Forget the G7 summit – Bilderberg is where the big guns go

Covering issues from Europe to terrorism and IT, the lesser known Bilderberg policy conference includes prime ministers, CEOs from banks, airlines, oil and the arms industry, and even George Osborne

Austrian police officers check cars near the town of Telfs, prior the 2015 Bilderberg conference. 

As one summit closes, another opens. Thursday sees the start of the influential Bilderberg policy conference, which this year is being held in Austria, just 16 miles south of the G7 summit, and in a similarly inaccessible luxury alpine resort. The participant list for the conference has just been released by the organisation, and some big names leap off the page.
No fewer than three serving European prime ministers will be attending, from the Netherlands, Finland and Belgium. They will be discussing “European strategy” with the head of Nato, Jens Stoltenberg, and the president of Austria, Heinz Fischer. Two European finance ministers are on the list: one Dutch, the other George Osborne. The UK chancellor is a regular attendee of the Bilderberg summit, and this year he will be showing off his post-election glow. Unlike that other Bilderberg regular, Ed Balls, who is being invited back despite having by some considerable distance the weakest job title on the list: “former shadow chancellor of the exchequer.

Bilderberg 2014: George Osborne and the man at the centre of everything

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Europe’s hottest financial potato, Greece, is on the conference agenda, and it’s good to know Benoît Coeuré, a member of the executive board of the European Central Bank, will be there to discuss it in strictest privacy with interested parties, such as the heads of Deutsche Bank, Lazard, Banco Santander and HSBC.
The scandal-hit HSBC and everyone’s favourite vampire squid, Goldman Sachs, are both extremely well represented at this year’s conference. HSBC in particular by its chairman, its busy chief legal officer, and board member Rona Fairhead, who is also on the board of PepsiCo and chair of the BBC Trust. Good to know the BBC is in such safe hands.
Other financial luminaries on the list include the vice-chairman of BlackRock, the CEO of JP Morgan Asset Management and the president of the Royal Bank of Canada, which is the nation’s largest financial institution. Morgan Stanley will be represented in Telfs by board member Klaus Kleinfeld, who also runs the world’s third largest aluminium producer, Alcoa.

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From the worlds of industry and manufacturing are some eye-wateringly big names. The CEO of Michelin is invited, along with the head of Roche, the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, the chairman of BP, the CEO of Siemens Austria and the heads of various industrial conglomerates such as Techint and Investor AB, companies so large they’re hard to classify. Although “gigantic” goes some way towards it.
It’s a heady step up into the big league for Michael O’Leary, the CEO of Ryanair. He’ll doubtless be hoping to thrash out a few last-minute deals over dinner with the head of Airbus, Thomas Enders.
Apart from making holiday jets, Airbus is also one of the world’s biggest arms manufacturers, and the 2015 conference agenda has a distinct whiff of war. Chemical weapons threats and Nato are both set to be discussed. Luckily the head of Nato is there to discuss it.
As ever, foreign policy formation is a big part of the conference. Terrorism and Iran both make the agenda this year, and participants can expect a high-level briefing from senior US State Department official John R Allen, the special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter Isil. And it’s likely that the subject of Russia will be of interest to the German defence minister and deputy defence minister, both of whom have found the time this week to be in Telfs. As has the head of the Danish intelligence service, who will likely have a part to play in the session of cybersecurity.

Bilderberg at 60: inside the world's most secretive conference

Charlie Skelton

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Finally, it’s worth noting the growing presence of Google at Bilderberg. The company’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, is on the group’s steering committee; he’ll be joined in Austria by his vice-president for engineering, advanced technology and projects, and the vice-president of engineering for the not-at-all terrifying sounding Google DeepMind. They, presumably, will be leading the session on artificial intelligence. This will be listened to with great interest by Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal and director of Facebook, as he continues his quest to merge with computers. But that’s another story.
For now, the story is: Bilderberg 2015 has an extremely high-powered participant list, featuring a large number of senior politicians and public figures. With participants this powerful, and an agenda containing this many hot topics, the Telfs policy conference is sure to be covered in depth by the world’s press. And by “sure to be”, I mean probably won’t be. For reasons that, as ever, escape me.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/08/bilderberg-summit-forget-the-g7 

Revealed: Guestlist for secretive Bilderberg includes Osborne, Balls, BBC Trust chief, spies, bankers and royalty

• Chancellor is most senior British figure to attend in Telfs-Buchen, Austria
• Osborne is the only serving UK politician named on the official list
• Ex-Labour MP Ed Balls and BBC Trust chairman Rona Fairhead expected
• Bosses of Santander, JP Morgan, HSBC, Shell, BP, Google and Airbus

George Osborne, his former Labour rival Ed Balls and BBC Trust chairman Rona Cameron are to attend the secretive Bilderberg Group conference, it emerged today.

Politicians, bankers, spies, business leaders and royalty will rub shoulders at the conference, later this week, held this year at Telfs-Buchen in Austria.

The talks are shrouded in mystery because no record is kept of who politicians meet or what is discussed.

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Chancellor George Osborne is the most senior politician from the UK due to attend the Bilderberg Conference in Austria this week

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Former shadow chancellor Ed Balls, who lost his seat in last month's election, will attend the conference alongside BBC Trust chairman Rona Fairhead

Since its inception in 1954, Bilderberg has held annual gatherings of 120-150 invited political leaders and business experts.

Those on the guest list this week include the heads of banking and financial giants including Deutsche Bank, Santander, AXA Group, JP Morgan, HSBC, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs.

Senior figures from Royal Dutch Shell, BP, AXA Group, Google, Airbus, Fiat Chrysler, LinkedIn, Siemens and Ryanair are also expected.

Conspiracy theorists believe this is where leaders plot world domination. Officially, it is claimed it is designed to 'foster dialogue between Europe and North America'.

The group describes the conference as 'a forum for informal, off-the-record discussions about megatrends and the major issues facing the world' and states that the private nature of the meeting allows participants to 'listen, reflect and gather insights' without being bound by the conventions of office or by pre-agreed public positions.

There is no detailed agenda, no resolutions are proposed, no votes are taken, and no policy statements are issued.

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Those on the guestlist include (left to right) former European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso (left), Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary and and Nato General Secretary Jens Stolberg

Mr Osborne is the most senior British politician expected to attend the four-day conference, which is due to begin on Thursday.

In a move which will likely raise eyebrows, he will be joined by Mr Balls, the former Labour shadow chancellor who lost his seat in last month’s general election.

Ms Fairhead, who has faced criticism for her links to HSBC since taking over the BBC Trust, is also expected to be in Austria.

Former MI6 chief John Sawers, chairman of Macro Advisory Partners, is listed to attend.

Other Brits listed to attend are Margus Agius, chairman of PA Consulting Group, Ann Dowling, president of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Zanny Minto Bedoes, the editor-in-chief of The Economist and Martin Wolf. A columnist from the Financial Times.

Senior figures from around the world include Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the President of Austria Heinz Fischer, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and ministers from Sweden, the US, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Bilderberg Group: Conspiracy or talking shop?

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Former World Bank President Robert Zoellick, who now chairs an advisory board for Goldman Sachs, (left) and HSBC chairman Doug Flint (right)

Jim Messina, a former Obama adviser who worked on David Cameron’s election winning campaign in Britain, is also on the list.

Guests also include Thomas Ahrenkiel, director of the Danish Intelligence Service, former European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Nato General Secretary Jens Stolberg.

The controversial group met in Watford in 2013, when there were protests outside and a heavy police presence.

Tory MP Ken Clarke, then a Cabinet minister, defended his decision to attend the four-day conference.

He was called to give an emergency statement to the Commons, but dismissed conspiracy theories about the secretive conference as ‘total, utter nonsense’ and questioned why sensible MPs would be ‘taken in by this sort of rubbish’.

WHO IS GOING TO THE BILDERBERG CONFERENCE IN AUSTRIA?

Final list of Participants
Castries, Henri de	Chairman and CEO, AXA Group	FRA
Achleitner, Paul M.	Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Deutsche Bank AG	DEU
Agius, Marcus	Non-Executive Chairman, PA Consulting Group	GBR
Ahrenkiel, Thomas	Director, Danish Intelligence Service (DDIS)	DNK
Allen, John R.	Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, US Department of State	USA
Altman, Roger C.	Executive Chairman, Evercore	USA
Applebaum, Anne	Director of Transitions Forum, Legatum Institute	POL
Apunen, Matti	Director, Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA	FIN
Baird, Zoë	CEO and President, Markle Foundation	USA
Balls, Edward M.	Former Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer	GBR
Balsemão, Francisco Pinto	Chairman, Impresa SGPS	PRT
Barroso, José M. Durão	Former President of the European Commission	PRT
Baverez, Nicolas	Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP	FRA
Benko, René	Founder, SIGNA Holding GmbH	AUT
Bernabè, Franco	Chairman, FB Group SRL	ITA
Beurden, Ben van	CEO, Royal Dutch Shell plc	NLD
Bigorgne, Laurent	Director, Institut Montaigne	FRA
Boone, Laurence	Special Adviser on Financial and Economic Affairs to the President	FRA
Botín, Ana P.	Chairman, Banco Santander	ESP
Brandtzæg, Svein Richard	President and CEO, Norsk Hydro ASA	NOR
Bronner, Oscar	Publisher, Standard Verlagsgesellschaft	AUT
Burns, William	President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace	USA
Calvar, Patrick	Director General, DGSI	FRA
Castries, Henri de	Chairman, Bilderberg Meetings; Chairman and CEO, AXA Group	FRA
Cebrián, Juan Luis	Executive Chairman, Grupo PRISA	ESP
Clark, W. Edmund	Retired Executive, TD Bank Group	CAN
Coeuré, Benoît	Member of the Executive Board, European Central Bank	INT
Coyne, Andrew	Editor, Editorials and Comment, National Post	CAN
Damberg, Mikael L.	Minister for Enterprise and Innovation	SWE
De Gucht, Karel	Former EU Trade Commissioner, State Minister	BEL
Dijsselbloem, Jeroen	Minister of Finance	NLD
Donilon, Thomas E.	Former U.S. National Security Advisor; Partner and Vice Chair, O’Melveny & Myers LLP	USA
Döpfner, Mathias	CEO, Axel Springer SE	DEU
Dowling, Ann	President, Royal Academy of Engineering	GBR
Dugan, Regina	Vice President for Engineering, Advanced Technology and Projects, Google	USA
Eilertsen, Trine	Political Editor, Aftenposten	NOR
Eldrup, Merete	CEO, TV 2 Danmark A/S	DNK
Elkann, John	Chairman and CEO, EXOR; Chairman, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles	ITA
Enders, Thomas	CEO, Airbus Group	DEU
Erdoes, Mary	CEO, JP Morgan Asset Management	USA
Fairhead, Rona	Chairman, BBC Trust	GBR
Federspiel, Ulrik	Executive Vice President, Haldor Topsøe A/S	DNK
Feldstein, Martin S.	President Emeritus, NBER;  Professor of Economics, Harvard University	USA
Ferguson, Niall	Professor of History, Harvard University, Gunzberg Center for European Studies	USA
Fischer, Heinz	Federal President	AUT
Flint, Douglas J.	Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings plc	GBR
Franz, Christoph	Chairman of the Board, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd	CHE
Fresco, Louise O.	President and Chairman Executive Board, Wageningen University and Research Centre	NLD
Griffin, Kenneth	Founder and CEO, Citadel Investment Group, LLC	USA
Gruber, Lilli	Executive Editor and Anchor “Otto e mezzo”, La7 TV	ITA
Guriev, Sergei	Professor of Economics, Sciences Po	RUS
Gürkaynak, Gönenç	Managing Partner, ELIG Law Firm	TUR
Gusenbauer, Alfred	Former Chancellor of the Republic of Austria	AUT
Halberstadt, Victor	Professor of Economics, Leiden University	NLD
Hampel, Erich	Chairman, UniCredit Bank Austria AG	AUT
Hassabis, Demis	Vice President of Engineering, Google DeepMind	GBR
Hesoun, Wolfgang	CEO, Siemens Austria	AUT
Hildebrand, Philipp	Vice Chairman, BlackRock Inc.	CHE
Hoffman, Reid	Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, LinkedIn	USA
Ischinger, Wolfgang	Chairman, Munich Security Conference	INT
Jacobs, Kenneth M.	Chairman and CEO, Lazard	USA
Jäkel, Julia	CEO, Gruner + Jahr	DEU
Johnson, James A.	Chairman, Johnson Capital Partners	USA
Juppé, Alain	Mayor of Bordeaux, Former Prime Minister	FRA
Kaeser, Joe	President and CEO, Siemens AG	DEU
Karp, Alex	CEO, Palantir Technologies	USA
Kepel, Gilles	University Professor, Sciences Po	FRA
Kerr, John	Deputy Chairman, Scottish Power	GBR
Kesici, Ilhan	MP, Turkish Parliament	TUR
Kissinger, Henry A.	Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc.	USA
Kleinfeld, Klaus	Chairman and CEO, Alcoa	USA
Knot, Klaas H.W.	President, De Nederlandsche Bank	NLD
Koç, Mustafa V.	Chairman, Koç Holding A.S.	TUR
Kogler, Konrad	Director General, Directorate General for Public Security	AUT
Kravis, Henry R.	Co-Chairman and Co-CEO, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.	USA
Kravis, Marie-Josée	Senior Fellow and Vice Chair, Hudson Institute	USA
Kudelski, André	Chairman and CEO, Kudelski Group	CHE
Lauk, Kurt	President, Globe Capital Partners	DEU
Lemne, Carola	CEO, The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise	SWE
Levey, Stuart	Chief Legal Officer, HSBC Holdings plc	USA
Leyen, Ursula von der	Minister of Defence	DEU
Leysen, Thomas	Chairman of the Board of Directors, KBC Group	BEL
Maher, Shiraz	Senior Research Fellow, ICSR, King’s College London	GBR
Markus Lassen, Christina	Head of Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Security Policy and Stabilisation	DNK
Mathews, Jessica T.	Distinguished Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace	USA
Mattis, James	Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University	USA
Maudet, Pierre	Vice-President of the State Council, Department of Security, Police and the Economy of Geneva	CHE
McKay, David I.	President and CEO, Royal Bank of Canada	CAN
Mert, Nuray	Columnist, Professor of Political Science, Istanbul University	TUR
Messina, Jim	CEO, The Messina Group	USA
Michel, Charles	Prime Minister	BEL
Micklethwait, John	Editor-in-Chief, Bloomberg LP	USA
Minton Beddoes, Zanny	Editor-in-Chief, The Economist	GBR
Monti, Mario	Senator-for-life; President, Bocconi University	ITA
Mörttinen, Leena	Executive Director, The Finnish Family Firms Association	FIN
Mundie, Craig J.	Principal, Mundie & Associates	USA
Munroe-Blum, Heather	Chairperson, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board	CAN
Princess Beatrix	Netherlands	NLD
O’Leary, Michael	CEO, Ryanair Plc	IRL
Osborne, George	First Secretary of State and Chancellor of the Exchequer	GBR
Özel, Soli	Columnist, Haberturk Newspaper; Senior Lecturer, Kadir Has University	TUR
Papalexopoulos, Dimitri	Group CEO, Titan Cement Co.	GRC
Pégard, Catherine	President, Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles	FRA
Perle, Richard N.	Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute	USA
Petraeus, David H.	Chairman, KKR Global Institute	USA
Pikrammenos, Panagiotis	Honorary President of The Hellenic Council of State	GRC
Reisman, Heather M.	Chair and CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc.	CAN
Rocca, Gianfelice	Chairman, Techint Group	ITA
Roiss, Gerhard	CEO, OMV Austria	AUT
Rubin, Robert E.	Co Chair, Council on Foreign Relations; Former Secretary of the Treasury	USA
Rutte, Mark	Prime Minister	NLD
Sadjadpour, Karim	Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace	USA
Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, Pedro	Leader, Partido Socialista Obrero Español PSOE	ESP
Sawers, John	Chairman and Partner, Macro Advisory Partners	GBR
Sayek Böke, Selin	Vice President, Republican People’s Party	TUR
Schmidt, Eric E.	Executive Chairman, Google Inc.	USA
Scholten, Rudolf	CEO, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG	AUT
Senard, Jean-Dominique	CEO, Michelin Group	FRA
Sevelda, Karl	CEO, Raiffeisen Bank International AG	AUT
Stoltenberg, Jens	Secretary General, NATO	INT
Stubb, Alexander	Prime Minister	FIN
Suder, Katrin	Deputy Minister of Defense	DEU
Sutherland, Peter D.	UN Special Representative; Chairman, Goldman Sachs International	IRL
Svanberg, Carl-Henric	Chairman, BP plc; Chairman, AB Volvo	SWE
Svarva, Olaug	CEO, The Government Pension Fund Norway	NOR
Thiel, Peter A.	President, Thiel Capital	USA
Tsoukalis, Loukas	President, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy	GRC
Üzümcü, Ahmet	Director-General, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons	INT
Vitorino, António M.	Partner, Cuetrecasas, Concalves Pereira, RL	PRT
Wallenberg, Jacob	Chairman, Investor AB	SWE
Weber, Vin	Partner, Mercury LLC	USA
Wolf, Martin H.	Chief Economics Commentator, The Financial Times	GBR
Wolfensohn, James D.	Chairman and CEO, Wolfensohn and Company	USA
Zoellick, Robert B.	Chairman, Board of International Advisors, The Goldman Sachs Group	USA

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3115748/Guestlist-secretive-Bilderberg-Conference.html#ixzz3cWB18JnJ

NWN:   "In a move which will likely raise eyebrows, he will be joined by Mr Balls, the former Labour shadow chancellor who lost his seat in last month’s general election."  Raise eyebrows ? Both of these attended the last two Bilderberg conferences in Watford and in Copenhagen.