European Diplomatic Academy

The European External Action Service has launched a pilot project for the establishment of a Diplomatic Academy. The aim is to build a true European Diplomatic corps to promote EU foreign policy and external interest.

• 40 young diplomats from the EU Member States, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Turkey, the Western Balkans countries and EU institutions are trained on EU foreign and security policies.
• The pilot project is funded with a budget of close to 1€ million, upon an initiative of the European Parliament.
• The project foresees a Pilot Academic Programme and a Feasibility Study.

The programme run by the College of Europe - first in Natolin and then in Bruges - lasts 9 months till May 2023. The participants to the course are trained on EU foreign and security policies, with the objective of acquiring skills and competencies to make the conduct of EU diplomacy more effective. About 80% of the training modules are conducted by practitioners, and the remaining 20% by scholars.

The programme focuses on 10 study areas and it includes group work, simulation games/role plays, case studies, written and oral presentations, classroom discussions and debates, fire-side chats, and individual exercises.

In the meanwhile, the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), the European University Institute (EUI) and the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) are running a feasibility study that will outline various options -as well as the budgetary framework- for the establishment of a permanent European Diplomatic Academy.

Read the factsheet and find out more