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Media and the EU-Israel Relationship

by Katharina Even

A Journalists' and Think Tankers' Delegation to Brussels

In cooperation with the Center for the Study of European Politics and Society at the Ben-Gurion University of Negev, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Israel organized a delegational visit to Brussels from the 7th – 12th of October 2018. Under the theme “The Media and the European-Israeli Relationship”, Israeli journalists and Think discuss this topic with representatives of the EU institutions and the Jewish communities in Belgium and the EU.

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In cooperation with the Center for the Study of European Politics and Society at the Ben-Gurion University of Negev, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Israel organized a delegational visit to Brussels from the 7th – 12th of October 2018. Under the theme “The Media and the European-Israeli Relationship”, Israeli journalists and Think discuss this topic with representatives of the EU institutions and the Jewish communities in Belgium and the EU.

 

The program opened with a visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels, where the delegates met with high-ranking representatives of NATO. After a short briefing on the tasks and activities of NATO, the delegates discussed the relations of NATO to the Mediterranean and Middle-East area as well as the relations between the EU and Israel. During a meeting with the Israeli ambassador to the EU and NATO, the group learned more about the role of the Israeli Embassy in the EU. The ambassador stressed the multilateral environmental, which encourages exchange and interaction with important European organization in Brussels. Members of the European External Action Service (EEAS), the Senior Official Middle East Division as well as the Council of the European Union explained the current political agenda of the Israeli-European relations. The participants were especially interested in the influence of Donald Trump’s US-foreign policy on the EU-Israel institutional relations.

 

The second study day was dedicated to a multidisciplinary approach “From Aviation Safety to European History.” The delegation was invited to a lecture by the Head of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in Brussels. In this context, the relations between the EU and Israel on the cyber security and research level have been particularly highlighted. In the ensuing discussion, the role of Iran and the assessment of the EU on this matter have been evoked. The delegates then visited the “House of the European History”, which illustrates the central idea of the European identity and the collective history of Europe as well as of the EU and their member states. As the last meeting of the day,the group met with the EC-Coordinator for combating anti-Semitism, where they talked about current challenges in the battle against anti-Semitism.

 

The third delegation day dealt with the role of the media in the EU-Israeli relations and the Jewish perspective on Brussels. Therefore, the participants met with the president of the Jewish World Congress (WJC) in Belgium, the head of Deutsche Welle in Brussels as well as the representative of the European People’s Party (EPP). During the day the group received deep insights into the problematic Israeli-European relations and analyzed the differences in the Israeli and European media coverage. The day closed with a tour in the EU-Parliament, which lead to a debate about the bubble the members of Parliament are living in.

 

The last day of the program focused on Think Thanks and their influence in the EU. Starting from presentations by the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies and the AJC Transatlantic Institute a lively debate was initiated, whose main topics ranged from the question of new incentives for Israel in the peace process, the role of the EU in such efforts to the the difference in the relations between the Jewish Communities in the US and Europe to Israel. The delegation ended with a final reflection talk in the Europe-Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Brussels.

 

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