European Commission President Barroso to Speak at JHU SAIS

José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission and former prime minister of Portugal, will speak at the Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) on Tuesday, 10/18 at 5 p.m.

Barroso will speak about "U.S.-European Relations" at this event hosted by the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations (CTR). He also will announce a European Commission award creating the EU Center of Excellence for Washington, D.C., comprised of a consortium of national capital area universities that includes SAIS.

The European Commission has awarded a grant to the American Consortium on EU Studies (ACES)-a five-university partnership that generates greater understanding of the European Union-establishing the consortium as the European Union Center of Excellence in the nation's capital. Partner universities include Johns Hopkins University SAIS, American University, George Mason University, The George Washington University and Georgetown University.

The award of more than $350,000 will support programming and research for three years. The European Union Center of Excellence will offer a series of multi-disciplinary research, education and outreach programs to broaden awareness and strengthen knowledge among students, scholars, opinion leaders and the media about the European Union throughout the Washington-Northern Virginia-Baltimore area. The EU Center of Excellence is coordinated by the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations and its director, SAIS Professor Daniel Hamilton.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in Kenney Auditorium located on the first floor of the school's Nitze Building, 1740 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. Members of the public must RSVP to 202.663.5730 or transatlanticRSVP@jhu.edu.

Members of the media who want to cover this event must contact Felisa Neuringer Klubes in the SAIS Public Affairs Office at 202.663.5626 or fklubes@jhu.edu.