2021 Middle East Directions (MEDirections) Annual Conference | Where Do We Start? Designing Steps Towards a Regional Security System in the Persian Gulf | Panel 3 | Cultural diplomacy and religious de-securitisation.
Religious rivalries and sectarian divides have transformed the region in recent decades. But Islam and its traditions have remained among the strongest ideational commonalities among competing nations. Even beyond religion, the cultural dimension could create bridges between Gulf states. In what ways could Islamic traditions, such as the Hajj become vehicles of diplomacy and affect the political deadlock? Under the dynamics of politicised Islam, how can cultural connections be broadened to enable a bottom-up de-escalation process? 

Speakers: Olivier Roy – Riccardo Redaelli – Ghadir Nasri – Mahjoob Zweiri – Simon Mabon – Rouzbeh Parsi 
Chair: Clement Therme 
To learn more on our MEDirections Regional Security Initiative: https://bit.ly/3u2rqbv

(4) 2021 MEDirections Conference Gulf Security | Cultural Diplomacy and Religion

On 1 January 2021, the United Kingdom withdrew from the European Customs Union and the European Single Market, thus completing the Brexit process.

In this podcast, Jean-Jacques van Helten (Visiting Fellow, Florence School of Banking and Finance, EUI Robert Schuman Centre and formerly Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer, EMEA, Bank of Montreal) assesses the status of the EU-UK relationship, in light of the current regulatory scenario.

This podcast is the third part of a series analysing the impact of Brexit on the regulatory framework and on financial markets, both in the UK and the EU.

Part 1: The impact of Brexit on the EU financial industry (September 2019), https://soundcloud.com/schumancentre/the-impact-of-brexit-on-the-eu-financial-industry-jean-jacques-van-helten
Part 2: Brexit again? EU-UK uncoupling & divergences in capital markets (July 2020), https://soundcloud.com/schumancentre/brexit-again-eu-uk-uncoupling-divergences-in-capital-markets-jean-jacques-van-helten

The ‘Equivalence Tussle’ – EU & UK Regulatory & Financial Market Developments Post-Brexit

The financial market are nowadays offering several products that claim to have an impact on non-financial factors, broadly referred to as ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance). The bond market has been particularly active in this direction, attracting investors towards new financial instruments such as green bonds, sustainability-linked, social, and transition bonds. 

In this podcast, Patrizia Canziani (Senior finance professional) and Jan Job de Vries Robbé (FMO Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank)explore the reasons for the recent popularity of green bonds and sustainability-linked debt instruments, and to see what kind of impact they are having on the bond market.

This podcast has been recorded at the Florence School of Banking and Finance in Florence, Italy, in July 2022. It will be followed by an executive training course on Green bonds and the sustainable bond market (https://fbf.eui.eu/course/green-bonds-and-the-sustainable-bond-market/)

Green and Sustainable Bonds: opportunities and challenges - Patrizia Canziani & J.J. de Vries Robbé

The first Green Bond was issued by the European Investment Bank (EIB) exactly 15 years ago. Since then, the market for green debt instruments has increased dramatically. Today, the EIB is the largest multilateral development bank issuer of green, social and sustainable bonds, with issues totalling over 60 billion euros in 22 different currencies.

In this podcast Aldo Romani (Head of Sustainability Funding at the EIB), the person behind the first green bond issuance in 2007 and the EIB’s first sustainable bond in 2018, looks back at the history and assesses the future possible evolution of the market of green and sustainability-linked bonds, discussing the role of the EIB in this process.

This podcast has been recorded at the Florence School of Banking and Finance in Florence, Italy, in July 2022. It will be followed by an executive training course on Green bonds and the sustainable bond market (https://fbf.eui.eu/course/green-bonds-and-other-sustainable-finance-products/)

15 Years After the First Green Bond by the European Investment Bank: What Next? - Aldo Romani (EIB)

rsc.eui.eu

The Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies is an inter-disciplinary research centre at the heart of the European University Institute (EUI).

It was established in 1992 to complement the four disciplinary departments that make up the European University Institute (EUI) with the vocation of being involved in both basic and policy research, collaborating with other centres of excellence in Europe, providing opportunities for young scholars and promoting dialogue with the world of practice.

Over time these goals have progressively focused into a number of core areas such as the institutions, governance and democracy of the European Union, migration studies, economic and monetary policy, competition and market regulation, energy policy and so on.

The Centre was originally financed via the EUI budget but over time it has been successful in obtaining external funds. Among the external funds, large projects financed by the EU remain predominant, but the proportion of private donors – firms and foundations – has been steadily increasing.

The ‘Schuman community’ today consists of Schuman chairs, joint chairs, part-time professors, post-doctoral fellows, visiting fellows, research fellows and assistants, project managers and administrators. Its staffing level ranges from 140 to 180 depending on the needs of its programmes and projects.

The Centre takes its name from Robert Schuman, one of founding fathers of the European Communities.

Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies

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