News

News: my meetings in Brussels September to December 2004

15.Dec.04 - Back in Denmark. Wednesday morning I flew to Copenhagen, where I will continue my work on the many working opportunities Brussels has to offer. I will do this by narrowing my focus on actors with interests in Turkey, Transatlantic relations and European defence.
08.Dec.04 - Centre for European Policy Studies, CEPS is a think-tank working on European politics and have among others done various research projects on Turkey. This makes CEPS an interesting place for me to work. So I went there for a meeting to know more about their future work.
07.Dec.04 - Meeting with Turkish NTV in Brussels, which is well informed about Turkey-EU relations and ideas about how to approach different actors with interests in Turkey.
03.Dec.04 - Meeting at the European Policy Centre, EPC to present and discuss ideas for an additional focus and study area. It is the second time I had the opportunity to meet with the EPC.
01.Dec.04 - Plenary session at the European Parliament, where the situation in Ukraine was on the agenda. Here I took the opportunity to follow the session mainly out of curiosity now that I am here in Brussels.
23.Nov.04 - The European Policy Centre, EPC put together a dialogue and seminar about Nordic and European Security, in which I took part. The EPC is an independent, not-for-profit think-tank committed to making European integration work. They provide high quality information and analyses on the EU and global policy agenda to its members and the wider public.
17.Nov.04 - Meeting at the European Commission's Directorate General Employment and Social Affairs, which works to modernise, innovate and sustain a European social model, with more and better jobs in an inclusive society based on equal opportunities.
17.Nov.04 - SNECMA is a corporation within the aerospace sector, specialised in propulsion, equipment and associated services. Their customers include among many others Airbus, Arianespace, Boeing, Dassault Aviation and Eurocopter.
12.Nov.04 - Meeting with KREAB - a consultancy agency specialising in strategic communication and public affairs. They assist clients on 'hard-to-sell' issues, complex and delicate communication problems and programs.
09.Nov.04 - AREVA is a world leader in energy (nuclear power and electricity transmission and distribution) and a frontrunner in connectors (components linking electrical and electronic cables and equipment). They are represented in more than 100 countries and employees more than 70.000 people. At an AREVA reception, I was lucky to be introduced to several people from AREVA and other players engaged in the energy sector.
08.Nov.04 - I met with the Turkish Industry and Business Association, TÜSIAD. They represent the Turkish private sector at the European Union level and UNICE. Moreover they inform the Turkish business community of political and economic developments in Europe.
04.Nov.04 - Thursday I met with the Permanent Representation of Denmark to the European Union in Brussels. It is the official representation of Danish interests to the European Union and a central source of information.
03.Nov.04 - Wednesday, I had a meeting at the European Enterprise Institute (EEI). It is a think tank promoting entrepreneurship in the EU policy community and a platform for ideas of entrepreneurship in Europe. Moreover they foster a Euro-Atlantic dialogue between likeminded.
02.Nov.04 - Tuesday was the day of the American presidential election. As this has been the subject of my MA thesis, it is in my personal interest to follow the development. So I went to 'The US Presidential Election - Night Party' organised by The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Bulletin and Renaissance Brussels Hotel. I congratulate President George W. Bush on his victory in the election and encourage him to reach out to an EU partner and the international community.
29.Oct.04 - Friday morning I met with the Danish Shipowners' Association representation in Brussels. They represent Denmark's shipping industry as a trade and employer organisation internationally and are also active as an adviser to different international organisational bodies.
28.Oct.04 - Meeting with the Association of the European Space Industry (EUROSPACE), which is a subsidiary of AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ADS) - a merger of the European Association of Aerospace Industries (AECMA), the European Defence Industries Group (EDIG) and EUROSPACE. They are a non-profit organisation incorporated under the French law in 1901 to develop space activities in Europe. The incorporation into the ASD structure is to benefits from synergies between aeronautic, space and defence industrial activities.
27.Oct.04 - Wednesday I met with the Bureau of Nordic Family Forestry. Here they monitor European forestry policies and provide information to their members.
22.Oct.04 - Meeting at Aarhus EU Office. Their primary focus is to inform about EU opportunities for companies, institutions and organisations in the Aarhus region.
21Oct.04 - Meeting at the North Denmark EU Office. Here they seek to establish contacts and generate funding arrangements for North Danish companies and public institutions.
21.Oct.04 - Meeting at the European Parliament with an assistant to a French member. Here I was informed about the political environment in the Parliament and working opportunities, which could be useful in many different relations.
20.Oct.04 - Networking at Public Affairs Brussels, which is a network for the Brussels based EU public policy community, drawing its members from the EU institutions, journalists, think tanks, trade federations and policy consultants.
19.Oct.04 - Raytheon is an industry leader in defence and aerospace. Their products include among others high technological and advanced defence and government electronic systems, space and aviation. I met with this company, as I have working opportunities within this line of business. I hold analytical competences on defence and security politics and wrote MA thesis within this field.
18.Oct.04 - Inquiring further into the regional offices I had a meeting with the South Jutland Office. Here I acquired knowledge of some of their focus areas, challenges and future opportunities.
14.Oct.04 - Danish Chamber of Commerce is an independent and private business association financed by a network of companies within Trade, IT, Industry and Service in Denmark. They among other activities exert political influence on EU policies. This is especially interesting from my point of view.
13.Oct.04 - Meeting at EURA - The Regional Development Company of Ringkobing County in Denmark. It is a non-profit shareholding company owned by both private and public interests. They are officially certified as a Business Innovation Centre (BIC) and their primary task is fundraising and project development.
11.Oct.04 - Meeting at Mid Sweden Office, which is a Swedish regional office. Their primary focuses are to monitor and influence regional EU policies and strengthen growth in the Swedish region by providing information on various activity areas.
06.Oct.04 - Today I met with CONCORD, which is the European NGO's Confederation For Relief and Development. They represent more than 1500 European NGO's in relation to the European Institutions and hold expertise in influencing political debate and policy formulation at European level. CONCORD provided additional knowledge about how to read and interact within European affairs. This will be of high value to me in almost any working opportunity in Brussels. So I keep on searching for further information.
06.Oct.04 - Lunch meeting with Institute for Infrastructure, Environment and Innovation - IMIEU. This is the second opportunity I have had to meet a consultancy company. As there are a large variety of consultancies, there are several paths of working opportunities to uncover. This is primarily in the environmental area, which is a large one within European affairs.
04.Oct.04 - Meeting at County of Funen European Office. I have decided to inquire deeper into the regional offices. I sense, that they have a higher probability of future working opportunities. Thus, I will focus more on what I could possibly offer a regional office.
30.Sep.04 - Danish Bacon and Meat Council is one of the many interest groups in Brussels. As there are many working opportunities within this line of business, I try to get to know more about, how they interact in the game of policymaking within the European Union.
29.Sep.04 - Today I met with the international consultancy company Ramboll Management at their Brussels office. They provide a wide range of consultancy services and analyses. I inquire into the consultancy segment, as I have experience from working as consultant on an EURES-project and worked together with A.T. Kearney in my position as Management Support at Kilroy Travels International A/S.
27.Sep.04 - Meeting at Eurogroup For Animal Welfare, which is a non-governmental organisation (NGO). Here I learned, that there is a lot of opportunities within the NGO and interest group line of business. Moreover, I was pushed further on by information about corporations, think-tanks and organisations working within the field of security and defence, a - Meeting at Eurogroup For Animal Welfare, which is a non-governmental organisation (NGO). Here I learned, that there is a lot of opportunities within the NGO and interest group line of business. Moreover, I was pushed further on by information about corporations, think-tanks and organisations working within the field of security and defence, as my contact is a former NATO employee.
24.Sep.04 - Meeting at the Danish Embassy in Brussels. The Embassy informed me about Danish companies, interests and communities situated in Belgium. This information has a great value to me, as it is a fast doorway to basic details about who to contact.
23.Sep.04 - Meeting at Haderslev EU Office, the South Denmark House - a Danish regional office. Here I wanted to gather information about working for a region, thus I would have an idea about, how I would be able to contribute and if I should continue in this direction.
21.Sep.04 - Meeting at the Scottish Executive Council, which. The purpose here was to find out about working opportunities for a third country e.g. in a delegation.
20.Sep.04 - At my first day in Brussels I went to two meetings at the European Commission's Directorate General Press and Communication. My goal was to get an idea of my opportunities to work in the Commission, but also to gather information about the overall working opportunities in Brussels.
17.Sep.04 - Friday evening I arrived to Brussels. I will try to fulfill my dream of working abroad within some aspect of (European) politics.