As a complement to the keynote speech by President of the European Council Mr Herman Van Rompuy on 25 February, hosted by the President of the Administrative Council and the Rector, the EU International Relations & Diplomacy Studies Department organised a ‘EU Diplomacy Week’ of guest lectures and discussion.
The week began with a lecture on Monday evening, 22 February, by Mr Elmar Brok, a German Member of the European Parliament and author of the ‘Brok report’ on the institutional aspects of setting up the European External Action Service (EEAS). Mr Brok gave a talk on “The Making of European Diplomats: Setting Up the European External Action Service”. All students were invited to attend the lecture, which was followed by a Q&A session and a reception in the Dijver foyer.
On Wednesday, 24 February, the Department hosted a roundtable discussion chaired by Prof. Dieter Mahncke on “Diplomats for Europe: Training for the EEAS”. Participants included Mrs Cesira D’Aniello (General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, DG Press, Information & Transparence); Mrs Stella Zervoudaki (European Commission, DG RELEX); and Prof. Sven Biscop (Senior Research Fellow at Egmont and Visiting Professor at the College of Europe). The roundtable, which lasted from 10.00-12.00, took place in Dijver Room E and was open to all students.
These additional events would provide first-hand information on and spark the debate over the emerging new structures of EU diplomacy.