Training experts session for the Hungarian EU Presidency

The joint action of the Centre for European Studies and the Foundation for Civic Hungary aimed to organize a six times basic training program for the future 500 experts of Hungary mostly related to the center-right wing parties. The main objective of the program was to select and prepare the members of the team, which will play key role in the Hungarian Presidency of the European Union in 2011. The participants spent a fruitful day with different lecturers and different point of views, widening the range of their general knowledge of the EU presidency.

The one day training contained 4 lectures: the first panel (3 lectures) was provided by leading center-right politicians and international experts (among others Tibor Navracsics, Leader of the Parliamentary Faction of Fidesz Hungarian Civic Union; Zsolt Németh, Head of the Forign Affairs Cabinet of Fidesz; Ildikó Pelczné Gáll vice-president of Fidesz Hungarian Civic Union; József Szájer Vice-Chairman of the European People`s Party; Prof. János Martonyi, former Minister of Foreign Affairs; Gergely Pröhle former Hungarian Ambassador to Germany; Iván Bába, former Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Kinga Gál, MEP; László Surján MEP) in rotation, being responsible for one day during the program. After the half an hour of lecture on political perspectives and leadership, national interest during the Hungarian EU Presidency, the floor was opened for questions. The participants war very active, posing several questions to the actual lecturer. After creating the profile of motivation by the acquired knowledge around 70 – 80 persons will be chosen to continue the training in the next year, in the frame of the next activity.

The second panel of the day was provided by international experts (among others the former speaker of the Slovenian Presidency and an expert of international relations, University of Ljubljana) of former EU Presidency of Slovenia (as the first new member state, running the presidency). The panel focused on the practical skills and knowledge that were required by the tasks of the Presidency of the EU.

As the last panel all the 460 participants filled a thematic questionnaire, compiled by the HR expert, conductor firm. The results will select the suitable persons for the second term of the joint program, which will take place during 2009 focusing more on the different special fields of the EU legislations.