Previous Events

Many of us are conditioned to think of old age as a bad thing. We may see it as a time of declining health, reduced mobility and freedom. Commentators also blame a host of problems on Europe’s ageing population including our pension crisis, healthcare budget deficits and the burden on family members of caring for the elderly. But what if ageing as we think of it is about to change? Already, those who were once considered pensioners have been re-branded as ‘silver surfers’, who actively use the internet, travel the world and increasingly remain involved in the working and social life of their communities.

Indeed, the next generation of medicines and healthcare treatments will enable us all to live longer and more productive lives and change the notion of what it means to be old. So what impact will this have on Europe’s welfare systems and labour markets and should a Europe which needs to expand its labour force start to see active ageing as a blessing rather than a curse?

Expert speakers included:

• Introduction: Dr Cristina Gutierrez-Cortines MEP, Member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and Member of the Intergroup on Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity;
  
• Dr David Gems, Reader in the Biology of Ageing, and Assistant Director, Institute of Healthy Ageing, University College London;
  
• Rebecca Taylor, Senior Researcher, International Longevity Centre – UK;
  
• Peter Wintlev-Jensen, Head of Sector, ICT & Ageing, ICT for Inclusion, DG Information Society and Media, European Commission; and
  
• Chair: Dr Meir Pugatch, Director of Research, Stockholm Network, and Senior Lecturer, University of Haifa

The Stockholm Network partnered with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation for two special Reagan Centennial Celebration Events that took place in London on 4th July 2011.

The first event saw the unveiling of a new statue of President Reagan in Grosvenor Square, London. Sculpted by acclaimed American artist Chas Fagan, the statue stands on the south side of the square with a piece of the Berlin Wall embedded next to a bronze plaque recognizing President Reagan’s role in ending the Cold War. The Unveiling Ceremony took place at Grosvenor Square in Mayfair. Former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave keynote remarks as part of this historic occasion.

Then, in the evening a Centennial Banquet took place at the London Guildhall. Secretary Rice gave the keynote address and Foreign Secretary William Hague offered a response.

Managing Intellectual Property Magazine, The Institute for Globalisation and International Regulation at Maastricht University Faculty of Law, and the Stockholm Network co-hosted a roundtable on “Standardizing the Standardization Process? What next for IPRs Competition and Innovation?"

In this round table a panel of expert speakers discussed some of the burning issues in the debate on IPRs, standards and innovation. Key themes discussed at the round table included: The consumer`s interest in IPRs and standards; the industry`s perspective on IPRs and standards (proprietary and open), the institutional perspective on IPRs; collaboration between IP bodies and standard setting organizations (SSOs); promoting competition and innovation in a new world of standards, and the implication of standards on the patenting process and the patent system in general.

Speakers included:

• Dr. Michael Fröhlich, director of EU intellectual property strategy for Research In Motion;
  

• Dr. Michel Goudelis, European Patent Office director in telecoms and coordinator of the EPO ICT standards group;
  

• Tomoko Miyamoto, head of patent law section of patents and innovation division for World Intellectual Property Organization;
  

• James Nurton, editor of Managing Intellectual Property Magazine;
  

• Marie D. Mesidor, intellectual property specialist at the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) in Brazil, MILE;
  

• Prof. Anselm Kamperman Sanders, director of IP and knowledge management advanced degree in the faculty of law of Maastricht University;
  

• Ruben Schellingerhout, European Commission, DG Competition Unit O.2, Antitrust and Merger Case Support;
  

• Dyebo Shabalala, assistant professor of IP and knowledge management advanced degree of Maastricht University; and
  

• Dr. Meir Pugatch, director of research of Stockholm Network and senior lecturer of University of Haifa.

The Stockholm Network collaborated with the Centre for European Studies (CES) and Business for New Europe (BNE) in the organisation of the 2nd Economic Ideas Forum.

Topics discussed included:

1. Allies or Competitors? Cooperation Across the Atlantic – Reforming Financial Services;
   
2. Now What? The Economic and Political Impact of the Arab Revolts and the Japan Crisis;
   
3. A Single Market for a Digital Europe? and
   
4. Saving the Lost Generation: Promoting Job-Creating Growth

Panels included senior politicians from the European Union institutions, national ministers and heads of state, top academics and influential stakeholders.

Speakers included: Mark Hoban MP, financial secretary to the Treasury; Rt Hon Lord Brittan of Spennithorne, vice chairman of UBS Investment Bank and former vice president of the European Commission; Peter Sutherland, chairman of Goldman-Sachs International; Valdis Dombrovskis, prime minister of Latvia; Baron Bernard Snoy et d’Oppuers, president of the European League for Economic Cooperation; Andrew Edison, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa, AT&T; Antonio Tajani, vice president of the European Commission and EU commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship; Christine Lagarde, minister of Economic Affairs, Industry and Employment, France; Lord Sassoon, commercial secretary to the Treasury; Maurice Thompson, Citi vice chairman; and Antonio López-Istúriz White, secretary treasurer of the Centre for European Studies and the secretary general of the European People’s Party and member of the European Parliament.

Since its inception, the Stockholm Network has set out to debate the way public services are provided in Europe and to argue for greater efficiency and consumer choice. Britain has experimented with aspects of market-oriented reform and with ideas from other countries but such reforms are nevertheless still viewed with suspicion. Yet a new government and a new economy makes a revolution in the way public services are provided in the UK unavoidable. No longer just the territory of think tanks, the debate about the role of the state in public services is now leading the news agenda.

This half-day seminar looked at realistic options for public service reform which will attempt to contain the impact of cuts. It offers examples from other European countries and argues that a rethink of how services are provided and what government does may be unpopular but is now the only practical way forward.

At this roundtable event, the Stockholm Network launched a new report as part of its ongoing series on patient safety - Patient Safety and Comfort: the Challenges of Switching Medicines. The event discussed the issues and our own findings with a panel of healthcare experts.

Whether switching of medicines takes place as part of a formal protocol or based on the discretion of a physician, it entails both benefits and risks. Sometimes it may help to identify more effective or cost-effective treatments, improving the quality of life for patients dealing with chronic conditions. But switching may also result in undue medical risks and jeopardise the independence and preference of patients, if it is not done cautiously and with the appropriate information. This is especially the case for risky patients and those who are already stabilised on a treatment regime.

The Institute for Globalisation and International Regulation at Maastricht University Faculty of Law and the Stockholm Network Intellectual Property & Competition Programme are delighted to invite you to a forum and debate on "Intellectual Property, Open Source and Standards: Friends or Foes?

The importance of standards to our societies is growing as technology moves into increasingly complex territories, and competing companies are inclined to establish common ground. This common ground helps to ensure that the assortment of technological possibilities is kept to a necessary minimum, whilst also establishing a widespread level of compatibility and quality. Standards offer a shared language that technologies use to communicate with one another, allowing for greater interaction between products or components. This can mean improved interoperability, interconnectivity, and commoditisation – all buzzwords for a more beneficial market.

In the discussion on standards, a distinction (and at times even a dichotomy) is often made between standards based on proprietary efforts - which are to be protected by intellectual property rights - and standards that are based on collaborative or open efforts - such as via an open source. Indeed, there is a heated Europe-wide debate on the nature and characteristics of future technological standards, not least in the context of government procurement and policies in this area (such as the Expert Panel for the Review of the European Standardization System).

This event aims to address some of the burning issues in the standards debate. Key questions to be discussed include: Should standards be based on open-efforts or on proprietary models? Should countries in Europe opt for a more specific model of standardisation? How should we consider the relationship between patents and standards, and what are the implications of not allowing standards to be protected by IPRs? Is the dichotomy between open and proprietary standards at all justified, or are these types of standards in fact complimentary?

To RSVP please contact Dr Cristina Palomares, Chief Operating Officer, Stockholm Network on T +44 20 7354 8888, F: +44 20 7359 8888 or via e-mail on: cristina@stockholm-network.org

Since the global downturn, debates about the nature and role of markets and governments have become more heated than ever. Markets appear to be taking the blame for the financial crisis, while governments increasingly look to their own resources rather than to business to solve the crisis. What does this mean for the role of the state and indeed for the future of markets? The time is ripe for us to revisit these central questions.

When the global economy is in good shape and markets are on the rise, the need for regulatory frameworks or the role of the state seems less relevant. During these phases it seems self-evident to argue in favour of the efficiency gains of international financial liberalisation. In boom times, the supervisory role of regulators is perceived as a stumbling block to global prosperity. However, when things turn sour, does the existence of such regulatory frameworks then prove its worth. And, if so, will the best response for Europe’s economies be national or pan-European?

In this evening debate, Marc De Vos, professor at Ghent University and founder of the Itinera Institute, a Brussels-based policy institute, will examine the long-term consequences of the financial and economic crisis, as well as presenting the findings of his new book: After the Meltdown: The Future of Capitalism and Globalization in the Age of the Twin Crises (shoehornbooks.com). He will pay particular attention to the roles of the US, the EU, and China and offer some stark messages for European policymakers. Brian Carney, editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe, will chair the event.

The Stockholm Network hosted an online webinar that explored the problem that substandard drugs present to public health.

The webinar featured presentations from an expert panel and included a live question and answer session.

Participants will include:

• Peter Pitts, President of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest;
  

• Gustavo de Freitas Morais, Partner of Danneman Siemsen and Professor of Law at Getúlio Vargas Foundation;
  

• Dr Alphonse Crespo, Executive Director and Founder of Medicine and Liberty;
  

• Dr Meir Pugatch, Director of Research of the Stockholm Network and Senior Lecturer at the University of Haifa;
  

• Dr David Torstensson, Senior Researcher of the Stockholm Network.
  

Today we use more medicines than ever before. The total worldwide market for pharmaceuticals is estimated at over $770 billion and this number is set to increase. Yet, while much focus has been placed on how to pay for the growth in demand for medicines, little attention has been paid to what may amount to an equally serious problem: ensuring their safety for patients.

Complex and interlinked supply chains now mean that the process of testing, manufacturing and marketing a new medicine spreads across different countries (for example from India to the US or the EU and vice versa). However, the globalisation of pharmaceutical markets and production has also increased the spread and prevalence of unsafe medicines, be they counterfeit or substandard. Counterfeit medicines are defined by the WHO as being "deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity and/or source". Substandard pharmaceuticals, on the other hand, are those which have been legitimately manufactured and, more often than not, approved for market and sale by a national or regional Drug Regulatory Authority (DRA) but which nevertheless do not meet the required quality or safety requirements.

The Stockholm Network has previously highlighted the serious effects of counterfeit medicines. We now aim to demonstrate how substandard drugs are a real and growing threat to public health in both the developed and developing world. As substandard drugs have often been approved by a regulator, we need to examine where existing drug regulations have gone wrong and how they can be changed. In this public workshop our expert panel will highlight the problem that substandard drugs present to public health and the Stockholm Network will present the findings of our new report into the issue.