Entrepreneur, Andras Baneth

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From the course by HEC Paris

Understanding Europe: Why It Matters and What It Can Offer You

143 ratings

HEC Paris

Understanding Europe: Why It Matters and What It Can Offer You

143 ratings

Regardless of where you live, the European Union not only affects your life, but may also transform it. By learning how Europe works, a new world will open up to you and discover new jobs you never heard of. The European Union has a large, yet often unnoticed, impact on many aspects of everybody’s life. We will analyze what the EU is doing for YOU regardless of where you live. We will also look at what YOU can do for and in Europe. Whether you are traveling, eating, working, doing business, shopping, surfing the Internet or breathing, all these activities are largely shaped by the EU. As a result no global citizen, business leader, lawmaker, lobbyist or student can effectively operate in Europe or in the world without a solid understanding of this unique laboratory of integration. While the EU is often depicted as a monstrous bureaucratic creature, condemned to irrelevance by the emerging economies, in 50 years it accomplished what other countries took centuries to realize. The EU remains the most accomplished experiment of economic, social and political integration in human history. Given its inherent complexities, this Course aims at empowering you on what Europe can offer and will enable you to discover jobs and opportunities you were not aware of. Indeed, throughout the whole course, participants will be confronted with real-life examples of EU action. EU affairs professionals will share their personal EU experiences and tell us about their EU jobs. You will also be able to interact with the instructor and other participants, share your opinions, question the instructor’s assumptions and hence shape the course’s content.

From the lesson

A Job for All (Optional)

This optional module includes interviews with people who work closely within the EU

Entrepreneur, Andras Baneth6:10

Research, Chiara Bortoluzzi2:15

EU Official, Simonetta Cook7:21

NGO, Helen Derbishire1:37

Lobbyist, Sabine Dittrich4:06

NGO, Doru Frantescu1:45

EU Official, Anne Houtman4:14

Communication, Charlélie Jourdan5:39

EU Official, Gérard Legris2:59

EU Official, Robert Madelin2:28

Lobbyist, Vinciane Patelou4:26

NGO, Ronny Patz1:35

Political Staff, Axel Singhofen3:34

NGO, James Thronton3:13

Edition / Research, Cliff Wirajendi1:42

Lobbyist, Martin Wittenberg3:44

Media, Jon Worth4:29

Meet the Instructors

Alberto Alemanno
Jean Monnet Professor of EU Law and Risk Regulation

Hungarian.

Though I've been living abroad for over ten years and

I've been dealing with EU affairs for over 12 or so years

because as a Hungarian when my country joined the EU in 2004,

it showed an extremely interesting area to deal with and to discover.

So that's how I got involved in European affairs and I've been going on ever since.

Regarding my background, I am currently dealing with various aspects

of the European project, and in fact I'm an entrepreneur in European affairs.

Which might be an interesting combination because most people would either be

on the policy making side, or on the lobbyist side, but

not necessarily on the entrepreneurial side.

Regarding my background I worked about seven years in different EU institutions,

including the Court of Justice and the European Commission.

In various roles including briefings for President Barroso and member of Cabinet.

What I currently do is essentially, two major things.

One is dealing with the recruitment angle for

people who want to enter the institutions because I have a book and

website that helps people pass the recruitment exams.

The other aspect or angle that I do is training people on EU affairs and

explaining how EU institutions work, and

how to work with these institutions in a practical and understandable manner.

And given the complexity of the system, this, in fact,

presents a business opportunity.

To help cut through this noise and make sense of the system as such.

The question why Europe, despite its best intentions,

is not being loved, I think it's an eternal question for

any policy making body or public authority,

which always acts in the best interests of citizens, and

still citizens don't love it back.

And the EU, for the EU, it's even more relevant of an issue because

It's a legitimacy question after a certain point.

So if citizens no longer support the European project, it may endanger

their compliance with all the rules and regulations that the EU actually passes.

Now the question of why it's not being loved,

obviously it's a communication issue.

But it can also be a substantive issue in the kind of policies that the EU makes

may not be well received.

This is no criticism or value judgement whether it's good or bad policy, but

how it is perceived, whether it's the right policy to do.

But I very much believe that by and large European policies work and

by and large European policies point to the right direction.

So my point of criticism or

the diagnosis is that it's a communication issue.

And the main reason, or to put it very, very briefly,

is that given the unique nature of the EU institutional structure,

there's no real owner of selling the European idea.

Because each institution tries to do it in their own way but it's not like a private

company which might have a corporate communications director or

even its president would be very keen on selling the idea of the company.

But in an EU given it's nature, its

not always a synergy of all parts, but each element is doing its own share.

So why there is a communication problem this is a key factor of ownership.

The other factor is it relates the messages

that Europe wants to pass and many times it's very challenging.

Because talking about regulatory issues and

technical issues It's hard to turn that into lovable messages.

And the recent example when there was the olive oil

serving at restaurants being regulated by the EU triggered a huge backlash.

And people don't always feel the proportions that such an issue may not

really be necessary for the United Kingdom to leave the EU.

So in terms of explaining the real rationale behind it to make emotional

messages, I think that's one of the key steps towards the right direction.

The number one point related also to my previous answer,

is make sure that there is ownership within the EU's institutional structure.

And a clear mandate from all the stakeholders,

and all the political heads of the EU,

of who needs to do this sort of branding or corporate communication exercise.

And another method is understanding and collecting a huge number of very tangible

concrete specific examples of how Europe is present in people's lives.

And how it improves, protects, or helps their lives from aviation security,

from food safety, all the way to the air that we breath.

Making it concrete, making it relevant, and making it a very targeted approach.

I think this would immensely help Europe sell it's message And

make sure that it's relevant in people's lives.

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