EUDA: EEAS launches European Union Diplomatic Academy

The European External Action Service is launching the first edition of the fully-fledged European Union Diplomatic Academy (EUDA), following a successful two-year Pilot Project, and the formal adoption of the HRVP's proposal by the European Council on 21 May. The objective of the EUDA is to provide academic and practical training on EU external action policies, procedures, and diplomatic practices to diplomats from Member States and staff members of EU institutions involved in external relations.

Since the launch of a two-phase pilot project in September 2022, almost 100 young diplomats and officials have taken part in the intensive and interactive training programme, run in partnership with the College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium) and Natolin (Poland). The success of the pilot project has underlined the importance of training national diplomats and EU officials by means of a dedicated, long-term structure.

The EUDA will work under the responsibility of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. It will also receive guidance by a Steering Committee composed of one representative appointed by each member state, as well as representatives from the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission.

The EUDA programme will continue to be implemented by the College of Europe in Bruges and Natolin, and directed by Federica Mogherini, current Rector of the College of Europe in Bruges, and former EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy.

The annual EUDA programme will be conductedin two separate editions of five months each, including a one-month placement period in the EEAS. Approximately 40 junior diplomats from EU Member States and the EU institutions have been selected by their respective administrations to take part in the EUDA programme in the academic year 2024/25.

The first group will be trained from September 2024 to January 2025. The programme kicked off on 29 August at the College of Europe campus in Natolin and will continue at the campus of the College of Europe in Bruges. The second edition will run from February to June 2025, with the segment of the programme spent in Natolin.

The programme will again be held again in a residential format in Bruges, with the aim of allowing the participants to live, study and work together, thus contributing to networking and to the formation of an esprit de corps.For both editions, participants will benefit from a one-month training assignment at the EEAS Headquarters in Brussels.

The programme covers nine thematic areas on subjects in the field of the Union's external action, in particular the CFSP, as well as on the Union's role as a global actor and in multilateral relations. Participants also receive practical training on relevant diplomatic skills such as negotiation, communication, leadership, decision-making and other processes, political reporting, and protocol. Participants will be trained with the objective of acquiring the necessary skills and competencies to effectively promote and defend the EU's values and interests in the world.

The courses will be complemented by frequent study visits to the European institutions in Brussels, as well as to other international organisations of relevance to European external action and foreign and security policy, such as NATO.