Student visit: Representation of the European Commission and European Parliament in Vienna

On April 30, 2010 the yearly visit to the to the Austrian Representation of the European Commission and European Parliament located in Vienna was paid within the framework of the 6th semester Bachelor degree course International Strategies and Relations under the auspices of Prof. Dr. Anis Bajrektarevic, Chairman for International Law & Global Political studies. The representative team of the European Commision and European Parliament functions as a link between local individuals and organizations and Brussel-based insitutions and persues the objective of achieving a greater responsiveness and proximity to Austrian citizens.

The visit was intiated with an informative presentation on the scope of work of the EU legislative institutions. A focal point was set on the influence of national politics on the decison and law making process conducted by the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers.

The introduction was followed by the presentation of Ms. Ania Foszczynski who is working as a functionary to the European Commission who provided insight into the main tasks and objectives of the EU 2020 strategy. It was pointed out that the EU was striving for innovation and investment into R&D in order to increase its competitiveness in the international arena and achieve sustainability by persueing its energy targets. Subsequently the strategy was critically reviewed in terms of measures to decrease poverty by promoting employment and university formation and compared to the Lisbon strategy.

The event permitted active contribution from visitor side and was met with great interest and enthusiams by IMC Export-, as well as, incoming students who used the opportunity to advance their opinons and vividly joined discussions on recent EU challenges such as Greece’s budget deficit and the growing EU concerncs over the ever deteriorating debt ratios in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Furthermore, the issue of the future development of the European Union was raised during the question and answer sessions following the speeches. The presenters emphasized that the financial health of all EU nations are a prerequisite for the functioning and future expansion of the supranatioal organization. They further stated that an intensified notion of renationalization is to be expected among member countries and compromises in terms of centrality is highly likely to become a crucial issue for the successful cooperation among the single nation states.

The final part took place within a more informal environment with coffee provided by the House of the European Union and was equally reserved for students’ questions.

Text: Marlene K.
Photos: Marijana A.

A presentation about the European Commission can be found here.
A presentation about the European Parliament can be found here.