Study Trip to Strasbourg, Luxembourg and Brussels for the EUGOV and Global Studies Programmes

Our students of the Master in Advanced European and International Studies - Applied European Policy and Governance Studies (EUGOV) and the Master in Advanced European and International Studies - European Integration and Global Studies (Global) spent a week together visiting various institutions in Europe's three capitals: Strasbourg, Luxembourg and Brussels.

The students began the week with two days discovering the institutions in Strasbourg. First up was a visit to the European Court of Human Rights, where the students learnt more about the workings of the court and the eligibility process for bringing a case before the court. Next, they went across the road to the Council of Europe, where they received a briefing from Tatiana Monney on the New Democratic Pact for Europe to learn about the steps that can be taken to protect democracy in Europe. The visit was completed with a tour of the hemicycle. On the following day at the European Parliament, the students observed a packed plenary session where MEPs were debating women's rights on the occasion of International Women's Day. President Roberta Metsola also announced the first winners of the European Order of Merit, before the room stood for a live performance of the European anthem.

The next leg of the trip took the students to Luxembourg, where they got to grips with the projects financed by the European Investment Bank in the morning. They then discovered more about the work of the European Stability Mechanism, its crucial impact during the Eurozone crisis and how its role has developed since then.

Finally, the students spent two intense days in Brussels, first at NATO SHAPE in Mons, where they received a presentation on the institution and the human aspect of NATO. This was the last visit of the week for the EUGOV students. The Global students then continued with a visit to the European External Action Service (EEAS), where CIFE Alumnus Florin Nita explained the role of the EU in the Gulf region, a highly topical field especially in light of the ongoing recent regional conflict. The next day, at the European Commission, another CIFE Alumnus Gilles Gantelet presented the legal service of the Commission. The week ended on a high note with an excellent presentation by Georg Klein at the Council of the EU on increasing European integration in the areas of security and defence.

As well as the visits, students had the opportunity to network with around 20 CIFE Alumni based in Brussels during a cocktail reception at the Fondation Universitaire.

A big thank you to all the speakers for taking the time to meet the students!