“I’m participating in that meeting in Brussels next week. Is it an expert group or a comitology committee?”
“I need to brief the boss about what to expect. Will the Commission ask her to vote?”
“How can I know where our issue is in the EU decision process, and what comes next?”

Simple questions, the answers to which may be complex, and yet can make your job easier. This course will get you up to speed on the essential elements of how the EU system works: the different powers that the EU has, who does what, and how you can have a role in shaping EU decisions. It is concise but thorough, and focusses in detail on EU law-making.

You will also receive insights as to what to expect from the new European Parliament and European Commission.

What you will learn in this course:

• The differences between legislative acts, implementing acts (the world of ‘comitology’!) and the new delegated acts, relating them to their place in the EU policy cycle, as well as in the hierarchy of
• The decision-making procedures within the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament, and the ways in which national officials and other stakeholders fit into the policy
• The ordinary legislative procedure and how a ‘trilogue’
• Delegated and implementing acts using topical cases (including the well-known ‘glyphosate’ saga).

Course methodology and highlights

We believe learning happens best with practical knowledge. So this course includes:

• Extensive insights with multiple examples and real life cases
• Group exercises
• Role plays and simulation games
• Inputs from experienced EU practitioners as the basis for discussion among participants about the practical demands of participation in the various stages of EU