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Published: October 27th 2016
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We started the day off with a well needed lie in! The group gathered just before 10am at reception and took the usual route to the offices within Gothenburg. As we arrived in the office, we were greeted by a gentleman named ‘Josef Gustafsson’ who began to explain the basics of ‘EU programs and financing’. Some interesting facts about the Vastra Gotaland area which the group took away with them after the session were;
· By 2020, the target is to increase employment in the Gothenburg area
· Programs and funding uses 1/3 of the EU budget
· Less developed regions get awarded proportionally more EU funding than more developed regions, as well as new member states (North East England is classed as "less developed"!)
· Budget: 450 million SEK from EU indicator goals
· 1299 companies receiving support
· 1900 employees receiving support
· The social fund is connected to National Level and has a budget of 1 Billion Krone
· Companies also seek private funding to subsidise grants
After the session ended, the group went their separate ways to grab some lunch and research for the next session at 1pm.
Paige and Katie stayed well in their comfort zone and went to McDonalds, as well as Ce’Nedra having an adventurous trip to Subway. However, Lucy, Helen and Abby decided to experiment with different foods and have a trip to the food market, Helen came back to the hostel showing off the size of her sausage with bacon wrapped round it. As time quickly went by, it was time for the group to head back to the office yet again for the next session.
Irma Ganibegovic took this session and discussed ‘Brussels office and strategic EU cooperation’. The important facts the group took away with them from the session include;
· The main reason meetings are held in Brussels is due to the fact that the original intention was for the "seat" to move between Member States each year. The fairest way to do this was considered to be going in alphabetical order, and because there was no Member beginning with the letter ‘A’, Brussels was first on the agenda. After everything had been set up there, it was decided to keep the offices there to avoid unnecessary difficulty and expense. Also, Brussels is considered to be a politically
neutral place, compared with some of the other EU countries...
The EU issues include;
1. Internal market
2. Jobs, growth and investments
3. Digital single market
4. EU-US free trade
5. EU as global actor
6. Justice and fundamental rights
7. Economic and monetary union
8. Energy union and climate change
9. Migration- biggest issue
10. Democratic change
· The EU institutions include European Parliament (Elected politicians), European Commission (Experts and officials) and the Council (Ministers)
· If the EU commission proposes a Law, they will send it to the Parliament and the Council and then wait for the reply. If both agree on the idea then it will become a law, however if one agrees and one disagrees then the idea will be circulated yet again to try and gather a unanimous response. This can happen up to 3 times, after which the proposal must be changed and resubmitted.
· The Brussels office monitors the EU policy process as well as dealing with cooperation and networking.
After the session had finished, the group decided to have a walk to the ‘Natural History Museum’. After
an exhausting 30 minute walk, we all arrived, however very tired, especially Paige as she refused to pay £2.50 for a bottle of coke. The group really enjoyed seeing all the stuffed animals ranging from bears to giraffes to birds, we all look forward to seeing the real animals tomorrow at the city animal park, such as ‘mooses’ and hopefully some other animals- let’s hope they look a bit more lively than today! Afterwards, we took our first tram ride back to the Hostel. Helen and Paige nearly fell backwards and landed on a lady’s leg as it pulled away at high speed when they were scanning their passes- I’m sure the woman wouldn’t have been too pleased about this.
We soon arrived back at the hostel, after the tiring day we all thought it would be a sensible idea to return to our rooms and have a lie down before tea. After what felt like 2 seconds, it was time to meet the group down in the kitchen to prepare our evening meal and now we are currently off to bed for another early night.
That’s all for today. Keep tuned in for another update
tomorrow.
Sleep Tight! 😊
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