Regional representation of the European Commission in Bonn

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Headquarters of the regional representation of the European Commission in Bonn, Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz 2–4

The regional representation of the European Commission in Bonn is part of the representation of the European Commission in Germany , which has had its headquarters in Berlin since 1999 . Another regional agency is located in Munich . The regional representation in Bonn has been headed by Jochen Pöttgen since June 2016.

history

The representation of the European Commission in Bonn goes back to a press liaison office of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community ( Montanunion ), which had its headquarters in Luxembourg. The Bonn office started its work on March 1, 1954 in the Schulze-Delitzsch-Haus (Bonn) as the first branch of the European institutions . This was very conveniently located in what was then the government district. The office was managed by the trained journalist Karl Mühlenbach. The coal and steel union's branch in Bonn was followed by offices in Rome and Paris.

The main task of these press liaison offices was to maintain and strengthen contact with the press and the various national sources of information. From the outset, this also included informing the High Authority about public opinion in Germany and about the needs of the press, radio and television. In the early days of the Bonn office, in the mid-1950s, attempts were also made via various channels to actively provide information about the development of the new European Community and beyond that of the European idea. These include press conferences, an information letter from the European Action Group and short films that were shown in the cinema as part of the weekly newsreels. Cooperation with the Federal Agency for Civic Education , at that time still the “ Federal Agency for Homeland Service ”, began as early as 1954 .

Today's function and task

The regional representation is still the link between the European Commission and the public and is constantly seeking dialogue with the people, the media and politics in the region. She looks after North Rhine-Westphalia , Rhineland-Palatinate , Hesse and Saarland and thus almost 30 million EU citizens.

In 2016, an information office for citizens, the "Europa-Punkt Bonn", opened in Bonn. This is located in the premises of the regional representation and is the first point of contact for questions and publications on the European Union and the Commission. In addition, groups can be made an offer for lectures, workshops and seminars at Europa-Punkt. The focus is on imparting knowledge, especially for young groups.

Focus on media work

Media work has a particularly high priority, such as organized information visits for journalist groups to the Commission and the other EU institutions in Brussels or to EU-funded projects in the region. Seminars, visits to editorial offices as well as interviews or their placement are also part of media work.

Event EU fisheries policy off North West Africa

Strategic partnerships

At the political level, the representation's activities focus on the strategic partnerships with the governments of the four federal states in their area of ​​responsibility. These partnerships are used to carry out numerous joint projects with local and regional administrations to promote the idea of ​​Europe and raise awareness for it among the population. Cooperation with the municipal level and with the state parliaments is gradually being expanded. The representation also organizes events with other partner organizations on European issues that are relevant to the region.

In 2013, the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia accepted a joint proposal from all parties represented in the state parliament, in which it called for the establishment of an information office for the European Parliament in Bonn. The background to this is the fact that such an EP office has not existed in Bonn since 1999 and Bonn is therefore an exception, because there is also an information office for Parliament at 34 locations with a Commission representative. The President of the Parliament, Martin Schulz , advocates that one of the employees of the EP Information Office in Germany be assigned specific responsibility for North Rhine-Westphalia.

EU information networks

The Representation works closely with the EU information networks supported by the Commission in its area. She takes part in events and regularly organizes regional network meetings. These include the Europe direct information centers, Team Europe, the Enterprise Europe Network and the European documentation centers.

Young European Professionals

The YEPs are a long-term nationwide joint project of the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) and the regional representation of the European Commission in Bonn. They are young people who are interested in European issues and who would like to pass on their knowledge of Europe to other young people in an interactive way.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b [1] , Carnel, Sven (2014): The regional representation of the European Commission in Bonn. 60 years of presence of the European institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany (1954–2014). European Commission, Directorate-General for Communication (ed.), Bonn.
  2. ^ Service d'information (1956): Les moyens et l'action de la Haute Autorité dans le domaine de l'information, note pour Messieurs les Membres de la Commission des Affaires politiques et des Relations extérieures de l'Assemblée Commune. January 19, 1956. Luxembourg, p. 5.
  3. ^ Kerstin Streich: New Europe Point opened in Bonn. In: European Commission Press Service Bonn. April 29, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2018 .
  4. ↑ New EU contact point - "Europa-Punkt" in the city . In: General-Anzeiger Bonn . May 1, 2016 ( general-anzeiger-bonn.de [accessed on August 24, 2018]).
  5. ↑ [ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated February 16, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ], Press service of the representation in Bonn @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.eu-bonn.de
  6. ↑ [2] , decision recommendation and report of the Committee for Europe and One World on the request of the parliamentary group of the SPD and the parliamentary group Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen Drucksache 16/3224.
  7. ↑ [3] , map of the Europe Direct information centers.
  8. ↑ [4] , Young European Professionals.

Coordinates: 50 ° 44 '14 "  N , 7 ° 6' 6.4"  E