A free taster day to present ways of making the EU and its policies understandable to councillors, council staff and the UK public is being offered by leading local government practitioners in SOLACE. You can book a place at this event in Brussels on Monday September 15 by emailing Jo Benfield, the SOLACE European expert, at:  international@solace.org.uk

 

The package - Beyond the straight banana - will give practical training on the knowledge and skills of Brussels-based staff who need an indepth understanding of UK local government functions and recent reforms at both central and local level.

 

As Danuta Hubner, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, told SOLACE, "The Brussels-based regional offices play an important role in relaying the actions and policies of the European Commission to the local actors in the Member States."

 

Full details on both the free taster day and the two-part training package are available in the SOLACE Beyond the Straight Banana leaflet.

 

The press constantly ridicules the EU and councils' European initiatives which can fund projects, find international partners to work with as well as informing UK councils' policy.  A recent example of press coverage in a Sunday Times article highlights the difficulties faced by local authorities and their staff in Brussels.

 

 

 

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