The Hague, The Netherlands, November 11-13, 2011

(35th Meeting of the European Group)

At The Hague Hilton Hotel

Note: European Chairman Mario Monti and European Member Lucas Papademos – initially scheduled to chair the conference and address the participants – were retained in their countries, the former appointed (since confirmed by Parliament) as President of the Council of Ministers of Italy, and the latter sworn in as Prime Minister of Greece.

Conference Proceedings

Friday, November 11

19h00-22h00
Official reception and dinner hosted by the Mayor of The Hague at the Peace Palace
Welcome remarks during the reception by
Eli Leenaars, Dutch Group Chairman and European Treasurer, The Trilateral Commission, and Member, ING Management Board Banking
Peter Sutherland, European Honorary Chairman, The Trilateral Commission
Keynote speaker: Jozias van Aartsen, Mayor of the Hague

Saturday, November 12

09h00-12h00
SESSION I ON THE NETHERLANDS: THE CHALLENGE OF REFORM IN A COMPETITIVE WORLD
Chair: H. Onno Ruding, Chairman, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Brussels; former Dutch Minister
of Finance

09h10-10h10  FLEXIBILITY, SECURITY AND SOLIDARITY
Moderator: Alexander Rinnooy Kan, Chairman, Social and Economic Council of The Netherlands (SER)
Bernard Wientjes, Chairperson , Confederation of The Netherlands Industry and Employers
Agnes Jongerius, Chairperson, Dutch Labor Union FNV

10h35-11h50  INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY
Moderator: Louise Fresco, University Professor, University of Amsterdam
Maxime Verhagen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation
Hans Wijers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Akzo Nobel, Arnhem
Bjørn Lomborg, Director, Copenhagen Consensus Centre; Adjunct Professor, Copenhagen Business School

12h15-14h00
Luncheon at the Communications Museum hosted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation
Keynote speaker: H.R.H. Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange

14h30-16h30 

SESSION II ON THE EU-MEDITERANEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD: EUROPE’S RESPONSE TO THE “ARAB AWAKENING”
Chair: Elisabeth Guigou, Deputy Chairperson and Member of the French National Assembly; Member of the Trilateral Task Force; Presentation of the Trilateral Report on Europe’s Response to the Arab Spring
JORDAN: H.R.H. Prince El Hassan bin Talal, Chairman, WANA Forum (West Asia/North Africa), Amman
TUNISIA: Mustapha Kamel Nabli, Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia
EU REPONSE: Bernardino León, European Union Special Representative for the Southern Mediterranean Region, Brussels
Europe's Response to the Arab Awakening, Contributions by European Members to the Panel Discussion

18h00-19h30 
Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands receives the European members and guests of the Trilateral Commission at  Noordeinde Palace.

20h00-22h30
Official dinner in the Ridderzaal hosted by Uri Rosenthal, Minister of Foreign Affairs
with musical entourage of the Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest
Keynote Speaker: Mark Rutte, Prime Minister

Sunday, November 13

Chair: Vladimir Dlouhy, European Deputy Chairman, The Trilateral Commission; International Advisor, Goldman Sachs; former Czechoslovak Minister of Economy; former Czech Minister of Industry and Trade, Prague

8h30-10h30
SESSION III ON EUROPE AND THE CRISIS: “TOO MUCH DIVERSITY — TOO LITTLE UNITY?”
introduced by André Sapir, Professor ULB, Senior Fellow, BRUEGEL, Brussels
Jürgen Fitschen, Member of the Management Board and of the Group Executive Committee, Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt/Main
Edmond Alphandéry, Chairman, CNP Assurances, Paris; former Minister of the Economy and Finance, France

10h45-12h45
EUROPE AND THE CRISIS (continued)
Panagis Vourloumis, Senior Adviser, N.M. Rothschild; former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (O.T.E.), Athens
Antonio Borges, Director, European Department, International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC
Keynote addresses:
Paul A. Volcker, Honorary North American Chairman, The Trilateral Commission, New York; former Chairman,
U.S. Federal Reserve
Jean-Claude Trichet, former President of the European Central Bank

Concluding remarks by the Conference Chairmen

TC/WANA Forum/Workshop on EU-West Asia-North Africa Relations,
co-chaired by H.R.H. Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan and
Stefano Silvestri, President of the Italian Institute of International Affairs (IAI), Rome,
followed over lunch into the afternoon.