Schuman Associates news

On 1 July 2017, Estonia took over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, which is the first time Estonia has held the EU Presidency since they joined the union in 2004.  Presidencies work together in groups of three, called a 'Trio Presidency’.  The trio set out some common long-term goals and topics that will be addressed by the Council over an 18-month period, aside from their  own detailed six-month programme.  The Estonian Presidency is the first phase of the current trio and will be succeeded by Bulgaria and Austria.

At the Western Balkans Summit in Trieste, Italy, the EU Commission and the regional partners agreed on seven new projects in transport and energy worth over 500 million euro, out of which 194 million euro are EU grants and loans from EBRD and EIB. The European Union is planning to allocate up to 1 billion euro by 2020 to key infrastructure projects in transport and energy of major importance to the region and its connectivity with the EU.

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!

Please take a look at our new Fact Sheet on the Erasmus+ Sport project B-WISER, in cooperation with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), the Adecco Group, research & elite sport institutions and dual career experts: https://prezi.com/view/VqG57o2nZRECxHA2MYuh/

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.. 

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.

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.

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.

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!

On 30 April the ERASMUS+ project “B-WISER” closed its fourth month of activities. After a fruitful and interactive kick-off meeting in January, all the partners started working on the project’s implementation under the seamless coordination and supervision by the VUB.

 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.

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.

The EU has been funding innovative low-carbon technologies through the third phase of the EU emissions trading system (ETS) in a programme called NER300 and is currently debating the 4th phase.

The NER 300 programme established carbon capture and storage (CCS) and innovative renewable energy (RES) projects on a commercial-scale . The programme supported a range of RES technologies (bioenergy, concentrated solar power, photovoltaics, geothermal, wind, ocean, hydropower, and smart grids) but also some CCS technologies (pre-combustion, post-combustion, oxyfuel, and industrial applications).

We are currently looking for a graphic designer  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!

The EU cohesion policy has been a major driver of change in Bulgaria for the last 10 years.  Since its EU accession in 2007, Bulgaria has benefited from the Union’s Structural Funds at an increased speed - these funds has contributed significantly to the Bulgarian economy with positive effects on employment, economic development, modernization of  infrastructure, etc.

Schuman Associates has participated in the roundtable organized by Polityka Insight in Warsaw. Industry representatives gathered with Minister of Digitization Anna Streżyńska, Deputy Minister of Development Jerzy Kwieciński, and the head of Office of Electronic Communications, Marcin Cichy to discuss the main challenges and opportunities for mobile technologies investments in Poland. 

The European Commission set up a Support Facility for the Broadband Competence Offices (BCOs). The Brussels-based facility is starting its operations in January 2017 and will help BCOs to share their experiences in a European network. Read the interview with Jan Dröge from Schuman Associates, who is starting up the support facility.

On 25-26 January, Schuman Associates travelled to Verona, Italy, to take part to the kick-off meeting of B-WISER - “Be a Winner In Sport & Employment before and after athletic Retirement”, a brand-new EU project funded under ERASMUS+ Sport.

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.