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Aeronautics and Space
A decade ago, Jacqueline Grapin launched a Project on Transatlantic Technology Cooperation based on issues related to aeronautics and space, particularly with regard to export controls. As a former Director General of Interavia Publications and the International Defense Review, her goal was to facilitate the necessary communication among government officials and corporate representatives in the aerospace industry on both sides of the Atlantic as they work to encourage innovation, transact business and ensure cooperation and interoperability. As Europe strengthens its space policy, transatlantic collaboration is becoming critical both in the commercial field and the institutional field.
The Roundtable on Aeronautics and Space, built upon this successful project, and brought together a core group of European and U.S. officials, and companies to identify the criteria for successful technology cooperation and market opening. Today, this Roundtable remains an important forum for the exchange of information and transatlantic dialogue on key issues such as strategic alliances in the aeronautics industry, transatlantic space policies, and international cooperation for aviation safety.
The Roundtable cooperates with the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), EUROCONTROL, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). Participants in the Roundtable on Aeronautics and Space have included Congressman James Oberstar, Ranking Minority Member, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; Jacques Barrot, Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Transport; Steven Lett, Deputy U.S. Coordinator for Strategic Planning/Satellites, Office of International Communications and Information Policy at the U.S. Department of State; Robert Whitehead, Associate Administrator, Office of Aeronautics, NASA; Denis Ranque, Chairman and CEO, Thales, Inc; Clayton Mowry, President, Arianespace Inc.; Michel Ayral, the former Director of Air Transport, Transport DG, European Commission; Dr. Serge Plattard, Secretary General, European Space Policy Institute; Victor M. Aguado, the Director General of Eurocontrol. Mr. Aguado noted that it is vital that standards, rules, and practices be universal.
Representatives from major companies taking part in this effort include Airbus North America, Alcatel, Arianespace, Boeing Company, European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, General Electric Company, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Thales, Inc.
Financial and Monetary Affairs
As a former journalist covering meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for major newspapers, Jacqueline Grapin initiated a Roundtable on Financial and Monetary Affairs to monitor the introduction of the euro as early as 1991. Cooperating closely with representatives from the European Commission, the European Central Bank, national governments, the U.S. Administration, and the U.S. Department of Treasury, this group provided its members with forward-looking analyses and information from key leaders in the U.S. and Europe. Discussions with government and industry principals have addressed integration of financial markets, initiatives to create sound financing and investment policies for developing economies, the impact of new governance initiatives, and the harmonization of regulatory standards. Focus remains on macroeconomic imbalances in light of the Euro/Dollar relationship and the enlargement of the Euro zone. Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, Joaquín Almunia, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs; Servaas Deroose, Director, Economy of the Euro Area and the Union, European Commission; Peter Hooper, Managing Director and Chief U.S. Economist, Deutsche Bank; George Alogoskoufis, Greek Minister of Economy and Finance; Luc Frieden, Luxembourg Minister of Justice, Treasury, Budget and Defensep; Jean-Pierre Jouyet, then President of the Paris Club and Ambassador for International Economic Affairs, French Ministry of Finance; Alex Schaub, Director General, DG Market, European Commission; Roel C. Campos, Commissioner, United States Securities and Exchange Commission; and William J. McDonough, Chairman, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board participated in these discussions.
International Negotiations on Trade and Investments
After covering the Kennedy Round, the Tokyo Round and the Uruguay Round for European newspapers, Jacqueline Grapin initiated an ongoing Trade and Investment Forum to bring together U.S. and European Union negotiators with representatives from industry, national governments, and various international organizations to monitor developments in multilateral negotiations on trade and investment. Issues covered included the process of globalization; progress in bilateral negotiations; evolution of market access; trade related aspects of intellectual property rights; competition; regional agreements; and progress of U.S. and EU trade relations with emerging markets such as China. Special emphasis was placed on negotiations related to the integration of trade in services in the European Union, at the transatlantic level, and in the Doha Round.
Discussions involved Günter Verheugen, Vice President of the European Commission, Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry, Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Ernest Antoine Sellière, President Elect of the Union of Industrial and Employers Confederations of Europe (UNICE), R. Michael Gadbaw, Vice President and Senior Counsel, International Law & Policy Group, General Electric Company; Peter Allgeier, as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, and then U.S. Ambassador to the WTO; Patrick Mulloy, Commissioner, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission; Petros Sourmelis, Head of the Trade Section at the European Commission Delegation in Washington, Angela Ellard, Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Trade, Committee on Ways and Means at the U.S. House of Representatives, Jean-François Boittin, Minister-Counselor, Economic and Commercial Affairs, Embassy of France, Sherry M. Stephenson, Deputy Director for Trade, Organization of American States, with corporate leaders from Airbus North America Holdings, Inc.; Archer Daniels Midland Company; Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC; The Coca-Cola Company; DaimlerChrysler; Deutsche Bank; Deutsche Lufthansa AG; GE Foundation; Honeywell; The McGraw Hill Companies; Pernod Ricard USA; Piper Rudnick; Qualcomm Incorporated; Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood.
Energy and Environment
In preparation for the 1992 Rio Earth Summit on Environment and Development, Jacqueline Grapin, in cooperation with Maurice Strong, Chairman of the Summit meeting, launched a Roundtable on Energy and Environment to facilitate a constructive dialogue between the United States and Europe, in spite of their different approaches to energy and environmental policies. This effort was conducted in cooperation with the European Commission, the United Nations Foundation, the GE Foundation, the German Marshall Fund of the United States and corporations such as Airbus, DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Delta Airlines, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, ENI, Electricité de France, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Federal Express Corporation, the GE Foundation, Lafarge North America, Shell Oil Company, the UN Foundation and Westinghouse Electric Company.
With a record of twelve years promoting transatlantic dialogue in these areas, this effort facilitated a dialogue between key leaders in the European Union and the United States on environmentally sustainable development, renewable energy sources and the use of biomass fuels, the impact of aviation on climate change, climate change policies in emerging markets, and the development of government policies affecting the energy industry.
Defense and Security
In cooperation with NATO, Jacqueline Grapin organized a series of special programs to monitor the evolving roles of security institutions, as well as the impact of geopolitical developments on security policies and transatlantic defense industries. Central to this ongoing initiative were the relationships among NATO, the European Union, and governments on both sides of the Atlantic in the context of Europe’s expanding role in international security and defense policy. This transatlantic dialogue addressed key issues such as defense industry consolidation, defense procurement policies, and the role of defense institutions in the war on terror.
In 2002 Jacqueline Grapin authored a report entitled: “Transatlantic Interoperability in Defense Industries: How the US and Europe Could Better Cooperate in Coalition Military Operations” highlighting industrial perspectives and recommendations on U.S.-European joint weapons and technologies development. The study was a product of a year’s worth of discussions convened by The European Institute with Americans and Europeans from industry, government, and defense think tanks. The publication was circulated to NATO, the U.S. Department of Defense, and selected Ministries of Defense in Europe.
More recent initiatives have focused on NATO expansion, interoperability in defense industries, and counterterrorism. Participants included Lord Robertson, former NATO Secretary General; Javier Solana, EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy; Chris Patten, EU Commissioner for External Relations; Lt. General Jean Fournet, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy; Ambassador R. Nicholas Burns, U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO; Suzanne Patrick, U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy; John A. Shaw, Deputy Under Secretary, International Technology Security, U.S. Department of Defense; and U.S. Senators Joseph Biden and Chuck Hagel.
The European Commission, European Parliament, NATO, U.S. Administration, U.S. Congress, 26 European national governments, and over 65 corporations were involved in the organization of this project. The European governments included Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. U.S. and European corporations involved included: Arianespace, Airbus North America, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, Cisco Systems, General Electric Company, Lockheed Martin, Motorola Inc., Northrop Grumman, Oracle Corporation, Raytheon Company, Saab, Siemens, Sodexho Inc., and Thales North America, and Zodiac of North America.
Information Technologies and Media Policies
As a former journalist, Director General of a Publishing group, and actual Publisher of European Affairs, Jacqueline Grapin permanently focuses on the evolution of information technologies and media policies. Advances in communications and computing have opened the door to a drastic transformation of the communication industries. Early in 1990, Jacqueline Grapin initiated in Washington a Transatlantic Roundtable on Telecommunication and Audiovisual Policies which monitored the convergence of the technologies involved and the evolution of regulations in the U.S. and the EU.
Over a decade, these projects involved Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media, Gerold Reichle, Director-General for Information and Communication Technology, Media and Posts, German Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor, Ambassador Janis Karklins, President of the UN’s World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Preparatory Committee for the Tunis Phase; Lord Currie, Chairman of Ofcom, Regulator of United Kingdom communications industries; Ambassador David A. Gross, U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy at the U.S. Department of State, and companies including: Alcatel; BellSouth Corporation; British Telecommunications; Cisco Systems; Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP; EDS Corporation; France Telecom NA; IBM; International Technology and Trade Associates; International Telecommunications Satellite Organization; Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.; Motorola, Inc.; Oracle; Piper & Rudnick LLP; Philips Electronics North America Corporation; Qualcomm Incorporated; Verizon; and Vodafone Americas Inc.
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