Skip to main content
Centre for European Research

An insider eye into the European Parliament: The journey of Antonio Astolfi from CER intern to Schuman Trainee

Find out in this interview made by David Gazsi (King's College London - QMUL) how Antonio Astolfi (QMUL) experience as an intern at CER has fed into his new role in the Schuman Traineeship programme at the European Parliament. 

Published:
Antonio Astolfi at the European Parliament

We sat down with Antonio Astolfi, who was an intern at CER, to hear more about his adventures in Brussels where he joined the European Parliament as part of the Schuman Traineeship programme at the beginning of this year. We asked Antonio about his experience in Brussels, and what tips he has for other postgraduate students who wish to join this prestigious institution. His experience was particularly interesting given that Antonio joined the European Parliament just before the historical elections of May 2019 that led to the appointment of the new President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the new High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. The new leaders will be confirmed by Parliament soon.

Antonio graduated with a MA in Public Policy at Queen Mary University of London in 2018. He also holds a MA in Political Science from the University of Urbino "Carlo Bo" in Italy where he was a sitting member of the Administrative Board. Prior to joining CER in 2018, he worked as an intern at the Italian National Confederation of SMEs (C.N.A.) in Brussels. His main research interests are Euroscepticism, populism and EU economic policies.

 

Where are you placed within the European Parliament and what are your main tasks?

As part of the Schuman Traineeship programme in the Secretariat of the European Parliament - which is the key administrative branch supervising Parliament’s work -, I was assigned to the Directorate General of the Presidency (DG PRES). More specifically, I am in the Members’ Administration Unit (MAU), the core mission of which is to provide background administrative support in preparation for plenary sessions. Following the European elections of May 2019, I also took part in the task force set up to welcome, assist and give guidance to new MEPs. As such, spending time at the Welcome Village - a buzzing Parliament floor full of laptops, scans and printers - has been an extraordinary and unforgettable experience. Six stressful hard-working weeks where all boundaries and hierarchies between personnel, DGs and Units have been put aside to pursue the common goal of leading the transition towards the new parliamentary legislature the European Parliament elections took place between 23 and 26 May 2019) as smoothly aand efficiently as possible - demanded a spirit of total dedication and coordination. One of my best friends captured my feeling best by saying that I was ‘like a kid in the kindergarten’. 

What expectations did you have concerning the internship prior to starting it?

Despite my personal experience that had taught me to keep expectations rather low prior to any new adventure, the prospect of working in one of the biggest and most recognised chambers on earth (after the US House of Representatives) galvanised me for a little while. Moreover, while I expected the job to be somehow monotonous in its daily routine, I was nonetheless excited about the idea of being in Parliament at the time of what many experts and observers hailed as the most critical European election ever. Lastly, I was also curious about getting to spend a little time within the so-called ‘Brussels bubble’. In other words, I wanted to see for myself whether its existence was only a part of populist propaganda or Brussels somehow represents the iron law of oligarchy as it was famously formulated by the sociologist Michels.
In what ways have your expectations been fulfilled and what turned out to be different than expected?

I still find administrative work pretty boring, so I guess my expectations have been fulfilled in this regard. However, as I had the invaluable chance to be in Strasbourg during the Parliament’s first Plenary Session at the beginning of July, witnessing the negotiation process for EU top jobs has been all but boring. One could sense among MEPs, civil servants, lobbyists and journalists a certain kind of thrilling mood only felt in the key moments of history. After many years dedicated to studying politics and the policies of the EU, I did not expect to be emotionally involved and touched by the developments to the extent I turned out to be. As for ‘Brussels’, while it functions well as an effective gatekeeper against some potential negative external effects on the European public sphere, it has also prevented the EU - and its progressive supporters - to fully accept conflict and contestation as the ‘new game in town’. My judgment here is therefore still in the making. Nevertheless, I believe that putting Machiavelli back on peoples’ shelves would be rather beneficial at this stage.

What did you learn about the EU and its work since you are in Brussels? 

You will not find it mentioned in many scholarly works, but it is the bars, canteens and chilling areas one should look for in order to get the latest and most sensitive news about Parliament. Furthermore, I genuinely want to praise all the European civil servants who work hard to have the Parliament running smoothly and ordinately, and who also provide the best possible working environment for MEPs. This job may look easy from the outside, but it definitely is not. When you deal with 28 different Member States and 24 languages in such a complex political-administrative context, working in administration and bureaucracy is all but easy and comfortable. It really requires passion and an extremely high sense of duty. Lastly, I also gauged first-hand the extent to which ideas, ideologies and theories are adopted as umbrellas beneath which deeper power struggles among and between institutions take place, such as in the case of the recent developments around the Spitzenkandidaten system. “Any resemblance to real events and/or to persons living or dead is pure coincidence!”.

What skills and experience are you gaining in your current traineeship that you think will be useful in the future?

Here is my take: survival in Parliament is based on networking. It does not really matter how well you know something until you get to know the ‘right person’. Despite being frequently portrayed in common imagery as participation in laid-back and highly exclusive happy hours, networking is actually one of the hardest and most demanding activities that one has to learn to do well rather quickly if they wish to keep on working in European affairs.

What have been the most memorable moments of your internship so far?

I have several memorable moments, but one will certainly be stuck in my mind for quite some time. I mean that eventful day in March when Hungarian PM Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party membership in the European People’s Party (EPP) was temporary suspended in the run-up to the elections. By disguising myself as a reporter, I first tried - rather unsuccessfully - to get as close as possible to the debate session of EPP members. Then, after reaching compromise - which took hours of negotiations to do - between hard and soft-liners, EEP delegates moved to the Paul Henry Spaak building for a press conference. As Orban got finally inside the room, which was packed for this special occasion, a frosty silence fell on the audience. Journalists started asking questions trying to push him. The mood was feverish. Surely, I did not expect the Hungarian Prime Minister to back down, but the way he confronted the audience with his pompous confidence, charisma and charm was simply astonishing. At the end, it was all but a simple press conference. Rather, it was a lecture about Eastern European conservatism. I want to be clear; I consider Orban’s politics and policies as an existential threat to European liberalism and integration. Nonetheless, I left the room feeling quite confused. Well, that state of mind is still with me today as I dig further into Eastern European politics trying to make sense of issues that are far more complex than most claim. Against this backdrop, and going back briefly to the question about what I learned in Parliament, I must say that the fictitious, simplistic depictions of the EU as split along a fixed set of axes – generally a dynamic and affluent North opposed to an impoverished and sluggish South on the one hand, and an openly liberal West against a nationalist conservative East on the other -, largely misses the nuances and peculiarities of a continent the features of which are hardly reducible in such a way.

Has your internship experience at CER and the skills you gained there been helpful in any way in your current role?

Working at CER has been extremely helpful in many ways. First, by working with outstanding top-class Professors, researchers and experts - whose passion, dedication and curiosity about the EU is not comparable to any other university I have seen closely - I believe I developed a certain critical thinking that is of paramount importance to understanding the complexities of the EU. Moreover, thanks to the Centre’s global outlook, I also learned to analyse social and political trends through a different perspective, or what people call a ‘bigger picture’. That is, to try not to be parochial and biased, but always seek to put things in context, to compare carefully and to make sense of seemingly separate chains of events.

Outside of your traineeship experience at Parliament, in what ways have you benefitted from being able to spend time in Brussels?

I love Brussels. It is a little cosy town with a metropolitan flavour and a liberal and multicultural touch to it. What is more, and regardless what people often say about the city, I find it hardly boring as it continuously leads you to new places to discover and to new wonders. Indeed, one might easily and randomly jump from a posh and ‘hipsterish’ area to a closed and ‘exotic’ community literally within a few metres. This is why living in Saint-Josse, that is to put it bluntly not the most affluent and stylish area of the capital, has been a formative experience for me. Brussels also means easy travel and easy friendships. Ghent is a little hidden gem less than an hour ride away from Brussels. The Netherlands, Germany and France are all easily reachable without much need for planning.
Right now, I am just about to take a flight back home after having spent seven months here. And I am pretty sure it will not take long that I start thinking to myself “I am actually missing Brussels and I want to go back... very soon”!

 

2019 European Parliament election results

Learn about the Schuman Traineeship programme

 

David Gazsi is PhD Candidate at King’s College London and Editorial Assistant with East European Politics. Until recently, he worked as Research Assistant at CER.

 

 

 

 

Back to top