Visit of LISD Associates to Brussels and Vienna
Nov. 30, 2022

In October 2022, 16 LISD Student Associates traveled to Brussels and Vienna during the fall semester break for high-level meetings with government, private sector, think tank and NGO officials as well as Princeton alumni.

In Brussels, the students had meetings at the European Commission (EC) following the visit of Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission to Princeton University, in September 2022. High-level speakers and EC representatives such as Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of promoting Way of Life and Sabine Weyand, Director-General of DG TRADE met them to discuss relevant policy matters. The visit also included the midday press briefing in the Berlaymont, chaired by Dana Spinant, Deputy Chief Spokesperson of the European Commission. The meeting with NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana presented a unique opportunity for Princeton students, particularly in the context of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. The delegation also met Members of the European Parliament, Ambassador Mark Gitenstein, U.S. Representative to the European Union, EU Council, German Marshall Fund and AmCham officials.

Following Brussels, the LISD Student Associates traveled to Vienna and had the opportunity to engage with diplomats, NGOs and the private sector representatives, journalists, members of civil society and Ukrainian refugees.  All of our interlocutors made their way to the old imperial city to live, work, and practice politics and diplomacy – both in its most formal and public conditions, as well as in Track II and private contexts. Highlights included a candid briefing on the challenges of sanctions on the individual as well as financial institutions; learning about the current status of high-level negotiations surrounding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA); sitting in on a session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Council; hearing from high-ranking current-serving Austrian officials; and receiving exclusive tours of grand historical spaces, usually off-limits to visitors outside of government, the diplomatic corps, or family.

 

  • Group at Grand Place

    LISD Student Associates and Faculty in Grand-Place, Brussels
    Photo by Serena Vittorini, 2022

  • Dr. Johan Strobl, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI)

    Dr. Johan Strobl, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), welcomed the group and shared candid and insightful remarks about the challenges of trade, commercial, and investment banking in contemporary Central and Eastern Europe. [© Lauren Schwartz, 2022]

 

 

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