As part of NSI’s year-long programming on smart innovation policy, we were excited to host our second event of a four-part series on US-EU partnership in technology innovation, “US-EU Tech Partnership: Promoting Values Abroad and Enhancing Trade, Security, and Economic Prosperity”. This panel examined the successes of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), and how it relates to international security, enhances economic prosperity for both the US and the EU, and discussed what more the TTC can do in the future.
Participants:
- Dr. Frances Burwell, Distinguished Fellow, Atlantic Council Senior Director, McLarty Associates
- Scott Cullinane (moderator), Executive Director, US-Europe Alliance
- Steve Lang, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Information and Communications Policy, Department of State
About Our Speakers:
Dr. Frances Burwell served as the Atlantic Council’s Vice President for European Union and Special Initiatives and Director of Transatlantic Programs and Studies from 2008-2016. She previously led the Program on Transatlantic Relations. Dr. Burwell was also a leading initiator and organizer of the Wroclaw Global Forum in Poland, the Council’s flagship European conference. She is currently a Distinguished Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Future Europe Initiative and a member of the Advisory Board of Allied for Startups. Dr. Burwell’s research has focused on the digital economy and privacy, US-EU trade and investment, US-EU security cooperation, and EU institutions and processes. A noted commentator on EU issues, Dr. Burwell is the author of numerous policy reports and has recently contributed to The Telegraph, The Hill, C-SPAN, and NPR, among other outlets. Prior to her time at the Atlantic Council, Dr. Burwell was the Executive Director of the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland and the founding Executive Director of Women in International Security (WIIS) at the Center for International and Security Studies. Dr. Burwell holds a BA in Political Science from Mount Holyoke College, an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford, and a PhD in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland.
Scott Cullinane (moderator) is the Executive Director of the US-Europe Alliance, a bipartisan non-profit organization founded in 2019 dedicating to mobilizing citizens of the United States to advocate for the enduring strategic and economic alliance between US and Europe. Scott is an expert in US-European relations with extensive experience working for Congress and advocacy organizations. From 2011-2018 Scott served in various positions with the US Congress, including as the Professional Staff Member for the House Foreign Affairs Europe Subcommittee where he covered a broad jurisdiction, including the European Union, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and Central Asia. Scott’s work has focused on issues of democratic transition, rule of law, and national security. He has also worked as an election observer with the OSCE. Scott is a graduate of the Institute of World Politics in Washington and has completed course work at John Cabot University in Italy and Central European University in Hungary. He is currently based in Washington, DC.
Steve Lang has been the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Information and Communications Policy since November 2022. Previously he served as the Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs at U.S. Embassy Tokyo (2020-2022) and in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs’ Office of International Communication and Information Policy as Director of both the Office of Multilateral Affairs (2017-2018) and the Office of Bilateral and Regional Affairs (2015-2017). From 2013 to 2015, Steve was the Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. Previously, he served as Deputy Director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs at the Department of State (2011-2013) and as a Senior Analyst in the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office of Japan, Korea, and APEC Affairs (2010-2011). Prior tours include the U.S. Consulate-General in Guangzhou, China; the American Institute in Taiwan in Taipei; the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs; the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok; and the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba. Before joining the State Department, Steve worked as an economist for the Department of Labor and is a graduate of Georgetown University
Thank you to everyone that contributed to this important discussion.