TRAIN – Fostering Policy Dialogue. Closing Seminar TRAIN 2017 & Networking- and Advocacy Seminar

In November 2017, our Research and management coordinator Sonja Risteska took part in this year’s second TRAIN Networking- and Advocacy-Seminar in Brussels, Belgium. The seminar  provided the opportunity to bring our messages to the EU capital, to broaden networks, and to meet the current TRAIN participants.

The idea of the Seminar according to DGAP was to:

1. Have an advocacy workshop in which the participants will have the opportunity to deepen the knowledge about decision making in the EU institutions; and also practice advocacy strategies specifically in the Brussels context.
2. In meetings with EU decision makers and Brussels-based think tank representatives to not only get insights in current debates on the EU enlargement policy, but to also have the chance to advocate for their own policy concerns from their own respective countries.
3. As the Alumni in the Brussels Seminar of the current TRAIN edition, the participants to have the chance to – formally and informally – connect with the new programme participants. As experts the alumni will have the chance to accompany the presentation of the policy papers of their peers which focus on “corruption and informal practices” as major challenges in the EU integration process.

During the 3 days intensive meetings, all the participants had the chance to meet and talk to officials from the Council of the European Union, the Directorate-general for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations within the Commission, the European External Action Service (EEAS), the German Delegation by the EU and the Members of the European Parliament.