The College of Europe Development Office organized, as part of its executive autumn courses, the EU Diplomacy & Diplomatic Skills course from 5 to 7 October 2020.
In what has been a very unique year, Ms Sara HURTEKANT asked the course director, Ms Sieglinde GSTÖHL: “From onsite to online meetings: is this the end of diplomacy as we know it?”. Read the reply below:
“Diplomacy has survived the advent of the telegraph, telephone, fax, and e-mail; it has adapted and transformed. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU, international organisations and foreign ministries have been holding virtual conferences and summits. The crisis has accelerated the use of electronic tools and raised our awareness about the costs of business travel, but it has also revealed persisting technological shortcomings as well as the value of personal face-to-face exchanges and informal conversations at the margins of meetings.”
The relevance of all these diplomatic skills, as well as an analysis of the EU’s diplomacy, were covered by the course.
More information & registration: www.coleurope.eu/EUDiplomacy
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