IDSF – Speaker Profile

George E. Riekeles

Before joining the EPC, Georg served as diplomatic adviser to the EU’s Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier and Head of strategy, media and diplomatic relations in the European Commission’s Task force for EU-UK negotiations.

Previously, Georg was an adviser for security and defence at the European Political Strategy Centre (EPSC), the European Commission’s in-house think tank. In that capacity he helped initiate and develop Commission initiatives in the areas of defence as part of President Juncker’s programme, and worked on EU-NATO relations.

Georg also served as member of cabinet to Commission Vice-President and commissioner Michel Barnier in the period 2010-2014, working on single market reforms, industrial and digital policies, as well as inter-institutional relations in the context of the post-financial crisis regulatory agenda.

Before moving to Belgium, Georg worked in the French Ministry of Foreign and European affairs and Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, as well as in the private and non-profit sectors in France.

Georg holds a master’s degree in political science from l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and studied economics and philosophy at the London School of Economics.

Besides Belgium and France, Georg has lived in the UK and the US. He is of Norwegian nationality and grew up in Oslo. Georg enjoys skiing, cycling and the outdoors.

Georg appears and writes regularly in international media such as the Financial Times, the Economist, Project Syndicate and the Guardian, in addition to Brussels-based and Norwegian media and press.

Some recent EPC publications:

The EU’s trillion-euro question (Project Syndicate)
Europe must prepare for a wartime economy (epc.eu)
How the EU and the US should overcome their trade and supply chain dispute (Atlantic Council)
Facing a recession, Europe should focus on its mid-caps (epc.eu)
AI has escaped the ‘sandbox’ — can it still be regulated? (EUObserver)
Quantum technologies and value chains: Why and how Europe must act now (epc.eu)
Europe in the world in 2023: Learning the language of power? (epc.eu)
Tackling the energy crisis: 8 considerations on how Europe can get through this winter (epc.eu)

Previous Talks:

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