IIEA Talks

European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, is responsible for the Global Gateway, the EU’s strategy for stronger partnerships, and sustainable development. With Ireland’s 2026 EU Council Presidency about to begin, this event will explore how Irish businesses, policymakers, and civil society can engage with EU-backed financing while adjusting to ongoing geopolitical shifts and aligning with partnering countries’ priorities. Commissioner Síkela gives an insight on how the EU reacts to global geopolitical changes, how the Global Gateway is implemented in practice, how the EU works to build mutually beneficial partnerships, and what it means for Ireland’s role in shaping the EU’s future external engagement. Commissioner Síkela also addresses the role of the EU as the world’s largest ODA donor, as well as the proposed Global Europe instrument and how it can advance the EU’s engagement globally on international partnerships and development cooperation.

Jozef Síkela, is the EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, a role he was appointed to in 2024 by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. A Czech politician and former investment banker, his career experience includes leadership roles in Creditanstalt, Česká spořitelna, and Erste Group. In 2021, he became the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, from where he led the EU’s energy crisis response after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and played an important role during the successful Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU. As Commissioner for International Partnerships, Síkela serves as a global dealmaker, fostering international collaboration focused on sustainability, human development, and economic security.

This event is part of the Development Matters series, which is kindly supported by Irish Aid.

Jon Burrows MLA, Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, delivers a keynote address entitled:

"Peace is No Longer Enough: Delivering Prosperity and Opportunity for All in Northern Ireland".

This event is in collaboration with the John and Pat Hume Foundation.

Jon Burrows was selected as the UUP MLA for North Antrim in August 2025. He brings to the Assembly experience from a career in policing and has a strong track record of public service and effective community engagement. Jon was elected as Party Leader in January 2026. Jon is the Education spokesperson for the Ulster Unionist Party and also supports on all aspects of policing and justice policy and engagement.

Originally from Bangor, Co. Down, Jon was educated at Bangor Grammar School before graduating from UU with a BA (Hons) in Law and Government. He also has a Master's in Criminal Justice (MSc) and a Master's in Law (LLM).

Jon was a police officer for 22 years, working both nationally and predominantly in Northern Ireland with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). He held several key leadership positions, including Area Commander in Foyle, Chief Inspector Operations for Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon, and finally Head of the PSNI’s Discipline Branch. In recent years, Jon has also established himself as a respected commentator on policing and justice issues, contributing regularly to TV, radio, and print media across Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

A joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, followed by Iranian retaliation against U.S. military assets, Israel and other U.S. allies, has engulfed much of the Middle East in a conflict with global repercussions. Israel and the United States campaign’s immediate aim was to decapitate the Islamic Republic’s leadership, and it quickly achieved this goal. But the broader objectives of the operation are still clouded in uncertainty. What might be enough for them to declare victory is still unclear. Two months in, a weak ceasefire is in place, but outbursts of hostilities remain as the U.S. seeks to break the chokehold Iran has placed in the Hormuz Strait disrupting the global economy. Evidence points at Iran, the U.S. and Israel fighting different wars in the same territory making a lasting ceasefire very difficult.

This session draws on Crisis Group’s latest analysis to assess the trajectory of the conflict, examine the strategic calculations of the main stakeholders, and explore whether pathways to de-escalation remain viable—or whether the region is heading toward a more protracted and expansive war.

Ali Vaez is International Crisis Group’s Iran Project Director and Senior Adviser to the Group’s President. He led Crisis Group’s efforts in helping to bridge the gaps between Iran and the P5+1 that led to the landmark 2015 nuclear deal. Previously, he served as a Senior Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and was the Iran Project Director at the Federation of American Scientists. He is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and a Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He is a co-author of How Sanctions Work: Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare.

'The Making of Foreign Policy'

In this edition of IIEA Insights two former foreign policy advisors – Ben Judah in the UK and Thomas Wright in the US – will recount their respective experiences of policy formulation, including the roles of advisors, civil servants, and political leaders, and how those roles have changed over time, if at all. They will also give personal views on the current state of play in some of the major issues that they were involved in as foreign policy advisors.

Ben Judah worked as Special Advisor to British Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, from February 2024 until early 2026. He is an author, publishing most recently This is Europe in 2023 and has held a number of think tank positions. From 2020 to 2024, he was a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, in Washington, D.C.,where he directed the Transform Europe Initiative. From 2017 to 2020, he held a research fellowship at the Hudson Institute, also in Washington, D.C., where he led research for the Kleptocracy Initiative. And from 2010 to 2012, he was a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations in London.

Thomas Wright is a Senior Fellow at Brookings’s Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy and Technology and previously served as special assistant to the president and senior director for strategic planning at the National Security Council in the Biden administration. At the White House, he worked on the 2022 US National Security Strategy, Russia-Ukraine and European security, US-China relations, foreign economic policy, and adversary alignment. He is the author of All Measures Short of War and co-author of Aftershocks. He holds degrees from Georgetown, Cambridge, and University College Dublin, and has held fellowships at Harvard and Princeton.

Isabelle Pérignon, a French national, is Director for Consumer Policy at the European

Commission since October 2023. She was for four years (2019-2023) the Deputy Head of Cabinet of the former Commissioner for Justice. Before this position, she worked as Head of Unit for Procedural criminal law at the European Commission. Ms Pérignon was also a member of the Cabinet of several Commissioners, including Commissioner for Values and Transparency, Vera Jourova and former Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cécilia Malmström. Before joining the Commission in 2003, Isabelle Perignon was a solicitor specialising in EU law and was a member of the French and Belgian bars. She worked at Baker McKenzie law firm under the supervision of Ms Christine Lagarde. She holds a Master's Degree in European Legal Studies (LLM College of Europe) and a Masters in Business Studies.