IIEA Talks

As quantum technologies continue to rapidly develop, in this event, Oscar Diez, Deputy Head of Unit for Quantum Technologies at the European Commission, will outline the role of the forthcoming European Quantum Act. Mr Diez will particularly discuss how the EU can support the transition from scientific excellence to industrial capacity, including access to infrastructures, scale-up, skills, supply chains and market uptake. Mr Diez will also reflect on how the Quantum Act and wider Quantum Europe Strategy can play a role in helping to promote Europe’s competitiveness agenda and drive innovation in Europe.

About the Speaker:

Oscar Diez is the Deputy Head of Unit for Quantum Technologies at the European Commission, where he leads strategic initiatives to position Europe as a global leader in the quantum domain. Mr Diez is also an adjunct professor at IE University in Madrid. With a background in both academia and public sector innovation, he previously served as Head of the Datacentre at the European Medicines Agency in London. Dr. Diez holds a PhD in Computer Science from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and a Master’s in Open eGovernment from Stockholm University.

The Horn of Africa continues to be profoundly marked by political instability, conflict, and humanitarian crises. As the war in Sudan continues through its fourth year, longstanding tensions across the region intersect with geopolitical rivalries, against the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East, and the increasing relevance of the Red Sea to global trade and European security and economic interests.
The EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa, Dr. Annette Weber, will address these complex dynamics and the prospects for peace, security, and economic development in the Horn, a region at the centre of shifting global alliances.
Dr. Annette Weber was appointed as the EU Special Representative to the Horn of Africa in July 2021. With more than 25 years of experience in the regions, she is a leading expert on the Horn of Africa. She was engaged in mediation in Sudan and Ethiopia as Senior Advisor for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (2019-2021).
EUSR Weber has also lectured as a Professor of Conflict Studies, International Relations, and African International Relations at various universities in Germany, Austria, and Spain. From 2010-2012, she worked as a consultant in residence in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She has published extensively on peace and security in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea arena.
This lecture is part of the Development Matters series, which is kindly supported by Irish Aid.

Ireland’s Energy Insecurity

Description
Security of energy supplies has always been vital for all economies, at least since the industrial revolution. In an era in which international trade is being weaponised more frequently, Ireland’s high dependence on energy imports is a growing vulnerability. This is, all the more so, in the context of a European security environment which has deteriorated markedly since 2022. In this edition of IIEA Insights, Eamonn O’Reilly will assess this island’s vulnerabilities, current government plans to address them, and what he thinks should be done to enhance energy security.

Eamonn O’Reilly is Chair of the Energy & Climate Action Committee of the Irish Academy of Engineering. He is an engineer by profession and has worked on power plant projects in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Congo. Among other previous roles, he was Chief Executive of Dublin Port for 12 years until 2022, during which time he brought a programme of major port development projects from concept, through consenting, finance, and on to completion.

Neale Richmond is Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for International Development and Diaspora. He previously served as Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance, and as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Business, Employment and Retail, and the Department of Social Protection.

Before this, he was elected as a TD for Dublin Rathdown in the 2020 General Election. In April 2016, he was elected to Seanad Éireann, on the Labour Panel, where he was the Fine Gael Spokesperson on European Affairs and chair of the Seanad Special Select Committee on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. He served for seven years on Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and for two years as a member of the EU’s Committee of the Regions, leading the Irish delegation, acting as Rapporteur on the Opinion on a more responsible trade and investment policy.

As Ireland prepares to take on its EU Presidency, beginning in July 2026, this panel will discuss the evolving agenda on EU enlargement. Against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty and a renewed accession momentum, this discussion, which brings together perspectives from Dublin and Brussels, will assess the strategic, institutional, and political challenges facing the Union and enlargement. Panellists will consider the nature of enlargement as a strategic priority for the Union, and the delicate balance between deepening and widening the EU.

This event has been organised in conjunction with the European Policy Centre

Speakers include:

Fabian Zuleeg, Chief Executive of the European Policy Centre;

Brigid Laffan, Emeritus Professor at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute;

Barry Colfer, Director of Research at the IIEA