Development Office Newsletter: Issue N°5 2010
Activities
EU Negotiations course: new record number of participants
The success of this year’s edition did not come as a surprise: even before the registration deadline, the course had been fully booked. Among the 29 participants were 13 officials from the French Ministry of Economics, Finance and Industry and 3 professors from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), as well as other professionals from the private sector and organisations.
The programme included interactive training sessions examining theoretical and practical aspects of negotiations and the specificities of the EU decision-making process, workshops on communication techniques and strategies, lobbying, and negotiation skills as well as a simulation exercise in the Council of the EU.
The next ‘EU Negotiations in Practice’ training course which is scheduled to take place on 21-25 November 2011 is now open for registration. Reserve your seat now.
A close eye on EU competition law
In October, three interactive workshops on EU competition policy were organised in Stockholm, Rome and Brussels.The participants coming from international firms, industries and companies, in particular, firms that operate in different member states got an insight into the costs and benefits of competition rules which are diverging between the EU countries.
The workshops were organised in the framework of a European Commission study on the impact of national rules on unilateral conduct that diverge from Article 102 TFEU. The study is conducted by the College of Europe and the Centre for European Policy Studies. and will be finalised at the end of January 2011.
West Flemish students learn more about the EU
On 18 and 19 November, experts from the College of Europe provided workshops on social Europe and careers at EU institutions for High Schools in West Flanders.The first series of sessions were organised for bachelor students in applied psychology at the KATHO (Katholieke Hogeschool Zuid-West-Vlaanderen). Ciara Murphy, an Assistant at the College of Europe who is participating in the programme for the second time, gave an interactive presentation on the EU’s social policy. The following day, students from the KHBO (Katholieke Hogeschool) received practical tips and insights about a career at the EU institutions from Ruth Seitz, a former Development Office staff member who is now working as Policy Officer at the European Commission. A third and last session on EU communications is scheduled to take place in May 2011.
The training sessions are part of a cooperation project between the Province of West Flanders and the College of Europe covering a series of activities on EU education.
Southeast Europe and the EU – Leadership Development Programme: fifth year!
This year, the opening activity of this 10-month programme – a two-week Summer Academy – took place in Bratislava, Vienna and its surroundings. The programme included academic sessions on the EU, and its relationships with Southeast Europe as well as communication, leadership and project management workshops. Speeches from high-level officials in the Slovakian and Austrian Ministries of Foreign Affairs rounded off this intensive academy.
LDP participants are now busy preparing their group activities – in addition to their regular job and/or studies. We will keep you informed on these projects to take place in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia in February-March 2011. The results will be assessed during a five-day workshop in Brussels and Bruges in April 2011, which will also include working visits to the EU institutions and to Brussels-based think tanks.
More information