Summer School  New Developments in the European Union    Vrboska, Island of Hvar/Croatia June 2019       In June 2018, EPIC held its 15th annual summer school, which was organised in collaboration with GIZ - the Gesellschaft fuer internationale Zusammenarbeit - as well as the Centre of Excellence at Croatia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The course was designed for governmental officials from across the Western Balkan region but was also open to representatives from public administrations, business, law, finance, the media, or non-governmental organisations. Following our long successful collaboration, the summer school once again took place at the four star Senses Resort (www.senses.hr).   We are already planning the 16th summer school and have earmarked the dates of June 4 - 8, 2019. We should be able to confirm this some time around March 2019. In case you require any further information on this event, please contact :   Dr Andreas Staab Managing Director EPIC - the European Policy Information Centre staab@epicseminars.com +44 208 444 7970               Course Agenda The summer school intends to focus on the challenges that governments in the region are facing in light of their upcoming accession to the European Union. These processes include administrative and organisational challenges emanating from the interaction with EU institutions, but also policy challenges such as the introduction of the Euro, the adoption of the EU's trade policies, or the integration into the Single Market. The course adopts a mixture of lectures and pro-active learning experiences and workshops. The final course schedule is subject to confirmation, as the organisers would like to take on board any last minute developments. However to give you an idea, the 2018 agenda addressed the following topics:   Brexit and New Forms of EU Membership Populism and the EU's Democratic Deficit  Security, Terrorism and Cyber Crime The Adoption of the Euro Trade and Economic Agreements with the EU  Accession and the Role of National Parliaments Single Market Developments Cross Border Co-operation Programmes Accession and the Rule of Law Working in the EU           Hvar Seminar Schedule 2018     Monday June 4 20.00 Welcome Reception      Tuesday June 5:  09.00 - 10.00  Brexit and New Forms of EU Membership (AS)  10.30 - 11.30  Security, Terrorism and Cyber Crime (AS)  11.45 - 13.00  Populism and the EU's Democratic Deficit (TB)  17.30 - 19.00  How to Prepare for the Introduction of the Euro (MB)      Wednesday, June 6:  09.00 - 10.15  Coreper, Working Groups, Negotiation, Interest representation (TB)    10.45 - 12.00  Workshop 1 (TB) 12.15 - 13.30  Workshop 2 (TB) 17.30 - 19.00  Workshop 3 (TB)     Thursday, June 7:  09.00 - 10.15  Trade and Economic Agreements with the EU (ZH)      10.45 - 11.30  Accession and National Parliaments (DM)  11.45 - 13.00  Single Market Developments (AS)   17.30 - 19.00  Cross-border Co-operation Programmes (KF)      Friday, June 8:  09.00 - 10.30  EU Accession Negotiations - Effects on the Rule of Law (IC)  10.45 - 12.00  Working in the EU (DK) Seminar Close     AS: Dr Andreas Staab, EPIC TB: Tony Bass: Clingendael MB: Mislav Brkić, Croatian National Bank  ZH: Zrinka Horvatić, Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs  DM: Daniel Mondekar, former Chairman of European Affairs Committee, Croatian Parliament   KF: Kristijan Futač, Croatian Agency for Regional Development IC: Ivan Crnčec, Assistant Minister, Croatian Ministry of Justice  DK: Dinka Krčelić, Projectus Grupa	EPIC - the European Policy Information Centre                                       GIZ - Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit  GIZ is a provider for international cooperation services for sustainable development and education. With over 50 years of experience in such areas as economic development and employment, energy and the environment, as well as peace and security, GIZ works with businesses, civil society actors and research institutions. The Hvar summer school receives financial support as well as administrative addistance as part of GIZ's Project Open Regional Fund - Promotion of EU integration, which is financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).        Service For Knowledge Transfer, Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs The summer school would not be possible without the continuous support of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, and here in particular its Service For Knowledge Transfer, which is instrumental in sharing experience gained through the country's EU integration process to the next generation of accession and candidate countries. Service For Knowlege Transfer supports the participation of Croatian civil servants at the summer school, and has been integral to the development of the course agenda, while also offering assistance to representatives from across the region.
Andreas Staab Andreas Staab is the founder and Managing director of EPIC. A former lecturer in European Integration at the London School of Economics, he has worked with governmental officials, business leaders, journalists, but also NGO’s and youth programmes in a host of accession and candidate countries, including Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Turkey and Cyprus (north and south). He is the author of a text book on the EU called ‘The European Union Explained’. Andreas is Adjunct Professor at the Executive Master’s Programme in International Logistics at Georgia Institute of Technology, and Academic Liaison for European Economics and Politics at the London Programme of Washington University in St. Louis.	Tony Bass Tony Bass is an independent consultant specialising in communications, lobbying and public administration reform. He is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for International Relations (Clingendael). Tony has experience in almost all EU member states, as well as in Armenia, Ukraine, China and most recently Myanmar. He has been Team Leader of a large EU funded project on improving public services in the Western Balkans based at the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) in Montenegro. Previously, Tony was a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges and a Senior Expert at the European Institute for Public Administration (EIPA). He also held several positions within the Irish Civil Service, including roles as Special Adviser to ministers, Press Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Head of EU Training in the Civil Service Training Centre. This was Tony's fourth time at the summer school.