The Concept of Team Europe

Team Europe in Member States

Created in 1989 by the European Commission, Team Europe is a network of some 550 EU-information experts, primarily in the fifteen old member states. The experts provide information on the institutions, decision-making processes and policies of the EU at events organised throughout the Member States. For instance, team members may be invited by NGO’s, business organisations or others to participate in events such as seminars, conferences, debates or training sessions. The network covers every EU-policy area and each of the Union’s working languages. The overall aim of the network is to strengthen the integration of European citizens into the European Union.

Team members are mainly people with a high interest in EU-affairs. Many members have published books and articles and appear regularly in the regional or national media (radio and television), thus reaching a very broad public.

Due to the decentralised structure of the networks, the information experts are available for conferences etc. in virtually all regions of the Union. Also, the decentralised structure allows the knowledge and expertise available locally to be used to promote public discussion about the European Union on a regional and national level.

The network is run and maintained by the European Commission’s DG Press and Communication. The Commission works closely with co-ordinators at the Commission’s Representations in the capitals of member states, who are responsible for the co-ordination of national teams and recruitment of new members. The team members also benefit from regular training programmes organised in Member States and Brussels, in order to keep the members updated with the latest EU-developments and inside information.

At the Commission’s Representations in each member state / region, a full list of national team members can be provided, containing contact details and individual responsibility / knowledge areas of each member.

For further readings, please view the following site: www.tecis.be/teameu.html, which has been produced for the European Commission’s Directorate General (DG) Press and Communication.

If you want to search for team members in a specific country, this can be done on the following sites: www.tecis.be/directory.asp or: www.tecis.be/map_te.asp

Team Europe in Accession Countries

The European Institute has created a number of Team Europe networks in Accession countries. So, in 1999, a Team Europe – Estonia was created, followed in 2003 by Team Europe – Lithuania and Team Europe - Latvia.