Excursion to Brussels and Luxembourg - 19-21 May 2014

From the 19th of May to the 21st of May, the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development organized an excursion focused mainly on Agricultural Policy and the regulations underlying the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the European Union.

Some IARD students from the 2013-2014 class attended the excursion together with last year students from the Agricultural Sciences bachelor program. The first part of the excursion was in Luxembourg, where an appointment was held at the European Investment Bank (EIB). Dr. Harald Jahn and Mr. Edward Fennessy presented relevant information regarding the Banks main activity areas and the role of the European Court of Auditors in auditing CAP expenditure. Later, Mr. Marcel Ernens, Head of the Unit of Agriculture and Fishery Statistics presented information regarding the role of EUROSTAT and its key role in CAP design and collecting high quality data.

During the evening the students arrived in Brussels, where they settled at a student hostel, and later enjoyed with the group at a world famous café-bar in Brussels, a place with the finest and largest number of local and international Beers.

The next day, already in Brussels, the students visited the Country representation of the state of Niedersachen. The topics addressed here were related to the role of the country representation office in Brussels, and current issues regarding agriculture intensification within countries in the EU, and working in favor of German farmers within the EU regulations and other international organizations like the World Trade Organization.

Afterwards the afternoon was spent at the European Commission. The introduction was made by Dr. Wili Schulz-Greve, explaining the basic concept behind the Common Agricultural Policy-CAP- of the EU. The presentations that followed went into other details of the CAP specifically budget, internal control and the creation of an internal market. The students participated actively by asking questions and providing insightful comments in the EU's main session hall. By the end of the day, a networking session was organized at one of Belgium's restaurant. This was a great opportunity for the students and professors to talk not only within each other, but also with the senior executives from the EU Commission, whom were also there.

On the last day of the Excursion, the office representing Germany in Brussels in terms of agriculture and consumer protection was visited. Also, Dr. Jorge Núñez Ferrer, from the Centre for Europen Policy Studies made an interesting presentation evaluating the welfare and economic effects of the EU?s CAP over the years. Overall the trip was intensive in time and activities, and the students learned from different viewpoints and enjoyed Brussels' vibrant atmosphere.