Representation of the European Commission in Germany

History

The representation of the European Commission started as a press liaison office of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951 in Bonn. It was the first press liaison office followed by offices in Rome and Paris. The main task of the press liaison office was to maintain and strengthen contact to the press and other national sources of information. After the establishment of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community in 1957, the office became responsible for representing their interests as well. In 1989 the range of tasks was further extended and was renamed into Representation of the European Commission. Due to the Decision on the Capital of Germany the head office of the representation was moved from Bonn to Berlin.

Function

The representation serves as a link between the national government, the public and the European Commission in Brussels. It informs the public and the media about the policies of the Commission and maintains contact to the federal and national parliaments. At the same time, it informs the office in Brussels about the political situation in Germany and informs about the demands from Germany.

Tasks

The head office of the representation is located in Haus der Europäischen Union in Berlin, where the information office of the European Parliament and Europa-Punkt are located. The representation office in Berlin maintains contact to the German Bundestag, Bundesrat of Germany and Cabinet of Germany, operating actively in press work and communicates with the public. It is regionally responsible for ten federal states: Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia.

Director of the Representation

Richard Kühnel is the director of the representation in Germany since 1 June 2014, who used to be in charge for the representation in Austria.

predecessors were:

Political Department

The political department is responsible for the communication between the Commission and the political decision-makers in Germany. In addition, it compiles reports and analysis about the political, economical and social trends, as well as, special events in Germany. Vice versa, it disseminates the European policy by presentations and events for the public and experts. Head of the department is Bernhard Schnittger.

Department for Communication

The department for communication informs the citizens about what is happening and why on the European level. For that it cooperates closely with partners from the civil society, federal and regional government. Head of the department is Helene Banner since November 2014.

Press Department

The press department informs the journalists in Germany about the policies of the Commission, answers questions and issues statements. Tools are a daily Email newsletter with important messages for Germany from the Commission, a weekly schedule preview and a two-weekly brochure. The press department has an information portal Europa vor Ort designed for regional and local journalists. It aims to help journalists to write about the regional and local impact of European policies as well as relevant events. Head of the department is Reinhard Hönighaus.

Regional representation in Bonn

The regional representation of the European Commission in Bonn is located in the former headquarter of the representation of the Commission, which moved to Berlin in 1999. It serves as a link between the Commission in Brussel and the four federal states North Rhine-Westphalia, Hessen, Rheinland Palatinate and Saarland. Dr. Stephan Koppelberg is in charge of the office.

Information service

The information service answers questions about all Europe related topics and supplies information material. In addition, it has a lot of information about the Regional policy of the European Union.

Events

The regional representation organises many events on its own or with co-operation partners in North Rhine-Westphalia, Hessen, Rheinland Palatinate and Saarland.

Regional representation in Munich

The regional representation in Munich covers the federal states of Bavaria and Baden-Wuertemmberg. The head of the office is Henning Arp since 2006.

Citizen service

The department for citizen service provides interested citizen, journalists and school with information and materials.

Events

The regional representation office organises many events in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria.

europe direct information centres

In Germany there are 61 europe direct information centres as local link between the citizen and the European Union. The information centres are co-financed from the Budget of the European Union and has the purpose to help, inform and answers questions from the local public about the European Union. The representation offices co-ordinate their work and supply materials and training for the staff.

Enterprise Europe Network

The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) is part of the europe direct network of the European Commission. The EEN supports the co-operation, transfer of technology and building as well as maintaining strategic partnership between Small and medium-sized enterprises.

European Documentation Centre

The 51 European Documentation Centres in Germany promotes teaching and research of questions about the European integration. They are located close to higher education institutions and research facilities and ensure that that documents and publications are available for teaching and research.

Team Europe

Team Europe is a team consisting of 63 experts from every part of Germany who can be booked for presentations about different European topics. For example, they can be consulted if one of the employees from the representation cannot hold a presentation due to clash in the schedule.