LFMI to hold international conference “European Elections Ahead: What is Next for the EU Economy?”

2014-03-26

On April 29th, 2014 the Lithuanian Free Market Institute in partnership with Austrian Economics Center and Friedrich Naumann Foundation will hold an international conference “European Elections Ahead: What is Next for the EU Economy?”

As we approach the European Parliament elections, the conference will discuss what direction Europe will take after the EP elections, with focus on the implications of centralization of EU financial sector regulation, tax policies, and the need for a fundamental revision of the EU budget quality and the regulatory burden for greater competitiveness of the European Union.

The conference will gather together fascinating panelists, including MPs, prominent economists, and leading representatives of academia and the business community. Keynote presentations will be delivered by prominent international speakers, including Prof. Leszek Balcerowicz, Daniel J. Mitchell of the Cato Institute, U.S., and Enrico Colombatto, Professor of economics from the University of Turin.

Participation in the conference is free of charge, but registration is required. Please register by clicking on the button “Registruotis į renginį” at the top of this page.

 

You are welcome to participate in the conference :

PROGRAM
8.30 – 9.00 Registration
9.00 – 9.10 Welcome speech Barbara KOLM, Director, Austrian Economics Centre, Žilvinas ŠILĖNAS, President, Lithuanian Free Market Institute
9.10 – 10.10 Is further centralization of EU financial sector regulation desirable? This panel will discuss the implications of the centralization of EU financial sector regulation, including the creation of the banking union. Prof. Leszek BALCEROWICZ, President, Civil Development Forum

Panel discussion. Panel members: Dr. Aldona JOČIENĖ, Director, Prudential Supervision Department, Supervision Service, Bank of Lithuania Dr. John E. CHARALAMBAKIS, Chief Economist, Blacksummit Financial Group Inc. Dr. Šarūnas NEDZINSKAS, Vice-President, Member of the Board, AB DNB Bank – TBC Šarūnas SKYRIUS, Partner, Gild Corporate Finance

Moderator: Vytautas ŽUKAUSKAS (Senior Policy Analyst, Lithuanian Free Market Institute)
10.10 – 10.30 Coffee Break
10.30 – 11.40 Are tax policies driving brain drain?Countries compete over tax rates in order to attract investments, so even the rhetoric about tax hikes, such as debates on introducing progressive taxation in Lithuania, undermines a country’s competitiveness. This panel will discuss the implications of tax policies on competitiveness. Daniel J. MITCHELL, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute

Panel discussion. Panel members: Algirdas SYSAS, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, Lithuanian Social Democratic Party – TBC Mark KLUGMANN, Member of the Board, Americans for Tax Reform Foundation Dr. Nerijus MAČIULIS, Chief Economist, Swedbank

Moderator: Kaetana LEONTJEVA, Senior Policy Analyst, Lithuanian Free Market Institute
11.40 – 12.00 Coffee Break
12.00 – 13.00 What’s next for Europe after the European Parliament elections?This panel will discuss what direction Europe will take after the European Parliament elections, highlighting the need for a fundamental revision of the EU budget quality and the regulatory burden for greater competitiveness of the European Union. Prof. Enrico COLOMBATTO, Professor of Economics, University of Turin, Director, International Centre for Economic Research, Italy

Panel discussion. Panel members: Andrius KUBILIUS, Shadow Prime Minister, Chairman of the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats Dr. Remigijus ŠIMAŠIUS, MP, Deputy Chairman of the Liberal Movement Party Prof. Ramūnas Vilpišauskas, Director, Institute of Political Sciences and International Relations, Vilnius University

Moderator: Žilvinas ŠILĖNAS, President, Lithuanian Free Market Institute

More information about the participants:

 

  V _balcerowiczLeszek Balcerowicz – economist, professor at the Warsaw School of Economics (Szkoła Główna Handlowa), MBA at the Saint John’s University in New York. Author of the economic reforms in Poland that were commenced after the fall of communism in 1989. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in the first non-communist Polish government after the Second World War (1989-1991) and in the years 1997-2000. Chairman of the National Bank of Poland in the years 2000-2007. He was awarded the Doctor Honoris Causa title at 20 Polish and foreign universities. Author of over 100 publications on economics published both in Poland and abroad. Awarded with many Polish and foreign prestigious prizes and honors – including the Order of the White Eagle, the highest possible Polish decoration, awarded to Leszek Balcerowicz for his input in the systemic transformation in Poland. In 2007 he founded the Civil Development Forum Foundation (FOR) of which he is the Council Chairman.
  V Daniel_Mitchell_Daniel J. Mitchell is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute in Washington, DC. He is one of the nation’s experts on fiscal policy, particularly tax reform, the economic burden of government spending, and tax competition. He’s been published in dozens of outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Journal of Regulation and Social Cost, Emory Law Journal, Forbes, USA Today, Offshore Investment, and Playboy and has appeared on all the major networks, including CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC and C-SPAN. Dan earned a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University and undergraduate and Masters degrees from the University of Georgia.
V -mark-klugmann-fotoMark Klugmann – served in the White House as speechwriter to Presidents Reagan and Bush (Sr.). An expert on economic reform, he counsels governments on LEAP Zones (special, semi-autonomous, Legal, Economic, Administrative, Political jurisdictions) to accelerate growth. He leads the Presidential Advisory Council for the Special Development Regions of Honduras. He has advised six non-U.S. Presidents and given expert testimony before legislative committees of four countries. His methodology for winning approval of economic reforms without political cost has been successfully applied to telecom, ports, pensions, monetary reform, deregulation, privatization, etc. Visiting Professor at Universidad Francisco Marroquin, he has lectured at Harvard’s Kennedy School, World Bank, Churchill Institute, World Financial Summit, etc. He serves on the board of Americans for Tax Reform Foundation and on Advisory Council of Global Adaptation Institute, and is a senior adviser to the Reagan Legacy Foundation. His work has been featured by the BBC, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time, etc.
  V enrico_colombattoEnrico Colombatto is a professor of economics at the University of Turin, where he teaches Foundations of Policymaking, International Economics, and Growth and Development. He is the director of one of Italy’s leading research institutes, the International Centre for Economic Research, and the Director of research at IREF (Institut de Recherches Économiques et Fiscales). His present research interests cover the economics of growth and development, law and economics, and Austrian economics. His last book is titled Markets, Morals and Policy Making: A New Defense of Free-Market Economics (Routledge, 2011).
  V nerijus_maciulisNerijus Mačiulis is chief economist at Swedbank in Lithuania. He defended a doctoral thesis on currency risk hedging in the context of speculative revaluation attacks. Nerijus teaches mathematical methods in economics and macroeconomics at ISM University and previously taught in INSEEC Grand Ecole (France), Tecnologico de Monterrey (Mexico), FHS St. Gallen (Switzerland) and University of Ballarat (Australia). He has authored a number of publications on currency crises, international finance and economic integration. He serves as editorial board member at Baltic Journal of Economics.
  V simasiusRemigijus Šimašius is member of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. Remigijus sits on the Economics Committee. Remigijus is leader of the Vilnius branch of the Liberal Movement, the largest liberal political party in Lithuania. From 2008 to 2012 he served as Minister of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania. Remigijus previously worked for the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) where he served as president from 2006 to 2008. In 2002 Remigijus received his doctoral degree in social sciences (law). Remigijus is actively involved in social media, he has a blog where he writes his libertarian perspectives on different issues (simasius.lt).
  V vilpisauskasRamūnas Vilpišauskas – director of the IIRPS, VU. Professor, doctor of social sciences. Graduate of Vilnius University and Lancaster University (UK) (both with distinctions). He has been teaching at the institute since 1996. In addition to the currently taught courses, he also taught international economics, policy analysis, European economy, public choice. He has been a visiting fellow at several universities in the USA (for example, Syracuse University) and Canada (Carleton University), has been a Fulbright scholar at the Columbia University, conducted research at a number of European institutions including European University Institute (Florence). He has graduated Internation Trade and Commercial Diplomacy program at Carleton University (Ottaw), Swedish Institute Management Program (Stockholm). He has worked as a Chief Economic Policy Advisor to the President of Lithuania and the Head of Economic and Social Policy Group (2004-2009), has also been appointed to coordinate the team of advisors to the President (2006-2009).  
Barbara Kolm – president of the Friedrich A. v. Hayek Institute in Vienna, Austria and Director of the Austrian Economics Center. Being a worldwide networker she uses these abilities to promote free market policies; in addition she is a frequent speaker on public policy related issues, especially on deregulation and competition topics, the Future of Europe and Austrian Economics. Barbara Kolm is an Associate Professor of Austrian Economics at the University of Donja Gorica, Montenegro and a member of the Board of Business Consultants of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and a Member of the Mont Pélerin Society. She is President of the European Center for Economic Growth.
  V skyriusŠarūnas Skyrius – general director and partner of “GILD Corporate Finance”, chairman of the board in “Junior Achievement Lithuania”, member of the board in “BIOK laboratorija”. He had consulted various Lithuanian and foreign organizations on economical issues.
V

Information about the International conference is also available on the official website: http://freemarket-rs.com/tour/vilnius/