The Universidad Europea del Atlántico (European University of the Atlantic UNEATLANTICO) organized the talk “What now?”, in which Belén Martinez Arriola, Senior Legal & Policy Officer at the European Commission Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space, shared her professional experience and the requirements needed to be part of it, as well as to obtain scholarships within the European Commission program and the necessary preparation to carry out the internships.
During her talk, she explained the most important functions, highlighting above all the general management of the space sector, in which she currently works, links with countries, and the variety of languages and cultures that can be found within this general administration.
The sixth series of talks “And now what?”, organized by Francisco Zunzunegui, director of SITE UNEATLANTICO, brought the European Commission official to the Assembly Hall to give a lecture explaining the delegations of the European Union and the structure of the European institutions.
The work of these institutions involves teamwork through the distribution of competences between countries and the European Union, among which exclusive, shared and supporting competence stands out, broadening the horizon towards general administrations, parliament, and the council.
On the other hand, it emphasizes the organization of the commission, the languages that are used, including French, German and English, the 32,000 employees, 50 departments, 6 executive agencies, and the 27 countries that make it up and from which students could apply for scholarships within this organization, reinforcing their curriculum and language skills.
He also clarifies why the European Commission represents the interests of the European Union through competencies that range from beginning to end of procedure, mentioning the four functions that these entail; the right of initiative, policy implementation and budget execution, being the guardian of the Treaties and finally having the representation of the European Union in the international arena.
Finally, in the question and answer session, she mentioned the Erasmus and Erasmus Plus programs, and pointed out the importance of languages if you want to get a job, an internship or a scholarship within the European Commission, highlighting, apart from the handling of languages, the speed with which you must act to get in and be selected, “start now and don’t leave it for when you don’t know what to do”.
The aim of the UNEATLANTICO “¿Y ahora qué?” (What now?) series of talks is to bring successful professionals closer to students, providing them with key tools to improve their employability and strengthen their development in the workplace.