Tony Bass

Visiting professor, EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies Department

Tony Bass (IE) is a Senior Visiting Fellow of the Clingendael European Studies Programme at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael' at The Hague since late 2010. In that capacity he helps developing new EU training programmes and gives training sessions inter alia on lobbying, communicating and negotiating in the EU. He is the CEO of his own company which focuses on providing quality training interventions, consultancy and advice to public service clients and NGOs in the fields of EU decision-making, negotiations, presidency preparation, public affairs & lobbying, management skills and leadership development. Tony Bass is a graduate of the National College of Ireland in Dublin and obtained a Master’s degree from the University of Warwick Business School, UK.

A career civil servant in Ireland for over 30 years, he has been a press officer and communications adviser in a number of Ministries, including Press Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the Irish EU Presidency in 1996. He has extensive practical experience in EU fora including Comitology committees, Council Working Parties and Council of Ministers meetings. He was head of training for the Irish Presidency of the EU in 2004. Later that year he joined the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) in Maastricht as a seconded national expert until October 2010. In six years as a national expert he led training and administrative reform projects for public servants, NGOs and others. Tony Bass has conducted EU Presidency training programmes for public servants and coaching of Ministers in Ireland, Slovenia, Sweden, Belgium, Hungary, Poland and Cyprus. He is the author of Hints & Tips for Chairing EU Meetings (2003) and The A-Z of EU Event Management (2003).