The Ambassador of the European Union to the United States, David O’Sullivan, is making his first official trip to Delaware, and you’re invited to meet him.
He’ll spend Jan. 28 in Wilmington and will speak at an event in the atrium of the Hercules Plaza. Attendees will have time to network and participate in a Q&A with the Ambassador.
Why Delaware?
Last summer, O’Sullivan meant to visit during a tour of east coast cities, but a stop in Wilmington didn’t pan out. He did, however, get to meet with Gov. Jack Markell.
“The E.U. Ambassador has expressed a keen interest in meeting with business and government officials,” said Jane Rosenberg, the executive director of the British American Business Council of Greater Philadelphia. She noted that Delaware is a state where many international companies have their U.S. headquarters.
Rosenberg said O’Sullivan plans to talk about how the migration crisis in Europe and the upcoming U.S. presidential election will affect business, and also about the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP), which is the world’s largest free-trade agreement.
Negotiations for TTIP began in July 2013, and a twelfth round of negotiations begins the fourth week of February in Brussels.
O’Sullivan said in a release that TTIP is a chance to get rid of tariff barriers and to cut costs by better aligning regulatory standards between countries. “This is good for businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic and will bring new export and jobs prospects,” he said.
A diverse group of local boosters is hosting the event: The British American Business Council, UK Trade & Investment, the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce, Select Greater Philadelphia, The World Trade Center Delaware and the French, German, Irish, Italian, Eurasian and Swedish Chambers of Commerce.
O’Sullivan, an Irish citizen, became ambassador in November 2014. Before that, he served as chief operating officer of the E.U.’s External Action Service, as director general for trade, and secretary general of the European Commission. He started his career in diplomacy in the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and at the E.U. Delegation to Japan.
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