The European Development Days (EDD) are Europe’s leading forum on development and international cooperation. Organised by the European Commission, the forum brings the development community together to share ideas and experiences in ways that inspire new partnerships and innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.

European Week of Regions and Cities (so called Open Days) is an annual four-day event in Brussels during which cities and regions showcase their capacity to create growth and jobs, implement the European Union cohesion policy (EU funding), and prove the importance of the local and regional level for good European governance.

Would you like to join over 5,000 people from 150 countries to debate the world’s most pressing issues? Register for the European Development Days 2017 (EDDs) before 13 May 2017.  EDD 2017 promises to be the most inclusive and dynamic edition and will take place in Tour & Taxis on 7-8 June 2017 in Brussels, Belgium.

 This event will provide a forum to discuss the growing role of public/private information-sharing mechanisms to tackle financial crime around the world as well as the barriers, opportunities and progress across Europe in developing such mechanisms. It will also provide a forum for exploring the balance with privacy and proportionality around these new capabilities.

We are currently looking for a social media & community manager for a full-time assignment with the European Commission. Please visit Work with us section for further details. We look forward to hearing from you!

Schuman Associates participated in the Botswana Investment Forum hosted by H.E. Ambassador Outlule and organized by Connect Africa on 26 May 2017 in Brussels.

The event aimed at exchanging knowledge and experience on the investment opportunity in The Republic of Botswana. This included exploring and discussing vision 2036, the emerging innovation & startup ecosystem as well as the quality and effectiveness of business support structures in Botswana. Young entrepreneurs, investors and experts gathered in Brussels to share experiences, insights, and know-how, dishing out how to’s for potential investors, and inspiration for the rest.

AME (Anti-Money Laundering Europe) held their biannual meeting at the offices of the CCBE in Brussels. The roundtable discussion on Future Policy on Combatting Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing looked at some of the lessons learned from the 4th AML Directive and what the future of EU policy will be.

The 2017 European Development Days took place in Brussels between 7-8 June with over 8000 participants from the development community. One of the key topics of this year was digitalization in the development world as an enabler to achieve sustainable growth and accelerate the achievement of the UN 2030 SDG’s. In this sense, the EU signed the "New European Consensus on Development" which represents a new collective vision and plan of action to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development.

We are delighted to announce the full agenda for our upcoming breakfast briefing with Agtel on the Future of EU Communications, Wednesday 28 June, 8.00-9.30, at Aloft Brussels Schuman. Mairead McGuinness MEP and First Vice-President of the European Parliament will be our keynote speaker. Ruth Estrada, Partner at Schuman Associates will be presenting on "Enhancing the outreach of EU projects: BCO case study".  The event will be moderated by Tony Connelly, Europe Editor, RTE. We only have several places left so if you are interested in attending please RSVP to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Thanks for joining our fantastic speakers Mairead McGuinness, Thibault Lesenecal, Ruth Estrada, Diarmaid Mac Mathúna and our moderator Tony Connelly for our Future of EU Communications event. If you didn’t make it, why not check out this short video with some of the highlights!

Jan Dröge, Director of the Broadband Competence Offices Network Support Facility (BCO-SF) will speak at the 2017 Broadband World Forum. The Broadband World Forum brings together senior executives from fixed, mobile and cable operators all around the world looking to tackle the challenges of future proofing networks and monetizing high speed connectivity. In its 17th year, it is the only event in the world that focuses exclusively on communication networks.

We are proud to announce that Gerard McNamara, Founder and CEO of Schuman Associates has been selected as judge for the National Procurement Awards 2017 which will take place on October 19th in Dublin. Since launching in 2012, the National Procurement Awards has established itself as the premier event in Ireland for benchmarking excellence in the procurement profession in Ireland. New categories have been introduced this year to better reflect the main areas of excellence in the procurement profession such as Pharmaceutical Procurement Project of the Year; Best People Development Initiative and CSR Initiative of the Year. 

We are proud to announce that our colleague, Ms. Isane Aparicio, will be speaking at the next economic forum on "Digital and Precision Farming in Europe: benefits, market trends & impact on farm practices" to present the BCO-SF’s activities and spread the word on rural connectivity, and what support the European Commission is giving. 

Philips and Schuman Associates have the pleasure to invite you to the event organized under the umbrella of European Week of Cities and Regions 2017 (EWRC) which will take place in Brussels on 10 October between 8:30 and 11:00 at L42.

Following the adoption of the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD), members of the EFSD Strategic Board convened for the first time in Brussels on the 28th of September to discuss overall strategy and investment areas, the so-called ‘investment windows’ that will define the Fund’s priority sectors.

On 11 October, in the framework of the European Week of Regions and Cities, the BCO Support Facility organized a workshop to showcase good practices for broadband deployment from three European Regions.

Brussels Invest & Export invited Schuman Associates to present at their event on 18th October in Belgrade. The aim of the event is to present the Brussels' economic environment and a wide range of opportunities it offers. Not only is Brussels the capital and the largest city in Belgium, but it also hosts a number of European and International Organizations. It is a place where policies are decided that impact businesses both in and beyond the European Union. 

On 10th October, in the framework of the European Week of Regions and Cities, Schuman Associates organised a workshop with Philips on the topic ¨Improving EU citizens’ lives through meaningful innovation in healthcare¨ . The objective was to raise awareness among EU decision makers about current challenges in using structural and investment funds by private large companies, and about the potential benefits of public-private partnerships for the healthcare sector was among our main objectives.

Current and future initiatives supporting the development of sustainable energy in third countries through EU external aid funding instruments were presented in Brussels on 21 November in the context of a Sector Seminar organized by the Czech Permanent Representation to the EU and CEBRE, the Czech Business Representation to the EU. The event gathered over 100 companies from 14 different Member States as well as representatives from the EU Commission, the EIB, AFD, the Electrifi imitative and the Africa-EU Renewable Energy Cooperation Programme.

Lunch event in the European Parliament hosted by MEP Julie Girling on "Fact Checking Science - shaping the governance of scientific advice in the EU" in cooperation with the Nickel Institute and the European Risk Forum. For more information click here