The regional representation of the European Commission in Bonn is part of the Commission representation in Germany. The main office is located in Berlin and another regional representation is in Munich.

History

The regional representation office has its origin as press liaison office of the

European Coal and Steel Community The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to integrate Europe's coal and steel industries into a single common market based on the principle of supranationalism which would be governe ...

, which was located in Luxembourg. The office in Bonn opened on 1 March 1954 as the very first branch office of the European institutions in Schulze-Delitzsch-Haus (Bonn), directed by the journalist Dr. Karl Mühlenbach.
Carnel, Sven (2014): Die Regionalvertretung der Europäischen Kommission in Bonn. 60 Jahre Präsenz der Europäischen Institutionen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (1954-2014). Europäische Kommission, Generaldirektion Kommunikation (Hrsg.), Bonn. The next branches were opened in Rome and Paris The main task of the press liaison office was to maintain and strengthen contact to the press and other national sources of information.Service d'information (1956): Les moyens et l'action de la Haute Autorité dans le domaine de l'information, note pour Messieurs les Membres de la Commission des Affaires politiques et des Relations extérieures de l'Assemblée Commune. 19.01.1956. Luxemburg, S.5 .

Present function and tasks

The regional representation still serves as a link between 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 ...

and the public. It is responsible for North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and Saarland, which contains almost 30 million EU citizens. Fischerei Bonn

Focus on media relations

Relationship with media enjoys a very high priority. The office, for example, does organise visits for journalist groups to the

and other EU-institutions in Brussels or other EU supported projects in the region., Presseservice der Vertretung in Bonn In addition, seminars, visits in the editorial office as well as interviews and mediations are part of the tasks.

Strategic partnerships

On the political level, the focus is on strategic partnerships with the government of the four federal states. These partnerships enabled organising numerous projects together with the local and regional public administration to promote the idea of Europe in the general public. The cooperation with the municipalities and state parliaments are being gradually extended. In addition, the regional representation cooperates with partner organisations to host Europe related events, which are relevant for the region. In 2013, the federal state parliament accepted a proposal of all parties to establish an information office 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 ...

in Bonn.
Beschlussempfehlung und Bericht des Ausschusses für Europa und Eine Welt zu dem Antrag der Fraktion der SPD und der Fraktion Bündnis 90/ Die Grünen Drucksache 16/3224 .

EU-information network

The regional representation in Bonn works closely with the information network supported by the European Commission in its area of responsibility. It takes part in events and regularly organises regional network meetings. This includes the Europe direct information centres,
Karte der Europe Direct Informationszentren. the Team Europe, the

Enterprise Europe Network The Enterprise Europe Network is a cross-border business network that provides support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to innovate and grow internationally. It is co-funded by the European Union's COSME and Horizon 2020 programmes. The ...

as well as the

European Documentation Centre A European Documentation Centre (EDC) is a body designated by the European Commission to collect and disseminate publications of the European Union for the purposes of research and education. There are 400 such centers in all member states of the ...

Young European Professionals (YEP)

The YEPs are a permanent mutual project of the

Federal Agency for Civic Education The Federal Agency for Civic Education (FACE, (''bpb'')) is a German federal government agency responsible for promoting civic education. It is subordinated to the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Thomas Krüger has served as president of t ...

(bpb) and the regional representation of the European Commission in Bonn.
Young European Professionals. It consists of young people who are interested in Europe-related topics and want to share their knowledge to other young people in an interactive and interesting way.

References

External links

Website of the Representation of the European Commission in Germany

Website of the YEPs
{{coord, 50.7372, N, 7.1018, E, source:wikidata, display=title European Commission Buildings and structures of the European Union Buildings and structures in Bonn