European Movement Germany

Network European Movement Germany
Netzwerk Europäische Bewegung Deutschland e. V.

Founded	1949
Founder	Duncan Sandys, Eugen Kogon, Paul Löbe
Focus	European policy, Political communication, Civil society
Location	Berlin
Area served	Germany
Method	Cooperation
Members	250
Key people	Rainer Wend, Michael Gahler, Axel Schäfer, Michaele Schreyer, Bernd Hüttemann
Employees	10
Website	netzwerk-ebd.de

European Movement Germany is a non-partisan network of interest groups in the field of EU politics in Germany. It cooperates closely with all EU stakeholders on a national and European level, most particularly with the German Federal Government and the European Commission. The 250 member organisations represent various social groups including business and professional associations, trade unions, educational and academic institutions, foundations and political parties, amongst others. The aim is to continually improve, in close cooperation with political institutions, communication on European politics, European perspectives and the coordination of European policy. The EM Germany network is a member of European Movement International.

European Movement Germany is a not-for-profit, registered organisation which is recognised and supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and by the federal budget at institutional level. It is therefore not a non-governmental organisation in the narrow sense. Although its legal status and institutional relationship to the Foreign Office is similar to the Goethe Institute, EM Germany has not come to a framework agreement with the Foreign Office. It works closely with the European Division of the Foreign Office as regards content and organisation. In accordance with the European Division, certain concepts of European communication and policy-planning were adopted. Within this framework EM Germany provides information sessions on European topics to its member organisations. Topics range from discussions of the Commission’s consultation procedure to information events on the decisions of the European Council.

EM Germany is responsible for choosing running the application process for German students who wish to apply for scholarships to the College of Europe in Bruges and Natolin. It also organises the European Competition in which 80,000 German students participate each year. Due to the diverse nature of EM Germany's membership, consisting of over 240 organisations, EM Germany cannot always take a clear position on certain matters. For this reason, decisions commonly made by NGOs are not made by EM Germany. Key activities include commenting on the regulatory framework of German European policy, European Public Relations and posing general questions on the development of the European Union.

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