Competitiveness in a changing world

On 22 April, we welcomed speakers and guests from across the German, Irish and EU financial sectors to our conference on ‘Competitiveness in a Changing World’.

The conference brought together policymakers, regulators and political and industry experts from Dublin, Frankfurt, Brussels and Berlin to explore key economic and financial initiatives that will be progressed during Ireland’s upcoming EU Presidency, which begins on 1 July.

The Consulate General of Ireland in Frankfurt, in partnership with the Center for Financial Studies at Goethe University, Jacques Delors Centre at the Hertie School, and Frankfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce, will host a conference on ‘Competitiveness in a Changing World’ on 22 April.

This event brings together leading policymakers, regulators and political and industry experts to explore key economic and financial initiatives to be progressed during Ireland’s upcoming Presidency of the EU, including the next EU Budget, the Simplification agenda, the Savings and Investment Union and the Digital Euro. The seminar will be followed by a reception hosted by the Consulate.

Agenda | Contact | Partners

The sessions listed will be moderated by Bloomberg's Nicholas Comfort and Jana Randow.

Nicholas Comfort has written about European banking for Bloomberg since 2011. He was part of the team that initiated coverage of the Single Supervisory Mechanism in 2014. His coverage is currently focused on regulatory simplification and the reordering of the continent's financial industry.

Jana Randow covers economics and central banking for Bloomberg. Since joining the news agency in 2008, she has held a range of roles on the economy team in Frankfurt and Washington, and for the past five years has served as Senior European Economics Correspondent. She is the co-author of two books on former ECB President Mario Draghi.

14:00 Official conference opening

Welcome address - Maeve Collins, Ambassador of Ireland to Germany

Keynote Speech - Jeanette Schwamberger, State Secretary, German Federal Ministry of Finance

14:15 Macroeconomic and global policy environment

• Maeve Collins, Ambassador of Ireland to Germany
• Philip Lane, Member of the Executive Board, European Central Bank
• Brian Hayes, CEO, Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland
• Emma Cunningham, Director General, International and EU Division, Department of Finance, Ireland
• Monika Sus, Associate Professor, Institute of Political Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences

15:00 Realising the European Savings and Investment Union

• Oliver Gilvarry, Director General, Banking and Financial Stability Division, Department of Finance, Ireland
• Regina Doherty, Member of the European Parliament
• Fiona Van Echelpoel, Deputy Director General, Market Infrastructure and Payments Directorate, European Central Bank
• Francesca McDonagh, CEO, Universal Investment

15:45 Coffee Break

16:15 Simplification

• Andrew Byrne, Director, EU Policy Coherence, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ireland
• Sharon Donnery, Member of the Supervisory Board, European Central Bank
• Michael Peters, Head of Financial Stability Department, Finanzwende
• Denise Bauer-Weiler, Member of the Management Board, UBS Europe SE
• Stephen Fisher, Global Head Government & Public Affairs, Deutsche Bank

17:00 Future of Digital Finance in Europe

• Fritzi Köhler-Geib, Member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank
• Alexander Höptner, Chief Executive Officer, AllUnity
• Catherine Murray, Director, Banking Division, Department of Finance, Ireland
• Anne-Marie McKiernan, Director of Financial Operations, Central Bank of Ireland
• Volker Brühl, Managing Director, Center for Financial Studies