Executive Master Workshop in a Winter-White Berlin
Despite snow and cold weather across Europe, our second-year students of the Executive Master successfully gathered for a four-day-long workshop in a winter-white Berlin. After completing examinations in the advanced courses Constitutional Framework of the EU, European Citizenship and Fundamental Rights, Institutional Evolution of the EU, and The European Union Facing Global Economic Challenges, the group visited the Federal Chancellery of Germany for an exchange with Edgar Lenski, Head of Group 51, General EU Affairs, Relations with EU Member States, EU External Relations. Edgar Lenski shared insights into the coordination of German ministries on EU affairs and debriefed on the recent Danish Council Presidency as well as the perspectives for the Cypriot presidency. He answered many questions of the students and shared insights into his experience of working with different Federal Chancellors.
A special highlight was the simulation of a pending case before the Court of Justice of the European Union, under the guidance of Ralf Kanitz, Senior Legal Counsel, EU Litigation, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Students put on their robes to represent the applicant, Member State agents, presiding judge and judges as well as the advocate general in an oral hearing.
Complementing this, the programme included presentation skills training, an interdisciplinary debate on the EU’s multiannual financial framework in debating society format, and individual meetings with supervisors on the students’ final papers and master theses.
Saturday was dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of the multiannual financial framework in the debating society format, to exercise how to put forward arguments and positions strategically. The last workshop day was the time for meeting with the supervisors on the next steps in the direction of the final papers and master theses in political science, economics and EU law.
We thank our students for their active and dynamic participation and to our professors for their commitment! We are looking forward to meeting again in Barcelona in April.