This year’s Brussels Policy Seminar (25–27 September) focused on the recent elections in Europe and beyond, as well as their impact on the European Institutions. The first day saw students attend sessions in the European Parliament where Franck Debié, Joanna Apap, and a team from the European Parliament Research Services explained the work they do as researchers and some current interests in the specific areas of immigration pacts and electoral law. Philipp Schulmeister, the Director for Campaigns (DG for Communication) offered his analysis of the results of this year’s parliamentary elections and the students received a building tour from Richard Freedman (Policy Analyst, Citizens’ Enquiries Unit). Anthony Beumer, Secretary General of the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament, gave a political perspective and four speakers, Heather Grabbe (Senior Fellow, Bruegel), Alice Hancock (The Financial Times), Jacob Funk Kierkegaard (Senior Fellow, Bruegel), and Elena Lazarou (EPRS), discussed the likely priorities of the new Von der Leyen Commission.
In the evening, students, alumni, and Friends of the Europaeum attended a special panel debate at the Fondation Universitaire between Jim Cloos (Egmont Institute), Sophie Pornschlegel (Europe Jacques Delors), and Eddy Wax (Politico) about safeguarding Europe’s democratic future.
The second day saw students visit the European Commission in the Charlemagne Building where they were briefed about EU enlargement policy, policy towards human rights and democratic governance, and foreign and security policy. In the afternoon they visited the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) think tank in order to learn about the work done there. The chief executive, Karel Lannoo, Head of the Foreign Policy Unit Stefania Benaglia, and researcher Julia Pocze all gave presentations.
The third day took place at the Mundo B meeting rooms on the Rue d’Edimbourg. A panel involving Roland Freudenstein (Founder and CEO of the Brussels Freedom Hub and Brussels Office Director of Free Russia Foundation), Ania Skrzypek (Director for Research and Training at the Foundation for European Progressive Studies), and Lea Auffarth (Head of Operations, Global Media Registry) discussed how Europeans and European institutions can promote democracy at home and abroad. Richard Corbett (Vice Chair of UK European Movement; Member of European Parliament, 1996–2009 and 2014–20) and Klaus Welle (Secretary General of the European Parliament, 2009–22; former Secretary General, EPP party and EPP Group) then debated the political narrative of the recent elections.
The students themselves discussed what they had learned in a final, afternoon session, reflecting on the scale of the challenges Europe now faces and comparing it to the problems encountered at national level and in non-EU democracies such as the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Europaeum expressly thanks all who spoke during the policy seminar for their contributions and for their generosity with their time. It particularly thanks Joana Apap, Isabella Malaise-Weckerle, and Andrea Bittnerova for their assistance organising the programme in the European Parliament, European Commission, and CEPS respectively. It extends a big thanks to all our students too for making the week so enjoyable and memorable.
Student Tamar Zuurfeld (Leiden) writes:
“I was impressed by the knowledgeable speakers, the range of topics covered and the information density of the seminar, and therefore thoroughly enjoyed it. The emphasis on discussion and generous space for asking questions truly helped me understand the more complicated topics discussed, such as migration and the geopolitical aspirations of the EU. A great benefit of the rich program was that we received complementary information from speakers with different perspectives and roles. It speaks for itself that I filled nearly my entire notebook with ideas and notes for my thesis.”
