The College of Europe (; ; ) is a post-graduate institute of

European studies European studies is a field of study offered by many academic colleges and universities that focuses on the History of Western civilization and the evolution of Western culture, as well as on current developments in European integration. Some ...

with three campuses in

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

, Belgium;

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland; and

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

, Albania. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 as a result of the 1948

Congress of Europe The Hague Congress or the Congress of Europe was a conference that was held in The Hague from 7–11 May 1948 with 750 delegates participating from around Europe as well as observers from Canada and the United States of America. The Congress, or ...

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

by leading historical European figures and

founding fathers of the European Union Founding may refer to: * The formation of a corporation, government, or other organization * The laying of a building's foundation * The casting of materials in a mold See also * Foundation (disambiguation) * Incorporation (disambiguation) ...

, including

Salvador de Madariaga Salvador de Madariaga y Rojo (23 July 1886 – 14 December 1978) was a Spanish "eminent liberal", diplomat, writer, historian and pacifist who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Nobel Peace Prize and awarded the Charl ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

Paul-Henri Spaak Paul-Henri Charles Spaak (; 25 January 1899 – 31 July 1972) was an influential Belgian Socialist politician, diplomat and statesman who thrice served as the prime minister of Belgium and later as the second secretary general of NATO. Nicknam ...

and

Alcide De Gasperi Alcide Amedeo Francesco De Gasperi (; 3 April 1881 – 19 August 1954) was an Italian politician and statesman who founded the Christian Democracy party and served as prime minister of Italy in eight successive coalition governments from 1945 t ...

, to promote "a spirit of

solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

and mutual understanding between all the nations of

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

and to provide elite training to individuals who will uphold these values"Le rôle du Collège d'Europe
" he role of the College of Europe ''Journal de Bruges et de la Province'', 7 October 1950, Vol. 114, No. 78, p. 1 and "to train an elite of young executives for Europe". After the

fall of communism The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...

, the college opened an additional campus in

Natolin Natolin is a neighbourhood and a City Information System area located in Warsaw, Poland, within the district of Ursynów. It is a predominantly mid-rise multifamily residential area, with a smaller presence of low-rise single-family housing in ...

, Poland, that was gifted to the institution by the Polish government in 1992. A campus in Tirana opened in 2024. 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 The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it. History Initially the Eur ...

, of which the college is a supporting member.

Federica Mogherini Federica Mogherini (; born 16 June 1973) is an Italian politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. A member of the Democratic ...

, former

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Un ...

, was appointed as the Rector to start in September 2020; former

President of the European Council The president of the European Council is the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council on the world stage. This Institutions of the European Union, institution comprises the college of heads of state or governme ...

Herman, Count Van Rompuy is chairman of the board. 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. The ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' writes that "the elite College of Europe in Bruges" is "an institution geared to producing crop after crop of graduates with a lifelong enthusiasm for EU integration". while the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

called it "the EU's very own

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford, Universities of Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collect ...

". Each academic year is named after a patron and referred to as a promotion. The academic year is opened by a leading European politician. It has the status of '' Institution of Public Interest'', operating according to Belgian law.

History

Hague Congress initiative to create a College of Europe

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 The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it. History Initially the Euro ...

. 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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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. A group of

citizens led by the Reverend

Karel Verleye Father Karel Verleye, OFMCap, (17 April 1920 – 27 February 2002) co-founded the College of Europe in Bruges in 1949 with his good friend Hendrik Brugmans. He was a Capuchin friar for 64 years. In 1945 he became philosophy lector at the Bruge ...

succeeded in attracting the college to Bruges. Professor

Hendrik Brugmans Hendrik Brugmans (13 December 1906 – 12 March 1997) also known as Hendrik Bupatis was the son of historian Hajo Brugmans and Maria Keizer. He studied history of French literature at the Universiteit van Amsterdam and the Sorbonne University i ...

, one of the intellectual leaders of the

and the President of the

Union of European Federalists The Union of European Federalists (UEF) is an international non-profit association originally founded in 1946 and refounded in 1973, promoting the advent of a European federal State based on the idea of unity in diversity. In 1946, it brought ...

, became its first Rector (1950–1972). John Bowie, Professor of Modern History at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, was appointed director of the first session held by the college, in 1949. Henri van Effenterre, who was a Professor of Ancient History at Caen University and Alphonse de Vreese, International Law professor at the University of Ghent, also contributed to that first session. The topic of that first session taught to the first promotion of the college (frequently called , for it is the only promotion not named after any prominent figure) was "Teaching history and the development of a European spirit in universities". In the decades that followed the establishment of the institution, students were hosted at the Navarra Hotel in the historic centre of Bruges until 1981. The College consolidated itself as an institution specialized in studies focused on the newly established European Communities (the college was founded in 1949, before the communities were established).

''Bruges speech'' by Margaret Thatcher

In 1988, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher delivered a speech that became known as the '' Bruges speech'' at the College of Europe as part of the opening ceremony for that academic year. The Bruges speech is considered by observers as the cornerstone of the Eurosceptic movement that eventually led to Brexit. Thatcher laid down her vision for Europe, claiming that the European Community should remain an economic union, refusing the claims for a closer political integration made by Commission President

Jacques Delors Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (; 20 July 192527 December 2023) was a French politician who served as the eighth president of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995. Delors played a key role in the creation of the single market, the euro and th ...

. Thatcher outlined her opposition to any attempts to create "a European superstate exercising a new dominance from Brussels." The speech was perceived as not only an attack on European federalism but an attack on the European project, as such.

Post-Cold War history

After the fall of communism and changes in

Central and Eastern Europe Central and Eastern Europe is a geopolitical term encompassing the countries in Baltic region, Northeast Europe (primarily the Baltic states, Baltics), Central Europe (primarily the Visegrád Group), Eastern Europe, and Southeast Europe (primaril ...

, the College of Europe campus at Natolin (Warsaw, Poland), was founded in 1992 with the support of the European Commission and the Polish government. According to former President of the European Commission Jacques Delors, "this College of Europe at Natolin is more than the symbol of Europe found once again, it is the hope represented in this beautiful historic place. The hope that exchanges can multiply for greater mutual understanding and fraternity". The establishment of a second campus in eastern has been frequently regarded as part of an effort aiming to train young students from eastern countries under the auspices of eastern enlargement. Since the establishment of that second campus in Poland, the college operates as "one College – two campuses," and what was once referred to as the "", is now known as the "". In 2012, the College of Europe became a supporting member of the

. The academic year 2018–2019 marked the first time in which a promotion was named after a College alumnus,

Manuel Marín Manuel Marín González (21 October 1949 – 4 December 2017) was a Spanish politician, former President of the Congress of Deputies of Spain. He was a long-time member of the European Commission, and acting president during the Santer Commis ...

, Spanish Statesman, EU Commissioner and acting President of the Commission (known as the "father of the Erasmus Programme"), who had passed away early that year. In 2015, three years before the election of Marín as ''Patron'', former Finnish Prime Minister

Alexander Stubb Cai-Göran Alexander Stubb (, born 1 April 1968) is a Finnish politician who has been the 13th president of Finland since 2024. He previously served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2014 to 2015. Rising in politics as a researcher specialis ...

was the first College alumnus to be invited to be the ''Orateur'' at the opening ceremony of that academic year. Former Spanish Minister and Cabinet Spokesperson

Íñigo Méndez de Vigo Íñigo Méndez de Vigo y Montojo, 9th Baron of Claret (born 21 January 1956) is a Spanish politician. He was Minister of Education, Culture and Sport between 26 June 2015 and 1 June 2018, when a vote of no-confidence against Mariano Rajoy ous ...

, 9th Baron of Claret, served as chairman of the board from 2009 to 2019; in 2019 former Prime Minister of Belgium and President of the European Council Herman, Count Van Rompuy was appointed the new chairman of the board. In May 2020 Federica Mogherini, former High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, was appointed rector of the College, the first high ranking political figure from the European Commission to hold the post.

Campuses

Bruges campus

The Bruges campus is situated in the centre of Bruges since its establishment in 1949. Bruges is located in the

Flemish Region The Flemish Region (, ), usually simply referred to as Flanders ( ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—alongside the Wallonia, Walloon Region and the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. ...

of Belgium, a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

-speaking area, although the college does not use Dutch as one of its working languages. The college has a system of residences in the centre of Bruges and not far from the Dijver, where the main administrative and academic building and the library are situated. None of the residences lodges more than 60 students so that each residence in fact has its own small multinational and multicultural environment. It consists of the following campus buildings:

Dijver

The Paul Henri Spaak Building (named after the Belgian socialist prime minister and pioneer of European integration, nicknamed "Mr. Europe"), popularly known as Dijver, is the College's main administrative building on the Bruges campus. It hosts the college's main reception, some of its offices, classrooms and the library. It is located on the Dijver Canal. A white classic façade stands at the front of the main building (where the European, Belgian, Flemish and Brugeois flags hang together), while there is a garden in its back side. The garden is used by the students, who frequently spare their break time there due to its proximity to the library (which is connected to the main building by a corridor). Signed portraits of all the orateurs hang in the walls of the main corridor of the building. The library building was built in 1965. Princess

Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born ...

(later Queen Beatrix) laid the first stone of the library in a special commemorative event. Almost three decades after its completion, the library was reformed and enlarged (the works were completed in 1992). Most of the library funds are devoted to European Studies, together with law, economics, and political and administrative sciences. Access to the library is restricted to College students and academic staff. A bust of Salvador de Madariaga presides over the library main reading hall.

Verversdijk

Following the increase in the number of students attending the College each year, the College of Europe (with the support of different entities and institutions, including the Flemish Government and the City of Bruges) reformed the 17th century protected monument of Verversdijk to provide additional lecture theatres (auditoria), teaching rooms and offices for academics, research fellows and staff; and to extend its activities. The reform was led by the office of Xaveer De Geyter Architects (XDGA), and the project was nominated for the Mies van de Rohe award in 2009. The Verversdijk premises began to be used by College students in 2007. Besides its academic and administrative use throughout the course, a cocktail is served in its garden to each promotion, following their graduation ceremony at St. Walburga Church (Bruges). The historical site of Verversdijk owes its name to fact that the owners of the houses standing there at medieval times were dyers who used wool traded with Scotland, as the area was populated by several Englishmen during the Middle Ages. During the Spanish rule, it hosted the schooling houses and the monastery established by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

in the 17th century. In 1792, the monastery auditorium was used as a meeting place by the Jacobin Club. The main monastery wing (dating back to 1701, and whose façade was plastered in 1865) was built along the canal, and was used as an athenaeum since 1851. its long inner corridor is an outstanding example of the

rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

style in

, whereas, the ashlar staircase is also an element of artistic relevance. The attic of the building, with a total length of 45 meters and a surprisingly well-preserved oak canopy, is currently used as a study room. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

occupation of Belgium, the attic was used as a sleeping room for soldiers of the German Marine. The monastery wing was also home to the Museum of Modern Painting from 1898 to 1931 (when they were transferred to the newly established Groeninge Museum). Since 2008, following and agreement between the College and the Groeninge Museum, the college hosts the 'Extraordinary Groeninghe Art Collection', an installation of contemporary works of art featuring international artists at Verversdijk's hallways. Members of the Groeninghe Art Collection meet every two months at the College to discuss art, attend lectures by art experts and consider possible purchases. In March 2014, the so-called China Library was established at the Verversdijk compound. A project sponsored by the Information Office of the State Council of the Chinese Government, the library (decorated in Chinese style) is home to ten thousand books and documents in more than six languages, as frequently hosts events related with Sino-European relations or the Chinese culture. File:Verversdijk Campus - 2016.jpg, View of Verversdijk Campus File:PM 062043 B Brugge.jpg, Old entrance to the Verversdijk buildings File:Europacollege Verversdijk.jpg, New entrance to the Verversdijk buildings

Garenmarkt

The Hotel Portinari in Garenmarkt 15 with its classical façade was formerly home to Tommaso Portinari, the administrator of the Florentine "Loggia de Medici" in the 15th century in Bruges. It contains eleven apartments for professors and forty student rooms, two "salons" in 19th-century style, the "salon du Recteur" with 18th-century wall paintings and a modern "Mensa" for students. A room dedicated to Winston Churchill (who was among the voices calling for the establishment of the College during The Hague Congress in 1948 and was one of its founders the year after) was inaugurated by his grandson, Sir Nicholas Soames, and the British ambassador in 2017. Garenmarkt also hosts the canteen for all College students.

Biskajer

The residence is located in a home built in classicist style during the 19th century. The building is located in Biskajersplein, a small square named after the Spanish region of Biscay (the square is located on the side the dock where ships coming in from that region unloaded their merchandise in the 15th and 16th centuries). The actual residence is located on the lot occupied by the Mareminne house, which hosted the consulate of Biscay in the past, although the original building was demolished. Traces of the old consulate building can be found in the inner garden of the residence, which kept the shape of the consulate's horse stable. The residence hosts 53 students every year.

Gouden Hand

The Gouden Hand residence is housed in a Bruges-style building dating back to the 17th century. It is a listed monument. It was renovated during the 2005–2006 academic year. The name of the residence, directly translates from Dutch to "Golden Hand", after a medieval legend about the canal bordering the residence. Gouden Hand is also the name of two streets along the same canal. The 15th century painter

Jan Van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( ; ; – 9 July 1441) was a Flemish people, Flemish painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Nort ...

lived and owned a studio in the Gouden-Handstraat nr. 6, behind the current residence. The Gouden Hand student bar is situated in the cellar. The building has been a backdrop for many films and documentaries.

Natolin campus

The Natolin Warsaw campus of the college was established in 1992 responding to the revolutions of 1989 and ahead of Poland's accession negotiations with the EU. The Natolin Campus is located in a historic palace, part of a 120-hectare park and nature reserve—formerly the Royal hunting palace of Natolin—situated in the southern part of Warsaw about 20 minutes by metro from the city centre. The Natolin European Centre Foundation takes care of the complex and has conducted restoration of the former Potocki palace, making it available for the college. The old historical buildings, including the manor house, the stables and the coach house, were converted to the needs of modern times and new buildings were constructed in a style preserving the harmony of the palace and its outlying park. In 2022, the Natolin campus of the College of Europe hosted one of the four European citizens’ panels, organised as part of the EU's

Conference on the Future of Europe The Conference on the Future of Europe was a proposal of the European Commission and the European Parliament, announced at the end of 2019, with the aim of looking at the medium- to long-term future of the EU and what reforms should be made to ...

Tirana Campus

In 2023, the College announced the opening of a new campus in Tirana, the capital of

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. The Tirana campus of the College of Europe welcomed its inaugural cohort during the 2024–2025 academic year, comprising 32 students from 21 countries. The student body primarily included individuals from the

Western Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

and the European Union. The College has indicated an expected increase in student enrollment in the future.

Student life

Admissions

Application may be made to national selection committees or by direct application to the College of Europe for individuals from a country where no selection committee exists. As of 2014, there are 28 national selection committees. Regarding scholarships, the national selection committees can grant a scholarship; approximately 70% of students receive a scholarship from either national governments or other public and private institutions. For much of its history, the college only admitted a few students, the number has increased since the 1990s.

Education

The College of Europe is a

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

institution, requiring students to be proficient in both English and French. It offers several one-year advanced master's programmes in various fields related to European studies. At the Bruges campus, students can choose from four specialized master's programmes: European

Political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

and

Governance Governance is the overall complex system or framework of Process, processes, functions, structures, Social norm, rules, Law, laws and Norms (sociology), norms born out of the Interpersonal relationship, relationships, Social interaction, intera ...

Studies,

European Law European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...

, European Economic Studies, and EU

International Relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

and

Diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

Studies. The Natolin campus offers a single programme: European

Interdisciplinary Studies Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...

. At the Tirana campus, students are offered a programme in European Transformation and Integration. Additionally, in collaboration with the

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations. As of 2017, the student bo ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

, the College (Bruges campus) offers a joint Master in Transatlantic Affairs, in which students spend one year at each institution.

Traditions

The College of Europe has developed several traditions. Some are shared with the École nationale d'administration (ENA) in France: Both the College and ENA name their promotions after a historical figure, being in the College of Europe an outstanding European figure, which is called "patron". Besides the choice of a prominent historical figure to name each promotion, each academical year is traditionally inaugurated by a prominent European figure. Furthermore, each year, College of Europe students are named honorary citizens of Bruges prior to their departure. Moreover, since its early years, the College of Europe has incorporated national days and weeks as a core part of its traditions: During these events, students organize cultural activities, academic conferences, traditional meals, and social gatherings to showcase the distinctive aspects of their national heritage. Another tradition dating back to the first years of existence of the college is the visit to

Flanders fields Flanders Fields is a common English name of the World War I battlefields in an area straddling the Belgian provinces of West Flanders and East Flanders as well as the French department of Nord, part of which makes up the area known as French Flan ...

during the first weeks of the academic year. During that visit, students lay a floral tribute at the

Menin Gate The Menin Gate (), officially the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are unknown. The m ...

war memorial in

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

Promotions

Academic years at the College are known as ''promotions''. Each

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

is named after an outstanding European, referred to as the promotion's patron. The opening ceremony each year is presided over by a prominent politician, referred to as the ''Orateur''; they have included

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

David Miliband David Wright Miliband (born 15 July 1965) is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the International Rescue Committee and a former British Labour Party politician. He was the Foreign Secretary from 2007 to 2010 and the Member o ...

Jean-Claude Juncker Jean-Claude Juncker (; born 9 December 1954) is a Luxembourgish politician who was List of prime ministers of Luxembourg, prime minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013 and president of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. He also was List ...

Javier Solana Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga CYC (; born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and PSOE politician. After serving in the Spanish government as Foreign Affairs Minister under Felipe González (1992–1995) and as the Secretary Gener ...

José Manuel Barroso José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and law professor. He previously served from 2002 to 2004 as the List of Prime Ministers of Portugal, 114th prime minister of Portugal and from 2004–2014 as the 11 ...

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, ; ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as simply Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Ministry of the Economy ...

Juan Carlos I of Spain Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until Abdication of Juan Carlos I, his abdic ...

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

and

François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...

. Being invited as the college's ''Orateur'' is considered a high honour.

Notable alumni

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. File:Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Danmarks statsminister. Nordiska Radets session 2011 i Kopenhamn.jpg,

Helle Thorning-Schmidt Helle Thorning-Schmidt (; born 14 December 1966) is a Danish retired politician who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015, and Leader of the Social Democrats from 2005 to 2015. She is the first woman to have held each p ...

, Danish politician, former Prime Minister of Denmark File:Nick Clegg official portrait.jpg,

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...

, British business executive and politician File:Clément Beaune.jpg, Clément Beaune, French politician File:Brigid Laffan, Director of the RSCAS at the EUI (22294519322).jpg, Brigid Laffan, Irish political scientist File:Valerie plame wilson 2014.jpg,

Valerie Plame Valerie Elise Plame (born August 13, 1963) is an American writer, spy, novelist, and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. As the subject of the 2003 Plame affair, also known as the CIA leak scandal, Plame's identity as a CIA offic ...

, American writer, spy novelist and former CIA officer File:2020-10-20 Marija Pejčinović Burić.jpg,

Marija Pejčinović Burić Marija Pejčinović Burić (; born 9 April 1963) is a Croatian politician of the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union party who served as Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (Croatia), Minister of Foreign and European Affairs and First Depu ...

, Croatian politician, Secretary General of the Council of Europe File:Stubb 4682.jpg,

, Finnish politician, President of Finland File:Pål Jonson in 2022 (4 av 5) (cropped).jpg, Pål Jonson, Swedish politician and Minister for Defense 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 Léonce Bekemans (born 20 September 1950 in Bruges) is a Belgian economist and scholar of European studies. Since 2002, he holds the Jean Monnet Chair in "Globalisation, Intercultural Dialogue and Inclusiveness in the EU" at the University of Padua ...

and Robert Picht. Alumni of note of the College of Europe (from 1949) include * Gaetano Adinolfi, former Deputy

Secretary General of the Council of Europe The Secretary General of the Council of Europe () is elected by the Parliamentary Assembly from a shortlist proposed by the Committee of Ministers for a term of five years. The secretary general is entrusted with the responsibility of meetin ...

* Alberto Alemanno, Professor of Law at

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

and

HEC Paris HEC Paris () is a business school and ''grande école'' located in Jouy-en-Josas, a southwestern outer suburb of Paris, France. It offers Bachelor, MiM, MSc in International Finance, MBA, EMBA, executive education, professional developm ...

, CEO of eLabEurope * Frans Alphons Maria Alting von Geusau, Dutch legal scholar and diplomat * Bernadette Andreosso-O'Callaghan, French-Irish economist,

Jean Monnet Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French civil servant, entrepreneur, diplomat, financier, and administrator. An influential supporter of European unity, he is considered one of the founding fathers of t ...

Professor of economics at the University of Limerick * Peter Arbo, Norwegian academic *

Árni Páll Árnason Árni Páll Árnason (born 23 May 1966) is Vice-President and a member of the College of the EFTA Surveillance Authority, responsible for Competition, Energy, Environment, Transport, Food Safety, Free movement of goods, Public undertakings an ...

, Icelandic Minister of Economic Affairs. Promotion Mozart. * Ioanna Babassika, Greek human rights lawyer, member of the

Committee for the Prevention of Torture A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

* Yuriko Backes, Luxembourgish diplomat and politician, Minister for Finances *

María Angeles Benítez Salas María Angeles Benítez Salas is a Spanish lawyer and high-ranking official of the European Commission. She has served as Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development from 2016 to 2021 and as acting Direc ...

, Spanish European civil servant, director-general of the

Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development The Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission. The DG AGRI is responsible for the European Union policy area of agriculture and rural development. The work of the DG AGRI ...

* Ledi Bianku, judge at the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

Margunn Bjørnholt Margunn Bjørnholt (born 9 October 1958 in Bø, Telemark) is a Norwegian sociologist and economics, economist. She is a Academic ranks in Norway#Research professor, research professor at the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Stud ...

, Norwegian sociologist *

Iwo Byczewski Iwo Byczewski (born 29 February 1948, in Poznań) is a Polish diplomat. He served as Deputy Foreign Minister (1991–1995), Ambassador to Belgium and Permanent Representative to the European Union. Life He is a law graduate from the Adam Mick ...

, former Polish Deputy Foreign Minister (1991–1995), Ambassador to Belgium and Permanent Representative to the European Union * Geert Van Calster, Belgian lawyer and legal scholar * Sofie Carsten Nielsen, Danish Minister for Higher Education and Science. Promotion Aristotle * Franz Ceska, Austrian Ambassador to Belgium and France, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva *

Poul Skytte Christoffersen Poul Skytte Christoffersen (born 1946) is a Danish diplomat. He holds a degree in Economics. Christoffersen prepared the negotiations on EU enlargement to take in 10 central and eastern European countries in 2004, so that they could be conclude ...

, Danish Permanent Representative to the European Institutions, Special Advisor to The Right Honourable Catherine Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, the

, British politician, former

Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom is an honorific title given to a minister of the Crown and a member of the British Cabinet, normally to signify a very senior minister, the deputy leader of the governing party, or a key political ...

, leader of the Liberal Democrats and member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

* Luc Coene, Belgian economist and Governor of the

National Bank of Belgium The National Bank of Belgium (NBB; , NBB; , BNB; , BNB) is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Belgium within the Eurosystem. It was the Belgian central bank from 1850 until 1998, established by law of and issuin ...

(NBB) * Karl Cox, Vice President of the

Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational computer technology company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Co-founded in 1977 in Santa Clara, California, by Larry Ellison, who remains executive chairman, Oracle was ...

* Martin Donnelly, British civil servant * Niels Egelund, Danish diplomat, former Permanent Representative to NATO and Ambassador to France * Jonathan Faull, Director General for the Internal Market and Services * Monique Pariat, Director-General for the

Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs The Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission responsible for Internal security, Migration and Border management. Its role is to ensure the security of the Schengen area, buil ...

and previously Director-General for the

Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations Within the European Union (EU), Directorates-General are departments with specific zones of responsibility. Within the European Commission specifically, Directorates-General are the equivalent of national-level ministries. Most are headed by a E ...

. * Mary Finlay Geoghegan, Justice of the

Supreme Court of Ireland The Supreme Court of Ireland () is the highest judicial authority in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a court of final appeal and exercises, in conjunction with the Court of Appeal (Ireland), Court of Appeal and the High Court (Ireland), Hig ...

. * Nigel Forman, British MP and Minister of Higher Education (1992), a member of the Conservative Party * Gabriel Fragnière, Swiss academic *

Louise Fréchette Louise Fréchette (born July 16, 1946) is a Canadian diplomat and public servant who served for eight years as United Nations Deputy Secretary-General. She also served a three-year term at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, an ...

Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations The deputy secretary-general of the United Nations is the deputy to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, secretary-general of the United Nations. The office was created to handle many of the administrative responsibilities of the secretar ...

Francesco Paolo Fulci Francesco Paolo Fulci (19 March 1931 – 21 January 2022) was an Italian diplomat who served as Ambassador to the United Nations. Education Fulci graduated with honours in law in 1953 from the University of Messina and obtained a master's deg ...

, former Permanent Representative of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

to the United Nations (1993–1999), currently serving as President of

Ferrero SpA Ferrero International SpA ( , ), more commonly known as Ferrero Group or simply Ferrero, is an Italian multinational company with headquarters in Alba. Ferrero is a manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products, and the second ...

* Otto von der Gablentz, German diplomat and academic *

Luis Garicano Luis Garicano Gabilondo (; born 1967) is a Spanish economist and politician who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2019 to 2022. He was also vice president of Renew Europe and vice president of the European political party Allia ...

, Professor of Economics and Strategy at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

* Miriam González Durántez, Spanish lawyer and wife of

* Fiona Hayes-Renshaw, Irish academic, visiting professor at the college since 2001 * Philip Hoffmann, Member of the German

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

* Chris Hoornaert,

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

of Belgium to the Netherlands *

Simon Hughes Sir Simon Henry Ward Hughes (born 17 May 1951) is a British former politician. He is now the Chancellor of London South Bank University, and a strategic adviser to Talgo, a Spanish manufacturer of trains. Hughes was deputy leader of the Lib ...

, British politician and

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

Member of Parliament * Marc Jaeger, judge at the General Court of the EU *

Josef Joffe Josef Joffe (born 15 March 1944) is a former publisher-editor of ''Die Zeit'', a weekly German newspaper. His second career has been in academia. Appointed Senior Fellow of Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies in 2007 (a ...

, German editor and publisher of ''

Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...

'' and adjunct professor of political science at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

* Claudia Kahr, judge at the Austrian Constitutional Court * Alison Kelly, Irish ambassador to Israel *

Stephen Kinnock Stephen Nathan Kinnock (born 1 January 1970) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberafan Maesteg, formerly Aberavon, since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, he has served as Minister of State for Care since 2 ...

, Director at the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

* Berno Kjeldsen, Danish ambassador * Lars-Jacob Krogh, journalist *Sabino Fornies Martinez, European Commission Civil Servant, Head of task force at DG FISMA and EU Diplomat in Beijing * Brigid Laffan, director of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the

European University Institute The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral research-intensive university and an intergovernmental organisation with juridical personality, established by its founding member states to contribu ...

Jo Leinen Joseph Leinen (born 6 April 1948) is a German politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 until 2019. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party, part of the Party of European Socialists. He is well known for h ...

, German member of the

, former president of the

* Christian Lequesne, professor of European politics at

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

, the College of Europe and the

* Leif Terje Løddesøl, former chair of

Statoil Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. It is primarily a petroleum company operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. In th ...

Sylvie Lucas Sylvie Lucas (born 30 June 1965) was Luxembourg's ambassador to the United States of America from 2016 to 2019, having previously served as permanent representative to the United Nations from August 2008 to August 2016 and president of the United ...

, Luxembourg's ambassador to the United Nations and president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) (2009–2010) *Aude Maio-Coliche, ambassador, head of the EU Delegation to Venezuela *

Helena Malikova Helena Malikova (born 1983) is a French-Slovak civil servant and an academic. She holds both French and Slovak passports, having migrated to France with her parents. Malikova has been overseeing at the European Commission the investigation in t ...

, EU civil servant and academic *

, former

president of the European Commission The president of the European Commission, also known as president of the College of Commissioners is the Head of government, head of the European Commission, the Executive (government), executive branch of the European Union (EU). The president ...

* Thomas Mayr-Harting, ambassador, head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations *

Ian McIntyre Ian McIntyre (9 December 1931 – 19 April 2014) was a British BBC Radio producer, journalist, broadcaster and author. who was Controller of BBC Radio 4 from 1976 to 1978 and then Controller of BBC Radio 3 between 1978 and 1987. After joinin ...

, British journalist * David McWilliams, Irish economist, journalist and documentary-maker * Holger Michael, German ambassador *

Enzo Moavero Milanesi Enzo Moavero Milanesi (born 17 August 1954) is an Italian independent politician and law professor who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the first Cabinet of Giuseppe Conte from 1 June 2018 to 5 September 2019. He was also the Chairman-i ...

, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy *

Goenawan Mohamad Goenawan Mohamad (born 29 July 1941) is an Indonesian poet, essayist, playwright and editor. He is the founder and editor of the Indonesian magazine ''Tempo''. Mohamad is a vocal critic of the Indonesian government, and his magazine was periodi ...

, Indonesian poet * Juan Moscoso del Prado, Spanish socialist Member of Parliament, spokesman in the European Union Committee * Jon Ola Norbom, former

minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Jim Oberstar James Louis Oberstar (September 10, 1934 – May 3, 2014) was an American politician and Congressman who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2011. Hailing from Minnesota and a member of the state's local Minnes ...

, member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Mary O'Rourke Mary O'Rourke (; 31 May 1937 – 3 October 2024) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Leader of the Seanad and Leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad from 2002 to 2007, Deputy leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2002, Minister f ...

, barrister *

David O'Sullivan (civil servant) David O'Sullivan (born 1 March 1953) is serving as the EU Sanctions Envoy since January 2023. He was previously a European civil servant served as Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2014 to 2019, Chief Operating Offic ...

, Chief Operating Officer of the European Union's diplomatic corps, former

Secretary-General of the European Commission The secretary-general of the European Commission is the senior civil servant of the European Commission. The secretary-general, who is responsible to the president of the European Commission, is in charge of the various Directorates-General ...

and Director General for Trade *

, former United States

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

Operations Officer *

Ursula Plassnik Ursula Plassnik (; born 23 May 1956) is an Austrian diplomat and politician. She was Foreign Minister of Austria between October 2004 and December 2008. She has served as the Austrian ambassador to Switzerland from 2016 to 2021. Early life and ...

, former

Foreign Minister of Austria This article lists the ministers of foreign affairs of Austria, from 30 October 1918 up to today. During the time of the ''Anschluss'' to Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945, Austria had no government in its own right. The current Austrian foreign mini ...

, a member of

Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party ( , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since January 2025, the party has been led by Christian Stocker (as an acting leader). It is currently the second-largest p ...

(

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...

) *

Nikola Poposki Nikola Poposki (born 24 October 1977 in Skopje) was Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia until 31 May 2017. Prior to that role, in 2010–2011 he served as the country's ambassador to the European Union. Education Nikola Po ...

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

Minister for Foreign Affairs and former Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of the

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

to the European Union * Xavier Prats Monné, EU official * Torolf Raa, former Norwegian ambassador * Carine Van Regenmortel, Belgian corporate lawyer * Philippe Régnier, professor at the

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (, abbreviated IHEID), commonly referred to as Geneva Graduate Institute, is a graduate-level research university in Geneva, Switzerland dedicated to international relations, dev ...

and the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

*Prince Albert Rohan, former

permanent secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

of the Austrian Foreign Ministry, UN envoy * Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

György Schöpflin György Schöpflin (24 November 1939 – 19 November 2021), also known as George Schöpflin, was a Hungarian politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Hungary. He was a member of Fidesz, part of the European People's ...

, a Hungarian academic and politician,

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

for

Fidesz Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; ) is a national-conservative political party in Hungary led by Viktor Orbán. It has increasingly identified as illiberal. Originally formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young Democrats () as ...

and the

Guy Spitaels Guy Gustave Arthur Ghislain Spitaels (; 3 September 1931 – 21 August 2012) was a Belgian politician of the Socialist Party. He was the 7th Minister-President of Wallonia from 1992 to 1994 and president of his party for thirteen years, until he ...

, Belgian politician and Minister-President of

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

, Finnish

Minister for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

, a member of politician of the

National Coalition Party The National Coalition Party (NCP; , Kok; , Saml) is a liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in Finland, political party in Finland. It is the current governing political party of Finland. Founded in 1918, the ...

(

) *

Prime Minister of Denmark The prime minister of Denmark (, , ) is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark comprising the three constituent countries: Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Before the creation of the modern office, the kingdom did not init ...

and leader of the

Social Democrats (Denmark) The Social Democrats ( , , S) is a Social democracy, social democratic list of political parties in Denmark, political party in Denmark. A member of the Party of European Socialists, the Social Democrats have 50 out of 179 members of the Danish p ...

* Didrik Tønseth, former Norwegian ambassador *Count Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, Austria's ambassador to Prague *Loukas Tsoukalis,

Professor of European Integration at the University of Athens and President of the

Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (Greek acronym: ELIAMEP) is an independent, non-profit Greek institute that conducts policy-oriented research and training. It has the following goals and objectives:Andrew Tyrie, Member of Parliament (MP) for

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

and chairman of the

Treasury Select Committee The House of Commons Treasury Committee (often referred to as the Treasury Select Committee) is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The committee is responsible for examining and scrutinizing the ...

, a member of Conservative Party * Helmut Türk, judge at the

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) is an intergovernmental organization created by the mandate of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. It was established by the United Nations Convention on the Law ...

, former Ambassador of Austria to the United States * Werner Ungerer, German diplomat, Permanent Representative to the European Communities from 1985 to 1990 and rector of the college from 1990 to 1993 * Robert Verrue, director-general for employment of the European Commission * Alexander Walker, British film critic * Helen Wallace, Lady Wallace of Saltaire, British expert in European studies and emeritus professor at the

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the University ...

* Bruno de Witte, professor of EU law at the

* Marc van der Woude, judge at the European Court of Justice *

Adrien Zeller Adrien Zeller (2 April 1940 – 22 August 2009

, former French minister in the second

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

government (1986–1988), former President of Alsace Regional Council, a member of the

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement ( ; UMP ) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullism, Gaullist tradition. During its existence, the UMP was o ...

* Jaap de Zwaan, Dutch diplomat and negotiator of several European treaties, Professor of EU Law at the

Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam ( ; abbreviated as EUR) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century Christian humanist and theologian. Erasmus M ...

, prime minister of Finland Alumni of note of the College of Europe in Natolin, Poland (from 1993) include: *Gert Antsu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Estonia to Ukraine *Jarosław Domański, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to the Islamic Republic of Iran *

, Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs *

Alyn Smith Alyn Edward Smith (born 15 September 1973) is a Scottish politician. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stirling from 2019 until 2024 when he unsuccessfully stood for the Stirling and ...

, Scottish member of the

* Olesea Stamate, Minister of Justice of the

Republic of Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised ...

Rafał Trzaskowski Rafał Kazimierz Trzaskowski (born 17 January 1972) is a Polish politician and political scientist specializing in European studies who has served as List of city mayors of Warsaw, Mayor of Warsaw since 22 November 2018. He served as a Member ...

, Mayor of Warsaw, former member of the Polish

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

, former Polish member of the

, former Polish Minister of Administration and Digitization, former Secretary of State in the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs * Maciej Szpunar, First Advocate General at the

Court of Justice of the European Union The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ( or "''CJUE''"; Latin: Curia) is the Judiciary, judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, this EU ins ...

Faculty and organisation

The College of Europe originally had no permanent teaching staff; the courses were taught by prominent academics and sometimes government officials from around Europe. Especially in the last couple of decades, the college has increasingly employed professors and other teaching staff on a permanent basis.

Academics

Dominique Moïsi Dominique Moïsi (born 21 October 1946) is a French political scientist and writer. He was a co-founder and is a senior advisor of the Paris-based Institut Français des Relations Internationales (IFRI), ''Pierre Keller Visiting Professor'' at H ...

, co-founder and is a senior advisor of the Paris-based

Institut Français des Relations Internationales The Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri; English ''French Institute of International Relations'') is a think tank dedicated to International relations, international affairs, based in Paris, France. Overview Ifri was establi ...

(IFRI), ''Pierre Keller Visiting Professor'' at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, and the Chairholder for

Geopolitics Geopolitics () is the study of the effects of Earth's geography on politics and international relations. Geopolitics usually refers to countries and relations between them, it may also focus on two other kinds of State (polity), states: ''de fac ...

at the College of Europe. *

Bronisław Geremek Bronisław Geremek (; born Benjamin Lewertow;

, chairholder of the chair of European Civilisation until his death *

Leszek Balcerowicz Leszek Henryk Balcerowicz (pronounced ; born 19 January 1947) is a Polish economist, statesman, and Professor at Warsaw School of Economics. He served as Chairman of the National Bank of Poland (2001–2007) and twice as Deputy Prime Minister of ...

, economist, the former chairman of the

National Bank of Poland The Narodowy Bank Polski (; the National Bank of Poland), often abbreviated to NBP, is the central bank of Poland, founded in 1945. It controls the issuing of Poland's currency, the Polish złoty. The bank is headquartered in Warsaw, and has bra ...

and deputy prime minister in Tadeusz Mazowiecki's government. He implemented the Polish economic transformation program in the 1990s, a shock therapy commonly referred to as the

Balcerowicz Plan The Balcerowicz Plan (), also termed " Shock Therapy", was a method for rapidly transitioning from an economy based on state ownership and central planning, to a capitalist market economy. Named after the Polish minister and economist Leszek Balc ...

* Andrea Biondi, co-director of the Centre for European Law at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

Aleš Debeljak Aleš Debeljak (25 December 1961 – 28 January 2016) was a Slovenian cultural critic, poet, and essayist. Biography Debeljak was born in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, then part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to a family wi ...

cultural critic A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole. Cultural criticism has significant overlap with social and cultural theory. While such criticism is simply part of the self-consciousness of the culture, the social positions o ...

, poet, and essayist * Alyson Bailes, a former English diplomat and British ambassador to

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

who lives in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

* Valentine Korah, Emeritus Professor of Competition Law at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

* Jacques Rupnik, professor at

Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

i.e.

* Stefan Collignon, professor of political economy, International Chief Economist of the Centro Europa Ricerche, founder of Euro Asia Forum at

Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies The Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies () is a special-statute, highly selective public research university located in Pisa, Italy. Together with the University of Pisa and Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, it is part of the Pisa University ...

, Pisa, Italy, he served as Deputy Director General for Europe in the

Federal Ministry of Finance (Germany) The Federal Ministry of Finance (, ; abbreviated BMF) is the German Cabinet, cabinet-level Finance minister, finance ministry of Germany, with its seat at the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus in Berlin and a secondary office in Bonn. History In Politics of ...

1999–2000. * John Usher, legal scholar * Guy Haarscher, legal and political philosopher *

Geoffrey R. Denton Geoffrey R. Denton (born 1931) is a British economist. He served as Director of Wilton Park, and formerly as Reader in Economics at the University of Reading (from 1967) and Professor and head of economics at the College of Europe in Bruges. He ...

, head of economics * Jan de Meyer (1958–1970) * Dieter Mahncke *

* Fiona Hayes-Renshaw *

Gerhard Stahl Gerhard Stahl (born in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany on 2 December 1950) is since August 2014 Professor at the Peking University HSBC Business School in Shenzhen in China. In addition he teaches as visiting professor at the College ...

* Shada Islam * Christian Lequesne *

, Italian minister for Europe and professor in the Legal Studies Department *

, Finnish Minister for Europe, former foreign minister, and professor at the college since 2000 *

Norman Davies Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a British and Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe and is UNESCO Profes ...

, historian; honorary fellow,

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economics, politic ...

, Oxford University; professor, Jagiellonian University * Jean de Ruyt,

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

; senior European policy advisor,

Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Known as a white-shoe law firm, it is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. The firm has addition ...

; professor,

Université catholique de Louvain UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally establishe ...

(UCL); ex-Belgian permanent representative to the European Union

Organisation

Rectors

The rector directs and coordinates the college's activities. *

(1906–1997) (1949–1971) *

Jerzy Łukaszewski Jerzy Wojciech Łukaszewski (21 July 1924 – 3 June 2020) was a Polish and Belgian academic and diplomat. He lived in Belgium from 1960 on, where he taught at the College of Europe in Bruges from 1961 and served as its rector from 1972. From 1990 ...

(°1924) (1972–1990) * Werner Ungerer (°1927) (1990–1993) * Gabriel Fragnière (1934-2015) (1993–1995) * Otto von der Gablentz (1930–2007) (1996–2001) * Piet Akkermans (1942–2002) (2001–2002) * Robert Picht (1937–2008) (a.i. 2002–2003) * Paul Demaret (2003–2013) * Jörg Monar (2013–2020) *

(2020–present)

Vice rectors

The vice rector is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Natolin (Warsaw) campus. *Ettore Deodato (1993) *David W. P. Lewis (1994–1996) * Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (1996–1999) *

Piotr Nowina-Konopka Piotr Nowina-Konopka (27 May 1949 – 13 June 2025) was a Polish academic, politician and diplomat. Academia Nowina-Konopka studied at the Sopot School of Economics, Gdańsk University, where he gained an MSc (1972) and a PhD (1978) in economic ...

(1999–2004) * Robert Picht (a.i. 2004–2005) * Robert Picht (2005–2007) * Ewa Ośniecka-Tamecka (2007– present)

Presidents of the Administrative Council

(1950–1964) * Jean Rey (1964–1974) *

François-Xavier Ortoli François-Xavier Ortoli (; 16 February 1925 – 30 November 2007) was a French politician who served as the fifth president of the European Commission from 1973 to 1977. He served as Minister of the Economy of France from 1968 to 1969. Ortoli ...

(1974–1975) * Daniel Coens (1985–1990) *

(1990–1995) *

(1995–2000) *

Jean-Luc Dehaene Jean Luc Joseph Marie "Jean-Luc" Dehaene (; 7 August 1940 – 15 May 2014) was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1992 until 1999. During his political career, he was nicknamed "The Plumber", as well as "The M ...

(2000–2009) *

(2009 – 2019) *

Herman Van Rompuy Herman Achille, Count Van Rompuy (; born 31 October 1947) is a Belgian politician who served as Prime Minister of Belgium from 2008 to 2009, and later as the first permanent President of the European Council from 2009 to 2014. Van Rompuy, a ...

(2019–present)

Controversies

Controversy concerning Saudi Arabia

In February 2019, a series of press pieces published by

EUobserver ''EUobserver'' is a European online newspaper, launched in 2000 by the Brussels-based organisation EUobserver.com ASBL. The newspaper provides both daily reports and in-depth coverage on international affairs related to the European Union (EU). ...

revealed that the Bruges-based institute was paid by the Saudi government to set up private meetings between Saudi ambassadors, EU officials, and MEPs. 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. 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. On 20 February, Marietje Schaake of the ALDE group presented a written question to the European Commission on this issue. 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. A group of College alumni collected signatures to demand the institution to stop organising private meetings between MEPs and the Saudi government. 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. ''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.

Allegations of sexual harassment and misogyny

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 Frotteurism is a paraphilic interest in rubbing, usually one's pelvic area or erect penis, against a non-consenting person for sexual pleasure. It may involve touching any part of the body, including the genital area. A person who practices fro ...

, 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". 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.

''Jungle comments'' by Josep Borrell

In October 2022, EU's

Josep Borrell Josep Borrell Fontelles (; born 24 April 1947) is a Spanish politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2019 to 2024. A member of the Spani ...

made controversial comments in a speech to the College of Europe's new

European Diplomatic Academy The European Diplomatic Academy (formally European Union Diplomatic Academy) is a diplomacy, diplomatic List of diplomatic training institutions, training programme launched by the European External Action Service in 2022 after the proposal made ...

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”.

, 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 did not express any disagreement.

Sexual Harassment Scandal

In 2024,

Politico Europe ''Politico Europe'' (stylized as ''POLITICO Europe'') is the European edition of the American news organization '' Politico'' reporting on political affairs of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels with additional offices in ...

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. 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.

References

External links

* *
Politico – College of Europe sectionAlumni Association – College of EuropeThe Madariaga – College of Europe Foundation

Behind the Walls, article by a College alumnus – Europe&Me Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:College of Europe Universities and colleges established in 1949 Buildings and structures in Bruges Universities and colleges in Warsaw Universities in Belgium Schools of international relations Education in Bruges 1949 establishments in Belgium

History

Hague Congress initiative to create a College of Europe

''Bruges speech'' by Margaret Thatcher

Post-Cold War history

Campuses

Bruges campus

Dijver

Verversdijk

Garenmarkt

Biskajer

Gouden Hand

Natolin campus

Tirana Campus

Student life

Admissions

Education

Traditions

Promotions

Notable alumni

Faculty and organisation

Academics

Organisation

Rectors

Vice rectors

Presidents of the Administrative Council

Controversies

Controversy concerning Saudi Arabia

Allegations of sexual harassment and misogyny

''Jungle comments'' by Josep Borrell

Sexual Harassment Scandal

See also

References

Further reading

External links