European Students' Union

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Registration as it was on 20 Feb 2024
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Overview

Since 20 September 2021 self-declared 'non-commercial organisations' are no longer required to provide a lobby budget. See above timeline for this registrant's historical lobby budget.

Lobbying Costs

None declared

Financial year: Jan 2022 - Dec 2022

Lobbyists (Full time equivalent)

8.5 Fte (9)

Lobbyists with EP accreditation

6

High-level Commission meetings

8

Lobbying Costs over the years

  • Info

    European Students' Union   (ESU)

    EU Transparency Register

    947001511571-77 First registered on 12 Jul 2013

    Goals / Remit

    The European Students’ Union (ESU) is the umbrella organisation of 44 national unions of students from 40 European countries. Since 1982, ESU has promoted and represented the educational, social, economic and cultural interests of almost 20 million students to all critical European decision-making bodies. ESU is an influential professional advocacy and capacity-building organisation recognised as an important stakeholder at the European and international levels. Likewise, ESU has also been renowned and respected as a source of expertise on higher education policy at all institutional levels. ESU aims to ensure and strengthen students’ participation and to increase student input into higher education policy and decision-making.

    ESU aligns its mission, vision, and objectives with key EU policy priorities. ESU actively contributes to EU objectives, addressing themes like digital transition, green transition, and quality higher education.

    Main EU files targeted

    The Official Document for ESU’s Strategic Priorities for 2022-2024 outlines the objectives within ESU’s work areas for the three years of 2022 to 2024.

    ESU is the voice of European students and represents their interests and needs through many actions. Mainly, ESU participates and aims to influence the design and implementation of European policy processes and political strategies on education, mainly through the lens of higher education. Over the next three years, the main processes ESU is and will be focusing on are the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area, the European Education Area and the European Universities Initiative, the Erasmus+ programme, the European Research Area, the Global Students Forum, Next Generation EU, and the Green and Digital Transitions.

    Throughout its advocacy and representation, ESU reiterates its commitment to defending and promoting students' rights, academic freedom, institutional autonomy, freedom of expression, recognition of democratic, independent student unions both at the European and national levels, and support for national unions in advocacy, lobbying, and capacity building. ESU promotes solidarity among unions and concrete support between its members. ESU also strives to promote the upward convergence of students’ rights within the European Higher Education Area.

    While advocating for students' rights, major problems like the commodification of education, inequity in access to higher education, threats to fundamental values, and the climate crisis must be addressed. Higher education students' deteriorating mental health situation following the COVID-19 pandemic also requires action and provides a framework for ESU's advocacy work. ESU aims to continuously improve the international aspect of Higher Education, as it is an invaluable experience for every learner and can build cross-border solidarity and cooperation to tackle the challenges of our generation.

    ESU promotes an objective of general interest, which is the adequate implementation of the right to education, as enshrined in EU Charter of Fundamental Values and the Pillar of Social Rights, and believes that education as a whole, and higher education more specifically, is not a commodity, rather a public utility, a human right, and a social responsibility, the aim of which is to serve multiple purposes, including individual enrichment, global citizenship education, responsibility to the needs of the communities and society and the and acquisition of knowledge and skills to enable students to thrive in a rapidly changing economy and society.

    The main overarching/general objectives of ESU, linked to EU policy objectives:

    Defending Student Participation by monitoring and raising awareness on the breaches and struggles of students' rights to participation and supporting student representatives in their advocacy actions, as well as actions to increase students’ rights in education laws as mentioned in the Students’ Rights Charter.

    The second main objective of ESU is to create an inclusive HE environment by advocating for the social dimension within the EHEA as an integral part of high-quality education and by assisting in the monitoring of the implementation of the principles and guidelines for strengthening the social dimension at the national and institutional levels.

    The third main objective of ESU is to promote internationalization by broadening or creating new automatic recognition provisions for quality-assured higher education degrees within EHEA and globally using tools such as the Lisbon Recognition Convention, Council Recommendation on Automatic Recognition, and the Global Recognition Convention and by addressing the main causes of brain drain and brain gain while raising awareness on good practice.

    Address

    Head Office
    Rue de la Charite 22 Mundo Madou
    Bruxelles 1210
    BELGIUM
    EU Office
    Rue de la Charite 22 Mundo Madou
    Bruxelles 1210
    BELGIUM

    Website

    http://www.esu-online.org

  • People

    Total lobbyists declared

    9

    Employment timeLobbyists
    100%8
    50%1

    Lobbyists (Full time equivalent)

    8.5

    Lobbyists with EP accreditation

    All Lobbyists with EP accreditation over time

    6 accreditations were / are live (in bold) for the selected state of 20 Feb 2024

    Name Start date End Date
    Iris KIMIZOGLU 14 Jul 2023 12 Jul 2024
    Tanguy GUIBERT 13 Jul 2023 12 Jul 2024
    Horia Serban ONITA 13 Jul 2023 12 Jul 2024
    Ms Iris KIMIZOGLU 14 Jul 2023 15 Apr 2024
    Mr Tanguy GUIBERT 13 Jul 2023 15 Apr 2024
    Mr Horia Serban ONITA 13 Jul 2023 15 Apr 2024
    Mr Matteo VESPA 29 Jul 2022 29 Jul 2023
    Mr Horia Serban ONITA 28 Jul 2022 13 Jul 2023
    Ms Gohar HOVHANNISYAN 15 Jan 2020 01 Sep 2020
    Mr Robert NAPIER 03 Sep 2019 01 Sep 2020
    Mr Sebastian BERGER 13 Jul 2019 11 Jul 2020
    Mr Robert NAPIER 06 Jul 2018 06 Jul 2019
    Ms Katrina KOPPEL 06 Jul 2018 06 Jul 2019
    Mr Adam GAJEK 09 Jun 2018 08 Jun 2019
    Blazhe Todorovski 20 Oct 2016 19 Oct 2017
    Lea Christina Meister 20 Oct 2016 19 Oct 2017
    Ms Anna Widegren 20 Oct 2016 02 Aug 2017
    Ms Liva VIKMANE 20 Oct 2016 19 Oct 2017
    Mr Fernando Miguel Galan Palomares 16 Jul 2015 14 Jul 2016
    Blazhe Todorovski 28 May 2015 26 May 2016
    Lea Christina Meister 28 May 2015 26 May 2016
    Alexandra Antonescu 28 May 2015 26 May 2016
    Blazhe Todorovski 26 Jun 2014 25 Oct 2014
    Mr Fernando Miguel Galan Palomares 26 Jun 2014 24 Jun 2015
    Ms Elisabeth Gehrke 26 Jun 2014 24 Jun 2015
    Mr Robert Baldursson 26 Jun 2014 27 May 2015
    Erin Nordal 26 Jun 2014 24 Jun 2015
    Eleni Boulomyti 14 Mar 2014 12 Feb 2015
    Blazhe Todorovski 11 Mar 2014 26 Jun 2014
    Erin Nordal 01 Mar 2014 26 Jun 2014
    Mr Rok Primozic 06 Sep 2013 05 Jul 2014
    Ms Elin Blomqvist 06 Sep 2013 05 Jul 2014
    Mr Fernando Miguel Galan Palomares 17 Jul 2013 26 Jun 2014
    Ms Elisabeth Gehrke 17 Jul 2013 26 Jun 2014
    Mr Robert Baldursson 17 Jul 2013 26 Jun 2014

    Complementary Information

    An overall picture of the work of ESU will be as follows:

    The Secretariat coordinates and implements project activities, campaigns, advocacy work, and capacity-building activities with the assistance of the Executive Committee's (EC) members. They participate in projects that are aligned with their cluster memberships (i.e., area of work). Through ESU projects, we bring students' voices to the fore and build our knowledge and skills to continue advocating for students' interests on various issues at the European level. In parallel, the Secretariat is in charge of ESU management, including both staff and EC.

    Simultaneously, the Presidency and EC members work on policy formulation and advocacy by participating in various task forces, attending multiple meetings, and compiling their findings to share with the Board and the stakeholders we work with. Therefore, we can conclude that a diversity of duties and work are completed every day at ESU.

    Person in charge of EU relations

    Data not provided by Register Secretariat due to GDPR

    Person with legal responsibility

    Data not provided by Register Secretariat due to GDPR

  • Categories

    Category

    Non-governmental organisations, platforms and networks and similar

  • Networking

    Affiliation

    ESU is a member of the European Youth Forum (YFJ), the Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP), SIRIUS, the Global Campaign for Education, the Global Students Forum, the Groningen Declaration network, the Advisory Council on Youth in the Council of Europe, E4 group, EQAR and FAIB.

    Member organisations

    None declared

  • Financial Data

    Interests represented

    Does not represent commercial interests

    Closed financial year

    Jan 2022 - Dec 2022

    Lobbying costs for closed financial year

    Since 20 September 2021 self-declared 'non-commercial organisations' are no longer required to provide a lobby budget. See above timeline for this registrant's historical lobby budget.

    Total organisational budget in closed year

    70,000€

    Major funding types in closed year

    Member's contribution, EU funding, Other, Grants

    Funding types "other" information

    Major contributions in closed year

    TypeNameAmount
    Contribution European Commison - ESU Coordinator BWSE 2030 200,000€
    Contribution Academic Freedom, OSF 92,000€
    Contribution Membership Fees 195,000€
    Contribution European Youth Foundation CoE Annual Work Plan 3,773,915€
    Contribution European Commission - Projects, ESU partner 151,073€
    Contribution Quality Assurance Pool 50,000€
    Contribution Maribel Grant 44,000€
    Contribution European Commission OG2022 125,000€
    Grant European Commission Operating Grant 125,000€

    Major contributions in current year

    TypeNameAmount
    Grant European Commission Operating Grant 175,000€

    Other financial info

    None declared

  • EU Structures

    Groups (European Commission)

    European Qualifications Framework Advisory Group#E02107#https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-groups/consult?lang=en&groupID=2107 #Member #C#Other#Working Group on Higher Education#E03799#https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-groups/consult?lang=en&groupID=3799 #Member #C#Academia/Research#Europass Advisory Group#E03613#https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-groups/consult?lang=en&groupID=3613 #Member #C#Academia/Research

    Groups (European Parliament)

    Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) as an Advisory Board Member

    Communication activities

    Our communications goal is to demonstrate that the European Students’ Union is an important voice in higher education and that our representatives are examples of well-experienced people involved in activities that make higher education more quality, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of various groups of students.


    Primary campaigns in the current year:

    - Ukraine helpdesk: ESU will continue the rollout of its 'Ukraine helpdesk' open to help Ukrainian students quickly reply to individual cases and connect them with the relevant student unions.

    - 'The Student Voice' (podcast): The ESU podcast discusses higher education politics and student issues with a European/transnational perspective. Its guests are students, organisations related to this field, and experts whose perspectives can enrich the debate. ESU will aim to keep the same rhythm of publication, with at least a quarterly frequency.

    - European Elections 2024 - StEUdents: ESU will run a campaign to raise the awareness of students and youth on the importance of participation in the European elections and raise student voices and demands towards the candidates. How? ESU will disseminate the resolution ‘Student Manifesto - 24 proposals for the 2024 European elections’ to the European political parties in order to encourage them to include those points in their electoral platforms. ESU will disseminate social media content on the European elections, how they work, and the main issues proposed in the campaigns. The information and advocacy campaign will have both a European and national component through the established Task Force on European Elections, which includes representatives of NUSes. ESU will organise a debate in Brussels on the future of education in Europe in light of the European elections in March.

    - ESU alumni hub: ESU will establish a systematic follow-up with the alumni network by updating the database and creating a policy for interacting with alumni.


    PUBLICATIONS:
    (you can get all our publications for free at http://www.esu-online.org/documents/publications/)

    - Bologna With Student Eyes 2024, for the Ministerial Conference: ESU will disseminate the 2024 edition of its flagship publication, "Bologna With Student Eyes'' in order to increase awareness and understanding of the Bologna Process, its implementation or lack thereof and its implications for students and HEIs. Therefore, this will allow for a cross-reference tool regarding the Ministry's self-assessment of the national implementation of Bologna commitments.

    Other activities

    Moreover, ESU runs Erasmus+ and Council of Europe projects in fields related to Higher Education.

    ESU organises at least 4 major events per year (2 European Students Convention and 2 General Assembly), where its 45 National Students' Unions meet and discuss together.

    ESU also attend the BFUG and the E4 with EU stakeholders on higher education; LLLP Steering Committee, etc.

  • Meetings

    Meetings

    8 meetings found. Download meetings

    The list below only covers meetings held since November 2014 with commissioners, their cabinet members or directors-general at the European Commission; other lobby meetings with lower-level staff may have taken place, but the European Commission doesn't proactively publish information about these meetings. For more information about which commissioner is responsible for which portfolio, check out this link: https://commissioners.ec.europa.eu/index_en All information below comes from European Commission web pages.

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