Madariaga - College of Europe Foundation

Madariaga Report - 25 November, 2009

Africa is a continent rich in natural resources and the largest recipient of development aid. Yet, in spite of such natural wealth and notwithstanding the aid it receives, Africa remains the poorest continent. So what is it that doesn’t work? On the African side, there is manifestly a deficit of good governance. But doesn’t the responsibility also lie, in large part, with the policies of donors – and in particular of the EU – whose effectiveness and coherence are increasingly being questioned?     

To debate on these issues, the Madariaga Foundation has invited Stefano Manservisi,  Director General of the DG Development, European Commission, and Theodore Trefon, Director of the Belgian Reference Centre for Expertise for Central Africa, Head of the Contemporary History Section of the Tervuren Royal Museum for Central Africa, and coordinator of the book “Réforme au Congo – Attentes et désillusions”.

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Madariaga Report - 12 November, 2009

The Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive is expected to complete the new European finance regulation architecture by covering the areas neglected by the new authorities, such as hedge funds, private equity funds and alternative investments funds. Notwithstanding, the financial industry is raising several objections including the insignificant role of alternative funds to the genesis of the crisis. Will Europe be able to bring under control the financial hypertrophy of the last decades by overcoming the persistently diverging national preferences, or will the directive just result in a loss of competitiveness for the European financial sector and in the flight of funds? To answer these questions, Elisa Ferreira, MEP (S&D), and Michael Vernocke, Head of European Affairs of the City Office in Brussels, give their views at a debate moderated by Pierre Defraigne, Executive Director of the Madariaga - College of Europe Foundation.

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Madariaga Report - 29 October, 2009

The Workshop, held on the 29th October from 10.00 to 12.30 on the premises of the Conseil Central de l'Economie, explored the issues of Chinese energy policy, the development of a low carbon society and possibilities for an EU-China cooperation. The workshop benefited from the participation as speakers of Professor Wu Zongxin, Director of the Academic Council at Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Xu Dingming, Former Director General of the Energy Bureau of National Development and Reform Commission,  former Deputy Chairman of the State Energy Leading Group Office and member of the Counsellors' Office of the Chinese State Council, Jos Delbeke, Deputy Director General of DG Environment at the European Commission, and Duncan Freeman, Senior Research Fellow at the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies (BICCS).

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Madariaga Report - 8 October, 2009

The Workshop, organised by the Madariaga - College of Europe Foundation and the Folke Bernadotte Academy, with the support of the Swedish Presidency and in close cooperation with the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU, the European Commission and the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO), aimed at exploring the possibilities for enhanced efforts by the EU in the field of dialogue and mediation.

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