UK perspectives on EU employment and social law

A Foreign Policy Centre, European Commission Representation in the UK and TUC project

Date: Friday 10 February 2012, 2pm-5.45pm (Registration and lunch from 1pm, event followed by networking drinks)

Venue: TUC Congress House, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3LS

The FPC, ECUK and TUC's 'Single Market, Equal Rights?' conference will be a high profile half-day event that will bring together a range of different British perspectives on the EU's role in employment and social law. The conference will look at the current state of the debate in Brussels on employment and social rights, take the political temperature in the UK around the issue and set out the benefits and challenges for workers, businesses and the country.

The Conference will involve a range of high profile speakers including:

• Commissioner Laszlo Andor, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
• Emma Reynolds MP, Shadow Europe Minister
• Brendan Barber, General Secretary, TUC
• Professor Anne Davies, University of Oxford
• Lord Monks, former General Secretary, ETUC
• Billy Hayes, General Secretary, CWU and TUC Europe Spokesperson
• Karen Clements, British Chambers of Commerce
• Mats Persson, Director, Open Europe

The conference will also launch the 'Single Market, Equal Rights?' pamphlet with copies available for participants. The event is free and open to all, though places will be allocated on a first come-first served basis.

To listen to the event click on the audio links from the FPC Blog here- http://blog.fpc.org.uk/2012/02/single-market-equal-rights-conference.html

Download Single Market, Equal Rights invite (180 kilobyte PDF)

DATE: Monday 10th October 2011

TIME: 7.00-9.00pm

VENUE: Committee Room 6, House of Commons, SW1A 0AA 

(please use Cromwell Green Visitors Entrance, see map attached)

This event is now full

Speakers:

• Lord Alderdice, former Leader Alliance Party
• Jonathan Fryer, SOAS
• Firdevs Robinson, formerly BBC World Service

Chair: Adam Hug, Policy Director, Foreign Policy Centre

Introduction: Nick De Bois MP, Enfield North 

The Centre for Turkey Studies and Development (CTSD) and the Foreign Policy Centre (FPC) are please to host a Westminster seminar to discuss the current political situation in Turkey at the start of the AKP third term. It will examine both the progress Turkey has made in recent years and the challenges it still faces, particularly on media freedom and minority rights. With plans to change the Turkish Constitution high up the political agenda it is an important time for a UK audience to examine what can be done both in Turkey and abroad to strengthen the process of democratisation and political reform in this growing global power.

Event is free and open to all. For more information please contact Ibrahim Dogus of CTSD on 02083412021

If you would like to attend, please RSVP by email to:

events@fpc.org.uk

3-4 October 2011 - Manchester

The Foreign Policy Centre is hosting a programme of five fringe events at this year's Conservative Party Conference in Manchester. Please click below to download the flyer. There is no need to pre-register, however attendees WILL need Conference accreditation to attend all but one of the events.

Download Foreign Policy Centre events - Conservative Party Conference (130 kilobyte PDF)

25-28 September 2011 - Liverpool

The Foreign Policy Centre is hosting a programme of three fringe events at this year's Labour Party Conference in Liverpool. Please click below to download the flyer. There is no need to pre-register, however attendees WILL need Conference accreditation, as all FPC events are taking place inside secure Conference venues.

Download Foreign Policy Centre events - Labour Party Conference 2011 (100 kilobyte PDF)

18-20 September 2011 - Birmingham

The Foreign Policy Centre is hosting a programme of four fringe events at this year's Liberal Democrat Party Conference in Birmingham. Please click below to download the flyer. The events are open to all and there is no need to pre-register or to obtain Conference accreditation.

Download Foreign Policy Centre events - Liberal Democrat Conference (110 kilobyte PDF)

For Charlie Beckett's (Director, POLIS) speech notes from this event, please click on the link below:

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis/2011/09/18/rethinking-democracy-and-development-what-role-for-media-and-technology-fpc-panel-at-lib-dem-conference-ldconf

Wednesday 6 July 2011

Background

In July 2011 the Foreign Policy Centre in partnership with Plan UK hosted a roundtable discussion forum at the House of Commons. While marking the launch of a Plan UK publication entitled "Breaking Vows: Early and Forced Marriage and Girls' Education", the event aimed to explore how policy-makers across UK Government departments might strengthen national and global alliances (and networks) to increase the political priority given to the issue of child and forced marriage.

Participants

The event brought together a diverse range of participants from the worlds of politics, academia, government, the media, community-based organisations and international NGOs. Organisations represented included: Centre for Gender and Violence Research at the University of Bristol, Commonwealth Secretariat, Dawson Cornwell (law firm), Forced Marriage Unit (FMU)- Foreign Office, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Plan UK, UK Government Equalities Office, BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) and BBC WST 'Afghan Woman's Hour' radio programme, Karma Nirvana, Foundation for Women's Health Research and Development (FORWARD), BBC Radio 4's 'The World Tonight', 4 Paper Buildings - Chambers of Jonathan Cohen QC, House of Lords, The Elders, Demos and the Foreign Policy Centre.

Focus

The forum focused on three principal themes. The first, examined how best to promote prevention and mitigate the impact of child and forced marriage, the second assessed how to provide support to victims and those at risk to escape and rebuild their lives and finally, an exploration of the broader development impact of prioritising the eradication of child and forced marriage as part of the UK's wider foreign policy engagement.

The Plan UK report can be accessed at:

http://www.plan-uk.org/resources/documents/Breaking-Vows-Early-and-Forced-Marriage-and-Girls-Education/

Summary recommendations

A summary report of the recommendations that came out of this roundtable can be downloaded by clicking on the link below.

Download Summary Recommendations - Child & Forced Marriage Roundtable (150 kilobyte PDF)

Date: Tuesday 12 July 2011

Time: 4.00-6.00pm

Venue: Grimond Room, Portcullis House, Victoria Embankment, Westminster, London SW1A 2LW

Speakers:

• Mark Lancaster MP, Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Secretary of State for International Development
• Sheelagh Stewart, Director of the UK Government's Stabilisation Unit
• Prof Rosemary Hollis, Professor of Middle East Policy Studies & Director, Olive Tree Scholarship Programme, City University
• Richard Miller, CEO, ActionAid UK & International Director for Human Security, ActionAid International
• Hugh Ward, Head of Capability, Saab Training Systems UK

Chair: Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent, The Daily Telegraph

2011 has witnessed an unprecedented public demand for political transformation. As the world watches events unfold, many countries in the Middle East and North Africa are in a turbulent state of transition. From Tunisia to Egypt and from Yemen to Libya and Syria, the outcomes of these widespread social movements have yet to take real shape. They continue to undergo a process of evolution that has so far been neither accurately defined nor confidently articulated. In addition, there are the ongoing challenges of fragile states such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan, where efforts to build peace, stability and prosperity have been misjudged or thwarted. What is clear however, is that ordinary people are beginning to voice their own demands for change, peace and stability. In this context, the task of developing a coherent foreign and development policy which identifies and supports local solutions to promote peacebuilding and long-term stability has alarming urgency.

This forthcoming FPC event supported by Saab seeks to explore some of the many different elements involved in reconstruction, building peace and promoting stability in states affected by conflict. It aims to draw on a variety of different strategies, perspectives and country-specific examples. The aim will be to highlight the complexity and diversity of approaches that are necessary to address the challenges of conflict and instability.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP by email to: events@fpc.org.uk

Download FPC & Saab invitation - Which path to peace? (150 kilobyte PDF)

DATE: Tuesday 28 June 2011

TIME: 6.30-8.00pm

VENUE: Committee Room 3A, House of Lords, London SW1A 0PW (Use Cromwell Green Visitors' entrance)

Speakers:

• Rt Hon Lord David Howell, Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• Kim Sengupta, Defence and Diplomatic Correspondent, The Independent
• Dr Graeme Davies, Lecturer, International Security, University of Leeds
• Dr Rob Johns, Senior Lecturer, Dept of Politics, University of Essex
• Prof Jason Ralph, Professor in International Relations & Director of Research, University of Leeds

Chair: Sir Robert Worcester DL KBE, Chair & Founder, MORI

This Foreign Policy Centre event in partnership with the Universities of Essex and Leeds is the second in a series examining the relationship between UK foreign policy and public opinion. This event will provide a timely opportunity to debate public support for past, current and future UK military interventions overseas and the "special relationship" with the United States.

It is almost universally acknowledged that a hallmark of British foreign policy under Tony Blair's Labour government was liberal interventionism: a willingness to use force abroad for various purposes - humanitarian intervention, peacekeeping and regime change - even if British national interests were seemingly involved only indirectly. As Blair argued at the time: "…a political philosophy that does care about other nations - Kosovo, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone - and is prepared to change regimes on their merits, should be gung-ho on Saddam."

A parallel argument could be said to underlie the present coalition government's decision to join military action in Libya. This suggests a cross-party consensus in favour of liberal interventionism. Yet, this raises questions: first, is elite political consensus on foreign policy in the UK as clear as it appears? What role should a UN mandate play in UK policymaking, especially when it clashes with US policy? In particular, will Labour in opposition maintain the same foreign policy approach? Second, where does the UK public stand? Is there general support for the principles underlying Labour's and now the coalition's seeming interventionism? What effect have the Afghanistan and Iraq wars had on British public opinion concerning military action, especially in light of the recent Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), the related defence cuts and the current unprecedented levels of public support for the armed forces?

If you would like to attend, please RSVP to: events@fpc.org.uk

Download Dr Rob Johns & Dr Graeme Davies' presentation (440 kilobyte PDF)