FARMINGTON – “A Troubled Partnership: The United States and Europe” is the discussion topic for a panel of international experts at the Second Annual Global Affairs Forum.

The two-day forum at the University of Maine at Farmington is scheduled Oct. 17 and 18.

The forum features Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister of Sweden, who has been active in many foreign policy endeavors including bringing peace to Yugoslavia. Bildt will deliver the keynote address at noon Saturday, Oct. 18. He will also participate in panel discussions throughout the conference.

The forum will explore the evolution of the relationship between the United States and Europe in response to the global war on terrorism, disagreements on multilateral accords, nuclear proliferation, economic uncertainty and environmental crises.

Among the issues to be explored are the future of NATO, the impact of the European Union on transatlantic relations, European and American differences on a variety of multilateral accords, including the International Criminal Court and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and different approaches to security policy.

Other speakers include U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine; Bowman Miller, director of the U.S. State Department’s Office of European Analysis; Thomas J. Simons, former U.S. Ambassador to Poland and Pakistan and currently Associate at Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies; Renee Haferkamp, former director general of the European Commission; Louis Sell, a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer and adjunct professor of history at UMF; and Scott Erb, UMF associate professor of political science.

Kenneth Orosz, instructor of history at UMF, will moderate the panel discussion of the presentations.

The forum is sponsored by the International Studies Council at UMF. It is open to the public. Registration is $25 for all conference activities, including attendance at the keynote luncheon. Student attendance is free, except for the keynote luncheon ($10 for students).

For more information or to register, contact Orosz, [email protected] or 778-7414 or visit the conference Web site: http://isconference.umf.maine.edu

Friday, Oct. 17

2-2:15 p.m. – Opening of the conference

2:15-4:30 p.m. – Speakers/panel discussion on education theme

Saturday, Oct. 18

8:50-9 a.m. – Welcome, announcements

9-9:40 a.m. – Bowman Miller, “The U.S. and Europe: Parting Company?”

9:40-10:20 a.m. – Renee Haferkamp, “Challenges of the 21st Century: European and American Perspectives”

10:20-10:30 a.m. – Break

10:30-11:10 a.m. – Tom Simons, “The Impact of ‘New Europe’ on U.S.-European Relations”

11:10-11:50 a.m. – Scott Erb, “German Foreign Policy: Navigating a New Era”

Noon-1:30 p.m. – Lunch and keynote address, former Prime Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt

1:30-2 p.m. – U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, “Diverging Interests between U.S. and Europe”

2-4:30 p.m. – Panel discussion of presentations, Ken Orosz

4:30-5 p.m. – Concluding remarks, Louis Sell