College of Europe
The College of Europe (Dutch: Europacollege; French: Collège d'Europe; Polish: Kolegium Europejskie) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its first campus opened in Bruges, Belgium, a second campus located in Warsaw, Poland, and a third one established in Tirana, Albania.
Not to be confused with European University Institute.Type
1949
annually ca. 470 students from over 50 countries
English and French
The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading historical European figures and founding fathers of the European Union, including Salvador de Madariaga, Winston Churchill, Paul-Henri Spaak and Alcide De Gasperi. The College of Europe was one of the results of the 1948 Congress of Europe in The Hague to promote "a spirit of solidarity and mutual understanding between all the nations of Western Europe and to provide elite training to individuals who will uphold these values"[1] and "to train an elite of young executives for Europe".[2]
It has the status of Institution of Public Interest, operating according to Belgian law. The second campus in Natolin (Warsaw), Poland, opened in 1992.[3]
The College of Europe is historically linked to the establishment of the European Union and its predecessors, and to the creation of the European Movement International, of which the college is a supporting member. Federica Mogherini, former High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, was appointed as the Rector to start in September 2020;[4] former President of the European Council Herman, Count Van Rompuy is chairman of the board.[5]
Each academic year is named after a patron and referred to as a promotion. The academic year is opened by a leading European politician. Alumni of the College of Europe include the former Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the former Prime Minister and current President of Finland Alexander Stubb, the former British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Enzo Moavero Milanesi. Many of its alumni go on to serve as diplomats and senior civil servants in European institutions.
The College of Europe was the most represented alma mater (university attended) among senior EU civil servants, based on a sample compiled by Politico in 2021.[6] Politico even dedicated a section of their website to news related to the College of Europe.[7]
History[edit]
Hague Congress initiative to create a College of Europe[edit]
The College of Europe was the world's first university institute of postgraduate studies and training in European affairs. It was founded in 1949 by leading European figures, such as Salvador de Madariaga, Winston Churchill, Paul-Henri Spaak and Alcide De Gasperi, in the wake of the Hague Congress of 1948, that led to the creation of the European Movement.[1] At the Congress, the Spanish statesman Salvador de Madariaga strongly advocated for the creation of a College of Europe, where graduates from different European states could study together as a way to heal the wounds of the World War II. Although the cultural resolution adopted at the end of the Congress did not include explicit references to the establishment of a College of Europe and only advocated for the creation of a "European Cultural Centre and a European Institute for Childhood and Youth Questions", the idea of establishing a European University was put forward by Congress attendees immediately after the Congress.[8]
View of Verversdijk Campus
Old entrance to the Verversdijk buildings
New entrance to the Verversdijk buildings
Many former students of the college, referred to as anciens (French for alumni), have gone on to serve as government ministers, members of various parliaments, diplomats and high-ranking civil servants and executives.
A list of all alumni from 1949 to 1999 is included in the book The College of Europe. Fifty Years of Service to Europe (1999), edited by Dieter Mahncke, Léonce Bekemans and Robert Picht.
Alumni of note of the College of Europe (from 1949) include
Alumni of note of the College of Europe in Natolin, Poland (from 1993) include:
Controversies[edit]
Controversy concerning Saudi Arabia[edit]
In February 2019, a series of press pieces published by EUobserver[68] revealed that the Bruges-based institute was paid by the Saudi government to set up private meetings between Saudi ambassadors, EU officials, and MEPs.[69] Although EU lobby transparency rules say that academic institutions should register if they "deal with EU activities and policies and are in touch with the EU institutions", the College of Europe is not listed in the EU joint-transparency register.[68] On 13 February, MEP Alyn Smith of Greens/EFA wrote to ask Jörg Monar, Rector of the College of Europe, to provide assurances that the institute has not received "financial contributions from the Saudi authorities in any form" in its efforts to set up meetings with the EU institutions.[70] On 20 February, Marietje Schaake of the ALDE group presented a written question to the European Commission on this issue.[71][72] This written question was the subject of a response from the European Commission published on 17 May in which it explained not having any direct evidence as to the facts reported, nor being able to comment on the sources of revenue of the College of Europe beyond European subsidies.[73] A group of College alumni collected signatures to demand the institution to stop organising private meetings between MEPs and the Saudi government.[74]
In a letter to the President of the European Parliament's Budget Control Committee Ingeborg Gräßle, Jörg Monar, Rector of the College of Europe, confirmed the organization of trainings for Saudi officials and criticized the media for reporting them as lobbying. The rector indicated that these meetings had no lobbying dimension but sought to show to the Saudis the reasons why the Union defended certain values, privileging communication over isolation to defend European values.[75][76]
Inside Arabia Online, an online publication, characterised the lobbying by Saudi Arabia as part of a concerted effort to reverse the Kingdom's inclusion on the EU's "blacklist", which intends to penalize countries failing to combat terrorism financing and money laundering.[77]
Allegations of sexual harassment and misogyny[edit]
The French language weekly news magazine Le Vif/L'Express published an article on 21 February 2019 based on the testimony of former students from recent years. The article reported a culture of sexual harassment and misogyny at the College of Europe. Cases of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour were described in the magazine, including frotteurism, forced kisses and groping. Various students reported to Le Vif/L’Express that the administration observes a code of silence on this issue. Cases of inappropriate behaviours by the academic staff were also reported. Contacted by Le Vif/L’Express magazine, the administration replied that: "In some occasions in the past, some students have crossed the personal barriers of other students".[78] On 5 March 2019, a former student of the College of Europe, published an opinion in Le Vif/L’Express magazine, stating that a culture of sexual harassment and misogyny existed at the College of Europe when she was studying there.[79]
Jungle comments by Josep Borrell[edit]
In October 2022, EU's High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell made controversial comments in a speech to the College of Europe's new European Diplomatic Academy in Bruges. In his speech Borrell designated Europe as “a garden” and he called most of the world a “jungle” that “could invade the garden”.[80] Federica Mogherini, the rector of the College of Europe was hosting Josep Borrell, who succeeded her in the function of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU[81] did not express any disagreement.[82]
Sexual Harassment Scandal[edit]
In 2024, Politico Europe published an article detailing longstanding accusations of sexual harassment by an unnamed professor at the university. The article details that accusations against the professor had been logged as long ago as 2012, but that he continued to be employed by the university.[83] The publication of that article led to the dismissal of the professor Olivier Costa, whose identity was revealed further by Politico after the end of the disciplinary procedure.[84]
