IdeasLab is the most high-profile annual event on policies of the EU. It is organised by the Centre for European Policy Studies – CEPS, one of Europe’s leading think-tanks, a partner of the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association – EMEA and co-founder of the Euro-Mediterranean Network for Economic Studies – EMNES. EMEA was again this year one of the sponsors of the event, which took place at the EGG, Brussels, on 05-06 March 2020
The 2020 conference, “Europe’s Next Stage,” reflected on the von der Leyen’s first 100 days, Europe’s geopolitical role, the effects of Brexit, and the socio-economic effects of the COVID- 19. Despite the difficulties of this year’s event marked by the inability of a significant number of speakers and participants to reach Brussels, IdeasLab 2020 was a huge success with over 1000 participants on more than 50 different sessions. The opening plenary of the Conference included Charles Michel, President of the European Council, Cinzia Alcidi, Senior Research Fellow, Head of Economic Policy Unit, CEPS and member of EMEA executive board, and Caroline de Gruyter (moderator) Journalist, NRC Handelsblad.
During the event, EMEA co-organized the session “Prime Talk: Africa home grown leadership and EU support” with the participation of Kwame Barnieh Partner – Risk Consulting, KPMG Ghana, Moubarack Lô Director General of the Economic Foresight Bureau of Senegal and Former Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, Senegal, Valentino Rossi Head of the Brussels Office, ENEL, and Sandra Kramer Director of EU-AU relations, West and East Africa, European Commission. Moderator of the session was Prof. Rym Ayadi, Founder and President of the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA) and Senior Advisor, CEPS.
Additionally, EMEA President Prof. Rym Ayadi, moderated the session “EU Banking Supervision and Resolution: Challenges for small host countries”, with Boris Vujčić Governor, Croatian National Bank, Boštjan Jazbec Member of the Board, Single Resolution Board, Jo Swyngedouw Head of Financial Stability, AML Supervision and Banking Prudential Policy, National Bank of Belgium, and Radován Jelasity CEO, Erste Bank Hungary.
Prof. Ayadi also participated as a speaker, at the “Special Session: Agenda 2030: Unleashing the Potential of Women Entrepreneurs”, with Lieve Creten Senior Partner, Deloitte Belgium, Shada Islam (moderator) Director of Europe & Geopolitics, Friends of Europe, Alexandra Almeida Senior Officer Lending Operations Central and South East Europe Department, Banks Division, European Investment Bank (EIB), Krystel Sil Sikana CEO, cube4steam, and Itir Aykut Partner, Aykut Investment, Turkey.
Furthermore, on 06 March 2020, the Euro-Mediterranean Network for Economic Studies – EMNES organised an internal Strategy Meeting which took place back to back the CEPS IdeasLab 2020. EMNES Strategy Meeting objective was to discuss the achievements, way forward and research agenda for 2020-‐21 towards the Blue Transition Scenario in the Mediterranean.
The EMNES Strategy Meeting was chaired by Prof. Rym Ayadi, CASS Business School, EBA, EMNES Director and EMEA Founding President. Among the participants were:
- Cinzia Alcidi, Head Economic Policy Unit, CEPS, and EMNES Academy Coordinator
- Roger Albinyana, Director IEMED, and Member of EMNES Associate Committee
- Raja Almarzoqi, Institute of Diplomatic Studies, and Member of EMNES Advisory Committee
- Rim Ben Ayed Mouelhi, Prof. ISCAE la Manouba University, and member of EMNES Steering Committee
- Racha Ramadan, FEPS Cairo University and EMNES Researcher
- Chahir Zaki, FEPS, Cairo University, and member of EMNES Steering Committee
- Sandra Challita, ESDES Business School, and Member of EMNES Associate Committee
- Kinga Konya, EMNES Assistant Director
- Nektar Baziotis, EMEA IT and AI Officer
- George Christopoulos, EMNES and EMEA Intelligence and Communication Officer
Moreover, the discussion was joined through Skype by:
- Fathallah Sijilmassi, Former Ambassador, former SG of the Union for the Mediterranean, and Member of EMNES Advisory Committee
- Nooh Alshyab, Yarmuk University Jordan and member of EMNES Steering Committee
- Serena Sandri, German Jordanian University and EMNES Researcher
- Carlo Sessa, Research Director ISINNOVA, and Member of EMNES Associate Committee
The Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association – EMEA is an independent regional think tank based in Barcelona, supported by 25 Universities and Research Institutions from 12 countries. EMEA coordinates and promotes the Euro-Mediterranean Network for Economic Studies – EMNES, a Network of 30 Universities and Research Institutions from 14 countries, which consists of a core team of over 100 experts in all economic fields.
