European Union                              

Europa is the main website for everything that happens in the EU. This covers the European Parliament, European Commission and European Council.

Navigating your way through EUROPA                          http://searcheuropa.eu There are more then 17,000,000 pages on Europa. This makes it one of the largest websites in the world.  While there are internal search functions available, it is sometimes easier to negotiate through search engines like Google. Tip: If you include "Site=europa.eu" this will restrict all your search results. The European Journalism Centre in Brussels has a specialised search engine http://www.eu4journalists.eu. This is a helpful tool to get accurate search results.

 

European Commission                               

The European Commission has its own section within Europa.

Directorates General are the different parts of the Commission that deal with policy. They are a bit like government departments and are headed by a Commissioner. They cover areas like Environment, Competition and Regional Policy.

You can access various policy areas from this webpage: http://ec.europa.eu/about/ds_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/communication/services/journalist/index_en.htm

This guide was produced to help newcomers to the Brussels press corps find their way around. It introduces the departments, the people who work there, and lists the services the Commission provides. Many of these links are also included in other sections of this document.

The EU Commission Representation in Ireland is based in Dublin and can answer a lot of your questions. The Press Office is headed by Ruth Deasy and supported by Steffen Schulz, Alicia O'Rourke, Gráinne Galvin and Sarah Pearcey.

The Press Office can provide you with information that is immediately relevant to Ireland and your area.

Head of Press: Ruth Deasy
Tel: 01 634 1120,
Email: ruth.deasy@ec.europa.eu

Press Officer: Steffen Schulz
Tel: 01 634 1111
Email: steffen.schulz@ec.europa.eu

Research Liaison Officer: Alicia O'Rourke
Tel: 01 634 1111
E-mail: alicia.o'rourke@ec.europa.

Web Editor and Assistant to Head of Press: Grainne Galvin
Tel: 01 634 1131,
Email: grainne.galvin@ec.europa.eu

Assistant to the Press Section: Sarah Pearcey
Tel: 01 634 1180
E-mail: sarah.pearcey@ec.europa.eu

Weekly newsletter of the European Commission Representation in Ireland

At the beginning of every month, the Press Office in Dublin issues a list of all the upcoming events. These are key dates in the Commission, Council and Parliament when meetings happen, policy is released or other key decisions are due to be made. The timing of these dates can be changed so check with the Press Office of the European Commission in Ireland for developments.

See here [175 KB] for the Advance News Agenda for May 2012.

http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/home/index_en.cfm

This website provides free movie clips, audio files and photos for journalists to use as they choose. Users must first register to use the footage and are provided with a login and password. This takes about 20 seconds to get.

Footage includes the daily press conference, interviews with Commission personalities on daily events, and briefings on key events.

For information on the top events covered by EbS (Europe by Satellite), the best video clips and photos of the previous week as well as top events on the EU Calendar for the coming week please consult the Audio Visual Service's weekly bulletin.

Broadcasting live from the European Commission

http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/myavs/avs_assist_en.cfm

 The European Commission has professional TV and Radio studios that are available free of charge from our offices in Brussel

You can find out how to book these by contacting them directly at:

Tel: 00 32 2 295 21 23
Audiovisual Planning office
Berlaymont -1/ME23
B - 1049 Brussels
Belgium

These are also available from the European Parliament at the following link.

These are also available from the Council at the following link.

Permanent Representation of the Irish Government to the EU

http://www.dfa.ie/home/index.aspx?id=5467

Ireland is represented in Brussels by the Permanent Representation. This office is Ireland's eyes and ears in Brussels and works with all the European Union bodies in drafting legislation and policy.

Press officer: Deirdre Farrell
89/93 Rue Froissart,
B-1040 Brussels
Tel: 00-32-2-230-8580
Email: Deirdre.farrell@dfa.ie

Department of Foreign Affairs

www.dfa.ie

The Department of Foreign Affairs is the principle Government Department that deals with the European Institutions in the European Council. However nearly all Government departments work with the European Institutions.

Press Office Contact:
80 St. Stephen's Green
Dublin 2
Tel: 01 4780822

Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers)

http://www.consilium.europa.eu

The Council is the main decision-making body of the European Union. The government ministers of the Member States meet regularly to set the direction of EU policy. Depending on the issue on the agenda, each country will be represented by the minister responsible for that subject (foreign affairs, finance, social affairs, transport, agriculture, etc.).

The Presidency of the Council is held for six months by a different Member State on a rotational basis. Currently Denmark holds the presidency until 30 June 2012: http://eu2012.dk/en

Council of the European Union- General Secretariat
Justus Lipsius Building,
Press Office,
Rue de la Loi, 175,
B-1048 Brussels
Tel: 00 32 2 281 63 19

The Irish Regions Office

http://www.iro.ie/

The Irish Regions Office was established as a Brussels-based resource for the Irish members of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and their regional authorities. They have a lot of information on grants and funding.

Programmes & Communications Officer
Ronan Gingles
Irish Regions Office
2nd floor
Rond-Point Schuman, 11
B-1040 Brussels 
Email:  ronan.gingles@iro.ie
Tel: 00 32 2 230 0820

European Consumer Centre

http://www.eccireland.ie/

ECC Ireland offers advice on consumer rights when buying goods or services in another European country. They also mediate directly with a trader in another European country if a consumer needs help.

Manager: Ann Neville
European Consumer Centre,
13A Upper O'Connell Street,
Dublin 1
Email: aneville@eccireland.ie
Tel: 01 809 0600 / 087 940 9760

European Court of Justice

This is the highest Court in the EU and ensures compliance with the law in the interpretation and application of the founding Treaties. Website includes press releases on judicial proceedings and judgements.

www.curia.europa.eu

Court of Justice of the European Communities
L-2925 Luxembourg
Tel: 00 352 4303 1000

Irish Club of Belgium  http://www.irishclub.be/content.php?ID=1 Belgium Hurling & Camogie Website http://www.hurling.be FC Irlande Irish Soccer Sports League http://www.fcirlande.be Brussels Celtic Rugby Club www.brusselsceltic.com  Anam Beo -the first Irish language newspaper in Brussels Managing Editor Denis J.G.F. Vaughan Buckley pobal.gaeilge@gmail.com  Louvain Institute for the Ireland in Europe (Irish College) http://www.louvaininstitute.com Directory of Irish pubs in Belgium http://www.irishpubsdirectory.com/Belgium.htm Claddagh Toastmasters Multilingual (10 languages) meetings Maureen Delaney claddagh.toastmasters@gmail.com  Shantalla http://folkworld.de/10/e/shanta.html Shantalla is a band that is based in Belgium, but all the musicians hail from Ireland and Scotland. Irish Blogs in Belgium http://www.irishblogdirectory.com/Europe_-_Belgium/index.html Irish in Continental Europe http://www.europeanirish.com/index.php News and Information for the International Community living in Belgium http://www.expatica.com/be/main.html Irish Theatre Group, Brussels http://www.irishtheatregroup.com/