EST Visit to the EU Delegation to the International Organisations in Vienna

By Johannes Tropper, EST Ambassador to Austria.

On Friday, 4 March 2016, the European Student Think Tank visited the EU Delegation to the International Organisations in Vienna. The Austrian Ambassador of the EST with a group of students met the Ambassador Didier Lenoir, who gave an insight into the work of an EU Delegation in general, the EU Delegation in Vienna in particular and the issues involved in formulating a common foreign policy against the backdrop of national foreign policies of Member States and the unique legal and political nature of the European Union.

Together with 30 employees, the Head of Delegation Didier Lenoir runs the Delegation, which represents the European Union at United Nations Organisations, at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and at other International Organisations, for instance the IAEA, in Vienna. It is tasked with coordinating the EU positions among the Member States of the EU and representing the common position, which was agreed upon.

During the discussion with the Ambassador a lot of questions on broad range of foreign policy issues were addressed including possible impacts of the UK referendum on the common foreign policy, EU foreign policy towards the Russian Federation and the current refugee crisis. The meeting was held under the Chatham House Rule.

The EU Delegation to the International Organisations in Vienna offers unpaid traineeships to students, who hold a Bachelor’s Degree, for a period of 6 months. These traineeships are not part of the ‘Blue Book’-traineeships. However, if an unpaid internship at the Delegation is completed, no further paid or unpaid internship at an EU institution will be possible.

For more information about the traineeship programme, please visit http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/vienna/about_us/vacancies/other/20141201_en.htm

A short report about the meeting can be found on the website of the EU Delegation to Vienna as well: http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/vienna/press_corner/news_un/2015/20160304_en.htm