The European Commission supports EIPA through the European Union budget. European Institute of Public Administration

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1 European Institute of Public Administration The European Commission supports EIPA through the European Union budget European Institute of Public Administration O.L. Vrouweplein 22 P.O. Box BE Maastricht The Netherlands

2 Table of Contents Foreword 3 EIPA, a European Institute 5 Introduction 5 Organisation 6 Staff 7 EIPA s Antennae 8 EIPA s International Role 10 EIPA and the European Union 10 EIPA and the EU enlargement 11 EIPA and the Partners of the EU across the Globe 12 Activities 13 Training 13 Research and Consultancy 15 Information and Documentation 16 Publications 17 EIPA s Bulletin 17 Contact Addresses 18 List of Scientific Staff ( 2

3 Foreword On the following pages the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) will be presented to you and its missions, activities and organisation will be set out. EIPA is a unique establishment, poised between the training needs of the European institutions, the Member States of the European Union and the countries that have applied for accession. It serves public management and public administrations in their adaptation to the European integration process. Established in Maastricht in 1981 and having three Antennae, one in Luxembourg, one in Barcelona and one in Milan, EIPA is a European instrument for training public officials. It complements and enriches this primary activity through applied research conducted by its scientific staff, and through consultancy for national and regional administrations. The European dimension is the raison d être of the Institute in its main objective of providing training to civil services, and this is also strongly reflected in the way the Institute operates. Its Board of Governors is composed of representatives from the European Commission and the EU Member States, and, as associated members, representatives of the third countries that have signed a cooperation agreement with the Institute. The successive enlargements of the European Union, particularly the one in 2004 with the accession of 10 new members, serve to highlight the importance of training for public administrations without whose full participation the implementation of European rules and policies would be practically impossible as well as the enormity of this need for training at national and regional level. It is therefore in an environment which has changed profoundly over a period of more than 20 years that EIPA now has to develop, even though 3

4 the reasons which led to its creation still apply. However, the concepts of networks and European partnership are making themselves felt much more strongly than in 1981, as many national schools and institutes have internationalised their activities and have become fully active at European level. It is imperative that cooperation with these bodies be reinforced, based on a clear link between their respective roles and the incontestable added value EIPA provides. Indeed, the Institute is without equal in its capacity to fuel increasingly diversified and specialised training through its own research potential, to organise activities in a multinational environment in which participants from all European countries can share their experience and compare their respective approaches, and to take on the task of providing impetus and performing an early warning function at European level. By combining this partnership approach with all the characteristics that have made it unique from the beginning, the European Institute of Public Administration will best meet the demand for quality required in the services it supplies. Prof. Dr Gérard Druesne Director-General of EIPA 4

5 EIPA, a European Institute Introduction Created in 1981 at the time of the first European Council held in Maastricht, EIPA is unique in that it is supported by the administrations of the Member States of the European Union (EU) and the European Commission, which contribute to its financing (it has for instance a budget line in the annual budget of the EU) and form its Board of Governors. Its principal mission, as stated in its Constitution, is to support the European Union and its Member States and the countries associated with EIPA by providing relevant and high quality services to develop the capacities of public officials in dealing with EU affairs. The training activities are complemented and enriched by applied research and consultancy missions which may benefit national and regional public administrations, as well as the European institutions, and contribute to a better knowledge of the European integration process and European policies and strengthen the capacity of public servants to take part in this. Bilateral cooperation agreements confer the status of country associated with EIPA on those countries involved in the European integration process that wish to have that status. Such agreements have already been concluded with five of the new Member States Cyprus, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovenia and with two of the candidate countries Bulgaria and Romania, as well as with Norway. All the new Member States 5

6 are invited to join the Institute to participate in the implementation of its mission. While the Institute is European on account of its field of activities, it is also European because of the comparative nature of its approach to public administration and management. Whether training deals with instruments for coordination regarding European affairs, with methods of implementing Community policies at national or sub-national level, or with the improvement of managerial practices, the analysis of administrative systems of the Member States is always comparative in its perspective. In this way the participants acquire an overall view, which, by providing contrasts, reflects the European diversity in terms of governance and administration. The topics are presented in a multidisciplinary way covering law, administrative science, management and economics which makes it possible to grasp all the aspects, and with the systematic use of case studies and simulation exercises. The Institute is situated on the picturesque Onze Lieve Vrouweplein in the historical centre of the city of Maastricht. Organisation The Board of Governors is chaired by Mr Henning Christophersen (DK), former Vice-President of the European Commission and member of the Presidium of the Convention on the Future of Europe. It is composed of representatives from the EU Member States in principle the person responsible for public administration and the public service and the European Commission, as well as representatives of third countries that have signed a cooperation agreement with EIPA as associated members. Responsibility for the preparation and implementation of the Institute s policies regarding training and research, as well as for its representation and daily management, lies with the 6

7 Director-General, Mr Gérard Druesne (F), University Professor and former President/Rector of the University of Nancy, former Director of the ERASMUS Bureau of the European Commission and former Director of the Centre des études européennes in Strasbourg. In 2002, a Scientific Advisory Committee was set up to advise the Director-General on scientific matters. The committee members were selected from five areas of expertise, namely: Community Law and Policies; Foreign and Security Policy and European Defence Policy; Justice and Home Affairs; Public Management; Comparative Public Administration. At the internal level, EIPA has three units which deal respectively with: European Decision-Making; Public Management and Comparative Public Administration; European Policies. Staff The total number of permanent staff at EIPA is just over 100 (full-time equivalents). The teaching staff consists of both academics and civil servants, recruited directly or seconded from the various national administrations so as to ensure a balance between the scientific/academic perspective and direct experience in administrative practice. These staff members come from all EU Member States and from the countries associated with the Institute, in order to thus guarantee a wide range of approaches and maintain close and permanent contact with the governments of all the countries. In addition to this permanent teaching staff, there are many experts and practitioners who work at the European institutions and in 7

8 national and regional administrations, thereby covering all topics relating to the European integration process, even the most specific ones, according to developments in that process. Besides the teaching and scientific staff, the Institute has an experienced administrative staff with a wide variety of skills and competences. EIPA s two official working languages are English and French but other languages, particularly German, may also be used where there is a need. EIPA s Antennae Antenna Luxembourg In 1992, EIPA established an Antenna in Luxembourg in cooperation with the Government of the Grand Duchy. Located on the Kirchberg Plateau, close to the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance of the European Communities, the European Centre for Judges and Lawyers offers training programmes in European law to judges, lawyers and legal experts in general, which take place in Luxembourg and in other Member States, as well as in the candidate countries for accession under the Phare Programme. It organises, for instance, a programme leading to a Master s degree in European Legal Studies, in cooperation with the Universities of Nancy and Thessaloniki. 8

9 Antenna Barcelona Since 1996, EIPA has had an Antenna in Barcelona, the European Centre for the Regions. Supported by the Generalitat de Cataluñya (Government of Catalonia), the centre aims to promote regional cooperation within the EU and to ensure coherence in the implementation of Community policies at sub-national level. It also develops training programmes for the administrations of the associated countries of the Mediterranean Basin in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (MEDA). Antenna Milan In 2002, the European Training Centre for Social Affairs and Public Health Care was established in Milan. Supported by the Government of the Region of Lombardy, it organises activities relating to the free movement of workers, labour law and industrial relations, social dialogue, and the management of social and public health care administrations. 9

10 EIPA s International Role EIPA and the European Union EIPA is primarily concerned with programmes aimed at improving the understanding of EU processes and policies, developing the capacities of the administrations of the Member States to cope with European integration, and assisting the development of cooperation between these administrations. Moreover, the Institute produces the working papers for the biannual meetings of the Directors-General of the Public Service of the EU Member States. EIPA regularly organises seminars at the request of the institutions of the European Union (European Parliament, Council and Commission). Similarly, it develops activities for national governments, addressing their specific needs for training. An example of this is the series of seminars on the Presidency, which is aimed at preparing senior officials of national administrations for holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Institute also organises seminars open to civil servants, judges, lawyers and academics from all EU Member States as well as from third countries. An example of this is the series on European negotiations, where participants analyse and 10

11 implement the strategies and tactics relevant to European negotiations and develop their skills for efficiently conducting such negotiations. As regards the series on comitology, this is designed for civil servants of the Member States who are involved in the Community decision-making processes through their involvement in various expert committees and groups of the Commission and Council working groups in which they represent their respective administrations. Special emphasis is placed on the training of officials from regional and local administrations in order to improve their effectiveness in handling European dossiers that fall within their competence, and to make sure that they benefit as much as possible from the policies that concern them directly. In this respect, EIPA relies particularly on the European Centre for the Regions, its Antenna in Barcelona. EIPA and the EU enlargement Cooperation agreements have been concluded with several countries acceding to the EU in 2004, as well as with two candidate countries, providing for the secondment of national experts to the Institute and the organisation of training that corresponds with the specific needs of these countries. Special cooperation has been established with the Foundation for European Studies the European Institute in Lodz, Poland where seminars are organised for the Polish administration, for instance on the constraints and methods of incorporating the Community acquis and the adaptations required on the part of the administrative services and staff as a result. Besides actual training, EIPA also provides programmes of technical assistance and consultancy on approximation of the national legislation of the candidate countries with Community law. 11

12 12 EIPA and the Partners of the EU across the Globe The Institute also develops activities relating to the institutions and policies of the EU for public administrations of countries other than the Member States and those aiming for accession. For instance, EIPA is carrying out several training programmes for the public administrations of the 12 associated Mediterranean partners in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and of the creation of an area of free trade between these countries and the EU. This programme deals with industrial cooperation and the internal market, as well as with the functioning of the European institutions and decisionmaking processes. EIPA also organises training courses for the European Commission on multilateral commercial negotiation techniques in the framework of the Doha Development Round of the World Trade Organisation aimed at representatives of developing countries. It also coordinates the consortium in charge of the public administration programme between China and Europe.

13 Activities Every year, EIPA runs approximately 400 activities and welcomes over 8,000 participants from more than 40 different countries to its training events. These activities are normally held in English or French, although simultaneous interpretation to and from other languages is provided in some seminars. Some programmes organised in the participants country take place in their national language. Training EIPA tailors most of its training activities to its target group, i.e. civil servants, judges and managers involved in the formulation and implementation of European policies, European, national or regional politicians, as well as European experts in the field of public administration and, to a lesser extent, those in charge of employers and consumer organisations and trade unions. Most of the Institute s activities are organised on the basis of contracts concluded with states, European institutions or other organisations, either further to a tender won by EIPA as coordinator or partner in a consortium, or through direct negotiations. However, the number of open activities organised by the Institute on its own initiative and for which participants register individually is steadily increasing: more than 80 are now organised each year and these underline a key dimension of the Institute s mission. Indeed, EIPA is to play a proactive role on the European scene and to take the initiative in opening up new avenues in the training of public administrations, and not only to respond to requests which it receives. EIPA has a growing number of recurrent seminars, thereby increasing its visibility and showing that the Institute is the 13

14 place where European meetings on certain subjects are organised on a regular basis. Such is the case with activities that deal with committees and comitology, the Presidency and European negotiations, human resource management in public administrations, public procurement, state aid and European information. But whatever its methods, EIPA s main characteristic is still the same and basically constitutes its added value: as its training courses for the most part bring together participants from many EU Member States and candidate countries, they take place in a multicultural environment where the transfer of knowledge and know-how is successfully combined with exchanges of experience and best practices drawn from profoundly different administrative systems. The training sessions often comprise case studies and simulations of situations experienced within European processes. This is obviously no different in the seminars which aim at the joint learning of techniques for European negotiations or which deal with the participation in the various phases of the Community decision-making process. The same pedagogical approach can be seen in the postgraduate programme leading to a Master s degree in European legal studies which the Antenna Luxembourg organises in cooperation with the European University Centre in Nancy and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, as well as in its participation in the Master s in European Public Affairs of the University of Maastricht. As stated earlier, EIPA has its own teaching staff who implement its training activities and conduct the research supporting it. It also has an international network of experts at its disposal in order to be able to meet the highly diverse and specialised needs of public administrations. 14

15 Research and Consultancy Research is an integral part of EIPA s mission. It is directly related to the needs of national administrations and the European institutions and is necessary to guarantee the quality of the training provided. Research and consultancy activities are designed to meet the current and future needs of the administrations responsible for formulating and managing European policies. Research leads to publications and helps define training programmes via the preparation of case material and case studies, regular and continuous comparative studies of public policy management and ongoing investigations of administrative capacities required for managing integration. At a more general level, by acting as a think-tank and making proposals, EIPA contributes to the debate on ideas about the development of the European institutions and policies and about the best way for national and regional administrations to support the integration process. Special mention should be made here of the studies conducted for the Directors-General of the Public Service of the EU Member States and of the European Commission. At the request of successive Presidencies of the EU, EIPA is regularly called upon to carry out comparative analyses of topics of common interest, on the basis of detailed questionnaires completed by the Member States and the European Commission. In this way, it provides a periodic general overview of the state of progress of European public administrations in fields such as e- government, human resource management, and modernisation and reform processes in public administrations, or the use of management-by-quality instruments. 15

16 Information and Documentation EIPA s library houses a collection of some 25,000 volumes on European issues, public administration and public management, political science, law and economics. It also subscribes to approximately 350 periodicals. In 1990, the Institute was granted the status of European Documentation Centre by the Commission, which made it the depository of all official EU documents in English and in many cases also of those in French. EIPA s library is fully automated and provides access to all EU databases, on-line or on CD-ROM. The library s catalogue can be accessed through our web site. Furthermore, there are terminals available for visitors to use, which can also be used to surf the Net. The library is open to the public from to 17.00, Monday to Friday. 16

17 Publications EIPA publishes and distributes working papers (the complete texts of which can be found free of charge on our web site), proceedings of colloquia or seminars and documents containing the results of research activities (the latter are published in a series called Current European Issues ). All these can be ordered directly from the Institute. A complete list of current and forthcoming publications can be obtained either directly from the publications department or by consulting our web site ( EIPA s Bulletin EIPA s bulletin, EIPASCOPE, is published three times a year and contains articles in English and French on a wide variety of subjects related to EIPA s activities, as well as a programme of activities for the coming months and a list of recent and forthcoming publications. EIPASCOPE can be obtained free of charge on request by contacting the Publications Department. It can also be accessed on our web site ( where all back issues can also be found. 17

18 Contact Addresses Headquarters Maastricht European Institute of Public Administration O.L. Vrouweplein 22 P.O. Box BE Maastricht The Netherlands Tel.: Fax: Internet site: * Programme Organisation Mrs Wytske Veenman Tel.: Fax: w.veenman@eipa-nl.com * Information, Publications, Documentation and Marketing Services Mr Cosimo Monda Tel.: Fax: c.monda@eipa-nl.com Antenna Luxembourg European Centre for Judges and Lawyers Mrs Marie-Christine Sindic Circuit de la Foire Internationale 2 L 1347 Luxembourg Tel.: Fax: m.sindic@eipa.net Antenna Barcelona European Centre for the Regions (ECR) Mr Raymond Pelzer C/Girona, 20 E Barcelona Tel.: Fax: r.pelzer@eipa-ecr.com Antenna Milan European Training Centre for Social Affairs and Public Health Care Mr Michele Faldi Via San Vittore 18 I Milano Tel.: Fax: m.faldi@eipa-it.com Representative Office Brussels Rue d Egmont 11/Egmontstraat 11 B 1000 Bruxelles/Brussels Tel.: Fax: alain.guggenbuhl@tiscali.be 18