Vienna Department of Government and Political Science, and a post-graduate Diploma in International Studies from the University of Vienna.
This project examines the law and policy of the European Union for e-business activities as well as the relevant economic governance issues and regulatory practices including the transatlantic (EU-U.S.) marketplace. In its initial stage, the project includes the "European Union E-commerce Law: Consolidated Legislation" project. This project focuses on the legal framework of the European Union for pursuing e-business activities in Europe.
In the debates surrounding genetically modified organisms in the food supply, the issue of labeling has become ever more salient. The EU is developing regulations to require labeling and traceability for all foods containing or derived from GMOs. Other countries, including Australia, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and Thailand are also in the process of developing voluntary labeling guidelines. In January of 2000, 130 countries adopted the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety which calls for bulk shipments of GMO commodities, such as corn or soybeans that are intended to be used as food, feed or for processing, to be accompanied by documentation stating that such shipments "may contain" living modified organisms and are "not intended for intentional introduction into the environment." Will these labeling systems prevent trade disruptions and enhance the international trading system established by the WTO? Or will they act as non-tariff barriers that obfuscate consumer decisions and lead to greater expense, confusion and ultimately to new trade wars?
Any GMO labeling debate must take into consideration the political, economic, legal, operational and administrative aspects of such labeling. The political considerations include the maintenance of confidence in the food system and how policy makers balance the demands of domestic constituencies against their various international obligations, such as under WTO Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement. The economic questions focus on a cost/benefit analysis of segregation and identity-preservation and whether labels provide information or capture a premium for producers. The legal issues include the possible challenge of discrimination in trade and the extent of liability under domestic law for misleading or incorrect labels. Operational adn administrative questions center on whether to make labels mandatory, whether to take a product or process approach, how feasible and costly are particular approaches and whether it is necessary it is necessary to require full traceability.
The workshop will be hosted by the European Forum of the Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. The goal of the workshop is to make a significant contribution to the ongoing policy debate. Participants will include academic, government and private sector specialists and bring expertise in economics, law and political science.