In what has now become an annual tradition, participants in the Executive Master in International Negotiation and Policy-Making (INP) took a 2-day excursion from their regular module schedule in Geneva to immerse in the capital of the European Union.
Among international negotiators and those who wish to influence them—from advocacy groups to diplomats and heads of state from around the globe—there are only a few cities that are recognized as diplomatic hubs which are paramount on the world affairs stage. While participants in the INP benefit from regular and direct access to international Geneva, among those diplomatic hubs, the city of Brussels (with its EU institutions) now also serves as a touchstone for learning comparisons, between its regional governance systems and the multilateral context of Geneva.
In this year’s programme, the INP participants had a session with the Austiran Mission to the European Union, to explore how one diplomat (Austrian Ambassador Grahammer) navigates the interplay between representing his national interests on issues of sovereignty with the need for “one European voice” on many issues like security and migration; the group also benefitted from an interactive session with Business Europe, a leading advocacy organisation for business growth and competitiveness that represents companies across the continent on various policy issues in the EU context. In addition, they attended a session with Mr. Arunas Vinciunas, European Commission’s Chef de Cabinet to the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety (and former Deputy Permanent Representative of Lithuania) explored his personal experiences from the time his country took its turn in the rotation of the EU Presidency in 2013.
Group visits also included the EU Parliament, where the INP cohort met with a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Kati Piri of the Netherlands (Socialists and Democrats), for a political party perspective on the dynamics of negotiating policy in the EU context; and with the Press Attaché of the EESC, to see how the government expresses these complex dynamics of actors and interests in its communications. The visit series ended with a discussion with the Head of Unit Employment and Social Affairs at the Council Secretariat, Ms. Marie-Louise Lindorfer, who also hosted an INP group in 2015.
While in Brussels, the group also attended a high-level panel that Executive Education co-hosted with the European Centre for Public Affairs (ECPA), which featured Programme Director, Prof. Cédric Dupont. The trip to Brussels culminated with a faculty-led negotiations simulation, based on a sample case highlighting dynamics of EU policy negotiations.
The Executive Master INP is now accepting applications for the next intake of the four-module degree programme, which beings with module #1 in September 2016. Learn more >