Uns erreichte die unten folgende Meldung, leider nur in Englisch. Kaum zu glauben, zur Einrichtung einer „Initiative“ mit dem Namen CEPI zahlt die Kommission (zunächst) €180.000 an die Bertelsmann Stiftung. Vermutlich wird das eine Bertelsmann-Unterorganisation wie CHE und CAP, alles beginnend mit „C“. Albrecht Müller.

Die neue Organisation soll den Austausch zwischen Parlamentariern und vielleicht auch Mitarbeitern fördern, bessere politische Kooperation und den Austausch von „best-practice“ möglich machen. In einer im folgenden Text verlinkten regelmäßigen Publikation der Bertelsmann Stiftung Niederlassungen Washington und Brüssel [PDF – 1.3 MB] werden 10 „Titanen“, angeblich aufsteigende Personen des neuen Europäischen Parlaments, herausgehoben – unter ihnen das für Bertelsmann arbeitende Mitglied des Europäischen Parlaments Elmar Brok und der SPD-Abgeordnete Jo Leinen. Das ist auch so einer, von dem manche früher dachten (ich auch), er gehöre verlässlich zum progressiven Teil der Vertreter des Volkes. Die berufliche Tätigkeit Broks für Bertelsmann wird in der Schrift nicht erwähnt. Typisch.

Hier nun die Originalmeldung der Bertelsmann Stiftung:

Bertelsmann Foundation Awarded European Commission Grant for Capitol
Hill-European Parliament Staffer Exchange

Program, first of its kind, promotes trans-Atlantic legislative cooperation
WASHINGTON, DC (December 8, 2009) – The Bertelsmann Foundation has received a two-year €180,000 grant from the European Commission to establish the Congressional-European Parliament Initiative (CEPI). This project, administered with the Brussels office of the Germany-based Bertelsmann Stiftung, is dedicated to forging a common trans-Atlantic political culture by facilitating better policy cooperation and best-practice exchange between the US Congress and the European Parliament.

Starting in 2010, the CEPI will bring together ten Congressional and ten European Parliament staffers with similar policy expertise. Participants will meet twice in a calendar year, each time for five days, once in Washington, DC and once in Brussels. The gatherings will include simulations, seminars and team-building exercises that will lead to a better understanding of the legislative processes and the political and institutional challenges on both sides of the Atlantic. The program will build the basis for policy exchange and coordination on numerous legislative issues with a trans-Atlantic dimension.

A committee of former Congressmen and Members of the European Parliament will select CEPI participants based on staffers* expertise in banking and financial regulation, and energy and climate-change policy. These two issues will be at the core of the CEPI*s activities for 2010 and 2011.

The European Commission grant also supports a US-EU Briefing Series. These occasional, two-hour policy-oriented seminars for staffers in Washington, DC and Brussels, entitled *Washington 101* and *Brussels 101*, will provide timely information and opportunities to exchange ideas on issues relevant to the US-EU relationship.

Finally, the grant underwrites CapitolWire  and EuroWire. These e-publications will offer in concise, operational language insight into the Washington, DC and Brussels power structures, and provide Congressional and European Parliament staffers with information about legislative positions, processes and players in both capitals.

For more information about the CEPI, contact Andrew Cohen, Bertelsmann Foundation Communications Director, at [email protected] or at +1.202.384.1996.

With financial support from
the European Commission

ABOUT THE BERTELSMANN FOUNDATION: The Bertelsmann Foundation is a private, nonpartisan operating foundation, working to promote and strengthen trans-Atlantic cooperation. Serving as a platform for open dialogue among key stakeholders, the foundation develops practical policy recommendations on issues central to successful development on both sides of the ocean.

*Copyright 2009, Bertelsmann Foundation. All rights reserved.
1101 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 901 * Washington, DC 20005 USA *
Tel: +1.202.384.1980
httP://www.bertelsmann-foundation.org