The Europe Center is jointly housed in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Stanford Global Studies Division.
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
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.
The conference will explore the application of competition policy rules to aspects of the "new" economy, in particular where networks and information flows are leading to rapid changes in industrial structure. Both US and European views will be represented, and the prospects for avoiding further tensions in transatlantic relations over different approaches will be explored. The focus will be on four sectors that are currently undergoing structural changes through mergers and which have posed questions for transatlantic cooperation and for antitrust regulations; telecoms and internet access; e-commerce and internet marketplaces; airlines and code-sharing; and biotechnology and genomics. These same issues are also likely to be significant in global discussions of competition policy in the WTO and elsewhere.
The conference will bring together academic economists, lawyers and political scientists from the US and Europe along with invited private sector and government participants. To ensure the opportunity for intensive discussion, attendance will be limited to thirty people.
Bechtel Conference Center
Session I: What are Deliberation and Clumsiness?
Loren King, MIT
"Democracy and Deliberation: A Review of Recent Theories and Proposals"
Michael Thompson, University of Bergen
"Clumsiness: It's as Easy as Falling off a Log"
Session II: UN & International Environmental Regimes
Tom Heller, Stanford University
"Clumsy Institutions against Global Warming"
Session III: EMU & WTO
Susanne Lohmann, UCLA
"Sollbruchstelle: Mass Democracy, Deep Uncertainty and Institutional Design"
Rob Howse, University of Michigan
"Democracy, Science, and Free Trade: Risk Regulation on Trial at the WTO"
Session IV: World Bank, IMF & International Labor Standards
Archon Fung, Harvard University
"Globalizing with a Human Face: How Deliberation, Transparency, and Competition Can Improve International Labor Standards"
Marco Verweij, Max Planck Institute in Bonn
"The Need to Make the World Bank & IMF Clumsier"
Session V: General Discussion
Introduced and chaired by Joseph Steiglitz, Stanford University
Bechtel Conference Center
Ambassador John Beyrle presented his credentials to President Parvanov as U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria on September 8, 2005. A career officer in the senior Foreign Service at the rank of Minister-Counselor, Ambassador Beyrle has held policy positions and foreign assignments with an emphasis on U.S. relations with Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and the USSR since joining the State Department in 1983.
Ambassador Beyrle's overseas service has included two tours at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, most recently as Deputy Chief of Mission. He was Counselor for Political and Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Prague, and a member of the U.S. Delegation to the CFE Negotiations in Vienna. He served an earlier tour at the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria 1985-87. His Washington assignments include Acting Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for the New Independent States, and Director for Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council. He served as a staff officer to Secretaries of State George Shultz and James Baker, and as a Pearson Fellow and foreign policy adviser to the late Senator Paul Simon.
Ambassador Beyrle received a B.A. degree with honors from Grand Valley State University, and an M.S. degree as a Distinguished Graduate of the National War College.
Ambassador Elena Poptodorova has been the Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria since February 2002. Prior to assuming the ambassadorial post, Mrs. Poptodorova has held a number of government positions and served as a member of parliament for 11 years (1990-2001) as a representative of the Bulgarian Socialist Party. She is a signature figure of the new Bulgarian democracy, playing an active role in policy making and known as one of the liberal and maverick members of her party. In the period of June 2001 to August 2002, she led the Directorate of International Organizations and Human Rights. She served as Spokes of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately before becoming Bulgarian Ambassador to the United States.
Ambassador Poptodorova received her B.A. and M.A. in English and Italian Language and Literature from Tthe Kiment Ohridski University of Sofia, Bulgaria. She has a M.A. in international relations and diplomacy from the University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria.
This event is co-sponsored by the Forum on Contemporary Europe and the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies.
CISAC Conference Room
On February 7, in Vienna, FSI Director Coit D. Blacker gave a distinguished scholar lecture on "U.S.-European Relations After the Iraq War." The talk, which was held at the Renner Institut and co-sponsored by the U.S. Embassy, focused on critical relations between Europe and the U.S. that extend beyond the current administration in Washington.
Blacker discussed the noted phenomenon of "anti-Americanism," arguing that the critical relations between Europe and the U.S. transcend relatively narrow disputes with particular administrations in power in Washington. Instead, Blacker argued, European disagreements with American foreign policy stem from the distinctly different origins of political institutions on both sides of the Atlantic. Historical origins and evolutions of European national, European Union, and American political cultures have led to fundamentally differing views of international relations and rationales for foreign intervention missions, and such "institutional anti-Americanism," if understood in its historical dimensions, can lead to productive debates.
Blacker's visit to Vienna was the occasion for several events, including teaching at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna and renewing and deepening the Stanford-Austria scholarly exchange program hosted by FSI and the University of Vienna. The Program on Austria and Central Europe is administered at FSI by the Forum on Contemporary Europe. The U.S. Ambassador to Austria, her Excellency Susan McCaw, hosted students from Blacker's classes at the Academy, members of the diplomatic corps, and directors of the FSI Forum on Contemporary Europe, for a reception and dinner in honor of Blacker.
The U.S. Embassy Speakers Program is designed to bring U.S. experts from many different fields to Austria to speak on topics related to the United States. The Renner Institute is a leading political academy in Austria for the study of international affairs.
