Representation of the European Commission in Germany
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The Representation of the European Commission in Germany is one of the representations maintained by the European Commission in the 27 member states of the European Union . It has had its headquarters in Berlin since 1999 . There are also regional representatives in Bonn and Munich . Jörg Wojahn has been the head of the representation in Germany since September 1, 2019 , who previously headed the representation in Austria .
history
The representation of the European Commission goes back to a press liaison office of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community ("Montanunion") founded in 1951 , which was set up on March 1, 1954 in Bonn . It was their first press liaison office in one of the member states - later offices in Rome and Paris followed - and had the task of informing the public about the coal and steel union and its politics as well as informing the High Authority about public opinion in the Federal Republic. Originally located in the Schulze-Delitzsch-Haus , the office moved within Bonn to Zitelmannstrasse 11 on the edge of the parliament and government district in 1958 . After the establishment of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) in 1957, it also represented their interests as a "press and information office". In 1969 another move to Zitelmannstraße 22 followed. In 1989 the office was given additional tasks and was renamed to represent the European Commission . It was most recently located at Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz 2-4. In the course of the relocation of the seat of government to Berlin (1999), the regional office that had existed there since 1968 was converted into the main representation of the EU Commission and a regional office was left in Bonn at the previous location (→ regional representation in Bonn ).
function
The representation forms the link between national politics and the public on the one hand and the European Commission in Brussels on the other. It informs citizens and the media about the Commission's policy and maintains contact with parliaments, federal and state governments, associations and social partners. At the same time, the representation informs the offices in Brussels about the political situation in Germany and communicates Germany's special needs to Brussels.
Headquarters of the representation in Berlin
tasks
The headquarters of the representation has been located in the European House on Pariser Platz in Berlin since 1999 , where the information office of the European Parliament and the Europa-Punkt are also located. In Berlin, the representation maintains contact with the Bundestag , Bundesrat and Federal Government , carries out active press work and communicates with the general public. The Berlin representation is regionally responsible for ten federal states: Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia.
Head of representation
Jörg Wojahn , who previously headed the representation in Austria, has been the head of the representation in Germany since September 1, 2019 .
Predecessors in office were:
- Richard Kühnel (July 2014 – August 2019), since September 2019 Director of the Directorate-General “Communication” at the European Commission in Brussels
- Marie-Thérèse Duffy-Häusler (October 2013 – June 2014), acting
- Matthias Petschke (2009–2013), later director of the EU's satellite navigation programs in the Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission
- Gerhard Sabathil (2004–2008), later Director in the European External Action Service
- Axel R. Bunz (1994-2002)
- Gerd Langguth (1988–1993)
Political Department
The Political Department is the link between the Commission and the political decision-makers in Germany. She writes reports and analyzes for the Commission in Brussels on political, economic and social trends, debates on European policy and special events in Germany. Conversely, its employees convey European policy on site through lectures and events for the general public and experts. Bernhard Schnittger is the head of the department.
Communication department
The Communication Department informs citizens about what is being decided at European level and why. In doing so, it works closely with cooperation partners from civil society, federal and state governments. As part of a strategic partnership with the federal states, it organizes z. B. the European week and produces information and teaching materials such. B. the Europakoffer . Helene Banner has been the head of the department since November 2014.
Press department
The press department informs journalists in Germany about the policy of the commission, answers questions and comments. Means of information are a daily e-mail newsletter with the most important news from the Commission for Germany, a weekly schedule preview and the bi-weekly EU-Nachrichten . The press department maintains an information portal Europe on site especially for regional and local journalists . It is intended to support the local media in integrating the regional and local effects of EU politics as well as European events in the reporting. Reinhard Hönighaus is the head of the department and press officer.
Regional representation in Bonn
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The regional representation in Bonn ( Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz 2/4) is located at the former headquarters of the representation of the EU Commission, which was relocated to Berlin in 1999. It is responsible for the western federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. Stephan Koppelberg has been running the business since June 2009. The regional representation is the link between the Commission in Brussels and the public in the western federal states.
Information service
The information service answers questions on all EU topics and provides interested parties with information material. There is also information and examples on the subject of EU funding in the region.
Events
The regional representation organizes events in the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia , Rhineland-Palatinate , Hesse and Saarland itself and with various partners .
Regional representation in Munich
The regional representation in Munich is responsible for the federal states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg . Henning Arp has been the head of the regional representation since 2006.
Citizen Service
The Citizens Service Department provides information and materials to interested citizens, journalists and schools.
Events
The regional representation organizes events in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria itself and with various partners.
Regional information and advice offers
europe direct information center
In Germany, 61 europe direct information centers of the EU-wide network europe direct act as a local interface between the citizens and the European Union. The information centers are co-financed from the budget of the European Union and have the task of providing local citizens with information, advice, help and answers to questions about the European Union. The representation coordinates their work, supplies them with materials and organizes further training for employees.
enterprise europe network
The enterprise europe network (EEN) is part of the europe direct network of the European Commission . The EEN supports cooperation, technology transfer and strategic partnerships between small and medium-sized enterprises ( SMEs ).
European documentation centers
The 51 European Documentation Centers in Germany promote teaching and research on questions of European integration. They are located at universities and research institutions and ensure that the documents and publications of the EU for research and teaching, but also for all other interested parties, are freely accessible.
Team Europe in Germany - speaker pool of the European Commission
Team Europe is a team of 50 experts who come from all over Germany and can be booked as speakers for lectures on a wide variety of European topics. You can, for example, be asked if the full-time employees of the representation cannot fulfill a request for a presentation due to a lack of time.
Europe point
The Europa-Punkt in the European House in Berlin is a joint establishment of the information offices of the Commission and the European Parliament. As the first point of contact for those interested, it offers information and advice and provides EU brochures and publications on various European topics.
State partners
Management partnership
In an administrative partnership with the Federal Government and the European Parliament, the representation organizes regular calls for tenders for the implementation of European public relations work under the title action europe . The calls for tenders are financed from the budget of the European Union and are aimed primarily at multipliers and civil society organizations. The administrative partnership made it possible to realize events and simulation games for young people, as well as brochures, teaching materials and film spots.
Strategic partnerships
The representation maintains strategic partnerships with the German federal states in order to operate joint European communication. So z. B. the Europe week or the Europe case . Most recently, the short film Europe is here! that shows the influence and benefits of Europe in many areas.
Civil society partners
The agency works with many external partners. The European Movement Germany network, which consists of more than 200 organizations, has been the representation's correspondent for the Program d'Information du Citoyen Européen (PRINCE) since 2007 . The work as a PRINCE correspondent includes the task of informing the citizens about European political issues and their involvement in current debates through projects and measures of European public relations. The activity carried out on behalf of the European Commission includes, in addition to individual measures, several projects for target group-oriented European communication.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ History of the EU in Bonn ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), European Commission - Regional Representation in Bonn
- ^ Judith Koberstein: Path of Democracy - Historical Places . In: wegderdemokratie.de .
- ↑ EU Commission . In: europa.eu .
- ↑ On his own behalf: Matthias Petschke is moving to Brussels . In: europa.eu .
- ↑ Political Department . In: europa.eu .
- ↑ Communication Department . In: europa.eu .
- ↑ a b press service . In: europa.eu .
- ↑ The Representation of the European Commission . In: europa.eu .
- ↑ Information service . In: europa.eu .
- ↑ Dates . In: europa.eu .
- ↑ Head of Representation . In: europa.eu .
- ^ The representation in Munich . In: europa.eu .
- ↑ Our current dates . In: europa.eu .
- ↑ Europe Direct Centers . In: europa.eu .
- ↑ European Documentation Centers . In: europa.eu .
- ↑ Brochure Team Europe Speaker Pool 2019/2020. Retrieved December 20, 2019 .
- ↑ Info point . In: europa.eu .
- ↑ The Representation of the European Commission . In: europa.eu .
- ↑ Europe . In: aktion-europa.de .
- ↑ schleswig-holstein.de (link not available)
- ^ Job description PRINCE correspondent ( Memento from October 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 52 ° 31 '0.8 " N , 13 ° 22' 48.4" E