Our Fellows

Our Fellows are highly qualified and motivated trainees and young professionals with diverse backgrounds. The ELP recruitment process focus on the diverse backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences of the Fellows. The more diversified the background, the more they can learn and work productively and positively together. Don’t miss the chance to meet each of our Fellows here.

Spring Cohort 2024

Agathe Janssens de Bisthoven

Agathe Janssens de Bisthoven is a 22-year-old Belgian student who just recently graduated with an Honors Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University College of Maastricht. Her main academic focuses include international relations, Middle Eastern politics, and migration studies.

Alessandro Brugiolo

Alessandro is a 24 years old recent graduate from Italy. He just moved to Brussels for starting a traineeship at the European Business Summits, after completing his master in International Cooperation at the University of Turin and his working experience as Operations Officer Trainee at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Milan.

Antonello Pistritto

Antonello is an Italian civil servant, with nearly 5 years of experience, who works as a European Affairs Official at the Brussels representative Office of the Valle d'Aosta autonomous Region. In his work, Antonello deals on a daily basis with European funds, in particular in connection with the local deployment of cross-border Interreg cooperation funding programmes and of funding programmes managed directly by the European Commission.

Elena Perez-Velasco

Elena Pérez-Velasco is a young Spanish professional starting her career as a trainee at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). Elena takes every opportunity she has to get to know human stories and immerse herself in heart-to-heart conversations.

Daniel Lakatos

Daniel is a 25-year-old young professional, originally from Budapest, Hungary. After graduating high school, he completed his higher education in the Netherlands, France, and the United States, but also lived in Switzerland when he was younger.

Jeannette Bangoura

Jeannette is an Afropean logistics manager who has had the opportunity to work internationally for both large multinationals and start-ups. She spent 4 years in Germany and is now up to new adventures in Belgium; therefore she speaks fluently French, English and German.

Gergő Barna Balázs

Gergő is from Hungary and is currently doing an internship at the NATO Headquarters. An enthusiast of public international law, he studied law in Hungary, France and in the UK and gained experience in research and practice in the public and the private sector.

Mariana Perez Medina

Mariana Pérez Medina is a dedicated and passionate professional with a strong academic background in Biology and Neuroscience. Her journey in the field of science is fueled by a personal experience that sparked her interest in understanding the complexities of the brain.

Nina Danisova

Nina comes from Košice, Slovakia’s second-largest city, and is set to embark on an internship journey at COMECE from March until July 2024. During her university studies in Political Science at Comenius University, Bratislava, she delved deeper into theology, moral, and political philosophy through a two-year liberal arts residential program at the Collegium of Anton Neuwirth.

Luisa Dorianna Bemba

Maria Cordero-Fernández

Maria Cordero-Fernández, a 27-year-old Nicaraguan woman, demonstrates a profound commitment to socio-environmental justice. Her journey through a Jesuit school provided her with the foundational elements to develop her passion for combating injustices.

Sara Zonta

Sara is an Italian young professional originally from Uganda. She always felt a calling for helping others and her family always involved her in volunteering activities since she was young, both in Italy and Uganda. Being exposed to marginalised and fragile communities she then decided to pursue her university studies in Political Science and Human Rights at University of Padua.

Milena Machala

Milena is a 25-year-old Polish professional. Her academic journey took her from the University of Warsaw, where she pursued her law degree, to the University of Poitiers, expanding her international perspective. Additionally, she completed a British law course at the British Law Centre, a joint initiative by the University of Cambridge and the University of Warsaw.

Rebecca Schöler

Rebecca Schöler is a 22-year-old German ELP fellow currently completing an internship at the public affairs agency Erste Lesung GmbH in Brussels. After participating in various cultural exchange programs, she majored in International and European Governance, a binational and interdisciplinary double-degree between Sciences Po Lille and the University of Münster, where she pursues a master’s degree.

Regina Buono

Regina Buono is a young Italian professional who graduated with a master's degree in Languages and Cultures for International Cooperation and Communication from the University of Milan. She also holds a bachelor's degree in Intercultural Mediation. Born in Ischia, an island in Southern Italy, Regina has always been passionate about languages and cultures.

Zuzana Boháčová

Zuzana is a programme manager and former civil servant coming from the Czech Republic. She holds a Bachelor´s degree in International Territorial Studies and a Master´s degree in International Security Studies, both earned from Charles University in Prague. She also completed study exchanges at the University of Twente in the Netherlands and at Sciences Po Lille in France.

Benjamin Christopher Ilg

Benjamin is 29 years old and comes from Esslingen in the South West of Germany. He has worked as Briefing and Communication Coordinator in the European Commission (JRC) for a year, after having done a traineeship in the EU Delegation to Mexico. His educational background is in international politics and economics

Caroline Halfvarson

Caroline is a 26-year-old Swedish young professional currently in Brussels as a Blue Book legal trainee at the European External Action Service (EEAS). Before joining the EU bubble, Caroline has explored different corners of Europe, originally hailing from the university town of Lund, Sweden, from where she also gained her LL.M.

Maria Ilona Stark

Mária is a young Hungarian expert of international environmental and water governance. Her training background is in international relations, as well as international environmental and water governance and diplomacy. She currently works as a Blue Book Trainee for the Directorate General for Environment (DG ENV), where she specializes in clean air policies.

Blanka Csite

Blanka, a 26-year-old young professional from Budapest, currently serves as a Blue Book trainee at the European Commission's Directorate General for Research and Innovation, where her main interests, research, innovation, and higher education policies intersect.

Angelica Restori

Angelica comes Parma, in Italy. Her family involved her in volunteering activities since she was still 11 years old, in Brazil and in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Helping others became an inner need as she volunteered for 2 years as a paramedic on the ambulances during high school.

Barbara Fruzsina Deme

Barbara Deme is a 26-year-old ELP fellow and comes from a Hungarian German and Transylvanian family. Due to her family’s international background, she became open to other cultures. Barbara obtained her B.A. Degree in International Relations at the Corvinus University of Budapest.

Benjamin

Elena Perez-Velasco

Erik Hayes Gomez

Erik Hayes Gomez is a 24-year-old Spanish young professional currently undertaking a traineeship at the Assembly of European Regions. He was born in the city of Lleida, Catalonia and was nurtured by his Catalan mother and British father. Since his early years, he has been exposed to multiple languages, fostering a sense of openness and understanding towards other cultures and customs.

Fabrizio Napoli

Fabrizio Napoli is a research trainee with FINABEL (European Army Interoperability Centre) and a member of the International Team for the Study of Security (ITSS Verona). He holds an MA in Eastern European and Eurasian Studies from the University of Bologna and a BA in Philosophy, International Studies, and Economics from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

Gergő Barna Balázs

Gergő is from Hungary and is currently participating in the European Commission’s Blue Book Traineeship programme, working with international trade and competition aspects of maritime transport at DG MOVE.

Louise Everarts

Louise is a Belgian law student who recently graduated from the College of Europe in Bruges and is currently working at the EU & International Department of the Federation of Belgian Enterprises. During her legal studies, Louise was always eager to deepen her knowledge of European foreign policy, especially in promoting and protecting human rights within and across European borders.

Lucia Albano

Lucia is an Italian young professional, determined to do her part for EU integration. She graduated in Law at the University of Trento in Italy, spent 1 year of Erasmus in Hamburg and specialized in EU law with an LLM at the College of Europe in Belgium (Bruges). As for her professional experience, she worked in a Law firm for 1,5 years in Italy.

Luisa Dorianna Bemba

Luisa is a third-culture child of French and Italian nationalities, born in Germany, but the truth is her Europeanness was unveiled during her Erasmus in Potsdam. Polyglot, she effortlessly bridges cultural gaps, acutely epitomizing multicultural communication. Her international background has led her to develop a keen interest in international cooperation and diplomacy.

Maria Cordero-Fernández

Mátyás Tompa

Matyas works as a trainee in the European Economic and Social Committee in the Consultative Commission for Industrial Change section. He holds a Bachelor's degree in international Business from Corvinus University of Budapest and a Political Science degree from the Central European University in Vienna.

Milena Machala

Milena is a 25-year-old Polish professional currently serving as a Blue Book trainee within the European Commission's Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship, and SMEs (DG GROW). Her academic journey took her from the University of Warsaw, where she pursued her law degree, to the University of Poitiers, expanding her international perspective.

Rebecca Schöler

Rebecca Schöler is a 22-year-old German ELP fellow currently completing an internship at the public affairs agency Erste Lesung GmbH in Brussels. After participating in various cultural exchange programs in France, the US, the UK, and Brazil, she decided to major in International and European Governance, a binational and interdisciplinary double-degree between Sciences Po Lille and the University of Münster.

Teresa Pallares Ramos

Originally from Spain, Teresa Pallarés Ramos began her career in Brussels as a Blue Book Trainee at the Directorate General of Home Affairs and Migration, followed by a communications role at Caritas Europa. Currently, she holds the position of Advocacy Officer for YouthProAktiv while concurrently honing her research skills at the Laudato Si Research Institute at Oxford University.

Zuzana Boháčová

Zuzana is a programme manager and former civil servant coming from the Czech Republic. She holds a Bachelor ́s degree in International Territorial Studies and a Master ́s degree in International Security Studies, both earned from Charles University in Prague. She also completed study exchanges at the University of Twente in the Netherlands and at Sciences Po Lille in France.

Anis Belgacem

Anis Belgacem is a modest and devoted young professional, Tunisian national he is pursuing his master's degree in European studies in Germany putting him at the heart of an international setting. A path he cherishes and that drives him to make a difference.

Regina Buono

Antonello Pistritto

Antonello is an Italian civil servant who works in the domain of European Cohesion Policy at the Brussels representative Office of the Valle d'Aosta Autonomous Region. He holds a double degree in Italian and French law at the Université Paris V Descartes and at the University of Turin, where he discussed a thesis on "Law and the Sacred in Dante's Comedy."

Azurea Engelbrecht

Azurea is a 24-year-old Hungarian currently working as an intern for the Laudato Si’ Research Institute through ELP. She holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in International Relations from Corvinus University of Budapest and in 2022, she also started attending Eötvös Loránd University’s Translation and Interpreting master’s programme in Budapest.

Benjamin Joppke

Benjamin is a Frenco-German graduate interning at NATO in Bruxelles. He is currently studying International Affairs in the Global Security Track at the Geneva Graduate Institute in Switzerland. He has experience in political and humanitarian institutions after working for IOM in Berlin and Geneva, for Projet Montreal, and volunteering for the New Democratic Party of Canada.

Flavia Laneri

Flavie has a Master’s Degree in Interpreting and Translation from the University of International Studies of Rome (UNINT). Her working languages are English and Russian, but she also speaks and understands French and Spanish at a high proficiency. She is a flexible and proactive person always ready to meet new people, to learn their stories and their ways of looking at the world.

Géza Kovács-Dobák

Géza Kovács-Dobák is a 28-year-old Hungarian seconded national expert at the European Commission on the field of IPCEI state instruments. For two years he worked for the Hungarian Ministry for Innovation and Technology in the same field. He finished at the University of Groningen and the Corvinus University of Budapest on the field of financial economics and monetary policy.

Iván Hóka

Iván is from Hungary, currently completing the Blue Book traineeship at the European Commission working on the employment related country specific recommendations (in DG EMPL). He obtained his Bachelor’s degree at the Amsterdam University College and finished his Master’s this year in European Economic Studies at the College of Europe, Bruges.

Teresa Maria Pallares Ramos

Teresa is a historian by training, with postgraduate degrees in International Relations (IBEI) and International Migration (Pontifical University of Comillas), and has additional training in anthropology (SOAS), Middle Eastern Studies (UAM Madrid) and educational sciences (UCL London).

Jessica Holmes

Jessica is a musician specialising in the oboe who studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Northern College of Music in the UK. She is passionate about access to music and the arts outside the concert hall. She has run workshops with Ukrainian refugees in Poland, played at hospital bedsides in Manchester and performed with orchestras in the UK, Europe and Australia.

Veronica Fani

Veronica is born in Italy. She graduated in International Relations and Development Cooperations at the University for Foreigners of Perugia with a Master’s in African Studies earned at Dalarna University in Sweden. She has an extensive work experience as an intern with the Italian Embassy and Ngo’s in Ethiopia and with International Organisations in Morocco and Tunisia.

Isabel Cantero López

Isabel is a Spanish girl from Valencia, where she studied Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), a master’s degree in Industrial Organization and Management Engineering after which she moved to Brussels for an internship. Her purpose is to impact her environment positively and everywhere she goes.

Kamilla Béres

Kamilla is a state aid expert working in the area of fundraising, business development and consulting. Apart from her native Hungarian, she speaks English, German, Portuguese, Spanish and French fluently. She obtained a BA in International Relations and MSc in Public Policy & Management from Corvinus University of Budapest.

Marcell Pethő

Marcell is a Blue Book Trainee for the European Commission at DG Competition. He holds a BA in international public administration from the National University of Public Service and he has an integrated LLM from Peter Pazmany Catholic University. His main interests are the legal system of the European Union and technology law.

Marie Lardinoit

Marie is a double master's degree student at the Catholic University of Louvain. She studies sociology and management and feels passionate about migratory issues. She interned at Fedasil and is now writing her two theses on social integration factors for migrants in Belgium and on intercultural mediation in the reception of asylum seekers.

Vasyl Romanyk

Vasyl Romanyk is a 24 years old ELP fellow and European Commission trainee coming from Ukraine. He was born in a beautiful village called Shcheploty, located in the Polish-Ukrainian borderland. When Vasyl turned six years old, his family moved to the city of Yavoriv, where he started going to school.

Volodymyr Vladyka

Volodymyr Vladyka is a young professional in the field of European public affairs and policies. He has just begun his traineeship in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy. He was born in Eastern Ukraine and spent most of his youth in Donetsk. The war struck his home when he was 14, triggering him to mature, understand and explore his purpose in life.

Kamil Jarończyk

Kamil Jarończyk is policy and communications assistant at the International Union of Cinemas. He holds an MSc in European Governance from Masaryk and Utrecht University. Previously, he was managing editor at Visegrad Insight where he co-authored a report on the 3 Seas Initiative and was the author of many texts. Born in the USA to Polish parents, he has a unique insight into transatlantic affairs.

Nikolaj Kornerup

Nikolaj, from Denmark, holds an LLM from Aarhus University, and an MA in European Interdisciplinary Studies from the College of Europe. He is currently a Blue Book Trainee at the European Commission, and a member of the International Committee of European Youth Denmark. Nikolaj has a special interest in diplomacy, politics, international relations and law.

Pietro Signó

Pietro is a master student in European studies at the University of Geneva and comes from a small French-Italian bilingual region in the Italian Alps. He is undertaking an internship in Brussels at the Representation of Luxembourg to the Political and Security Committee of the EU, in order to complete his studies.

Ralitsa Shentova

Ralitsa arrived in Brussels as a Schuman Trainee at the European Parliament's EMAS and Sustainability Unit. She is a sustainability generalist with a background in social and natural sciences, innovation, and entrepreneurship. She holds a BA in Psychology and Politics (University of Stirling, UK) and an MSc in Environmental Sciences (Wageningen University, Netherlands).

Anna Taraczközi

Anna is a young Hungarian leader from the countryside who wants to dedicate her future career to work for the public goods in his country and at the heart of the European community. Anna works as a Blue Book Trainee for the European Commission for the department for Research and Innovation (RTD).

Barbara Polin

Barbara, from Italy, works in European affairs and communications. She holds an Erasmus Mundus Master's degree in Journalism, Media, and Globalisation from Aarhus University and the University of Amsterdam and obtained a Master's in International Relations from the University of Turin.

Divin-Luc Bikubanya

Divin-Luc is a Congolese researcher based in Brussels since April 2022 in the European Leadership Programme (ELP) framework. As a fellow, he works at the University of Antwerp, notably within the organizations University Center Saint Ignatius Antwerpen (UCSIA) and University Foundation for Development Cooperation (USOS).

Francesco Schmidt

Francesco, from Italy, is a Legal Officer at the European Commission, working on fundamental rights and equality (in DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion). He previously completed a Blue Book traineeship (in DG Justice and Consumers) and three Masters in Law (at the College of Europe, Leiden University and Università degli Studi di Torino). He loves sports, parties, travels, good food and pleasures of life in general.

Géza Kovács-Dobák

Iván Hóka

Jamina Vesta Jugo

Jamina Vesta Jugo recently got her doctorate in Political Science at the University of Goettingen, and is a Lecturer in European Studies at the Ateneo de Manila University. Deeply interested in issues like migration, diversity, and democratic consolidation, she hopes to help build more bridges between the academe and other parts of civil society, as well as between Europe and Asia.

Jessica Holmes

Jessica is an English professional musician specialising in the oboe. She studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Northern College of Music in the UK. She is passionate about access to music and the arts outside the concert hall. She has run workshops with Ukrainian refugees in Poland, played at hospital bedsides in Manchester and performed with orchestras in the UK, Europe and Australia.

Veronica Fani

Nina Basok

Nina Basok is a young researcher and translator, who had to flee Ukraine in March. She graduated in linguistics, French language and literature from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. She studied European Neighbourhood Policy at the College of Europe in Natolin and wrote a Master thesis on the Normandy format as a turning point in Franco-German relations.

Stijn Ringoir

Born and raised close to Brussels, Stijn is an organisational psychologist working in strategic HR at the European Parliament. He enjoys bringing together the Flemish and international lifestyle in Brussels by connecting with colleagues, expats, and friends. Stijn is outgoing and people-minded, while also intellectually focused on global and European politics and history.

Tamás Farbaky

Tamás is a Hungarian, multilingual international relations expert with a focus on international humanitarian NGOs. He earned his master’s degree in International Relations from Central European University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Theology and another one in Slavonic and French studies.

Tomás Martins Paes de Almeida

Tomás is a Brazilian human rights advocate. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations with a minor in Government Relations and a Master’s degree in Migration and Intercultural Relations. He is a multi-skilled professional with experience in the private sector, in a think-tank and in intergovernmental organizations.

Vasyl Romanyk

Volodymyr Vladyka

Volodymyr Vladyka is a young professional in the field of European public affairs and policies. He has just begun his traineeship in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy. Volodymyr was born in Eastern Ukraine in 2000, spending most of his youth in Donetsk. The war struck his home when he was 14, triggering him to mature, understand and explore his purpose in life.

Kamil Jarończyk

Spring Cohort 2022

Akvilé Minčinkaité

Akvilė is from Lithuania. She holds a Master’s degree in Law at Vytautas Magnus University. She obtained useful experience in the Public Procurement (Public sector, University). Furthermore, Akvilė holds a qualification in Pedagogy with specialization in Juvenile Delinquency. Before her studies started, she had been volunteering with socially vulnerable groups in orphanages, as well as young people prone to crime.

Andreas Prischl

Andreas has just completed a Bluebook traineeship in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and he feels grateful for it. He is eager to find out how decisions are made in the European Union and how leadership and negotiations turn international relations for the better. He studied history at the University of Vienna, with exchange programmes to the University of Chicago and University College Dublin.

Barbara Polin

Barbara works at the intersection of global communications and international politics, focusing on the EU’s public diplomacy and strategic communications. Committed to a stronger Europe, she wrote analyses and opinion pieces on the EU’s international role for several Italian and foreign media platforms. Barbara also holds a BA in Diplomacy and International Relations, obtained cum laude at the University of Trieste.

Borbála Vissi

Borbála graduated from Semmelweis University in Budapest in Pharmacy and Health Care Management. She has wide working experience at different healthcare institutions in Hungary, ranging from freelancing as a pharmacist to being a medical expert in health technology assessment or researching possibilities of hospital digitalization. Currently, she is a management consultant at Bethesda Children’s Hospital, Budapest.

Carolina Chambel

Carolina is passionate about learning and personal development. Carolina has developed an interest in Diplomacy, Politics, International Affairs, International Business and Management, Aid Humanitarian and External Operations, International Partnerships and she is strongly motivated by humanitarian work. Currently she is based in Brussels upskilling herself as EU Bluebook Trainee at EU-RAIL.ED.RI - Research and Innovation Unit.

Cristian Morelli

Cristian is doing a Blue Book Traineeship with the European Commission’s Executive Agency CINEA. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Study and a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the University of Florence, his home town in Italy. He also holds several post-graduate degrees and certificates in various fields: from geopolitical forecasts to geopolitical analysis, from multilateral diplomacy to conflict mediation and peacebuilding.

Divin-Luc Bikubanya

Divin-Luc Bikubanya is a citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was born on 9 April 1994 in the province of South Kivu, in the city of Bukavu, in the Eastern part of the country, which has been known for massacres and wars for three decades now. It is in this environment that he grew up, pursuing his university studies at the Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in 2017) in the field of Rural Economy.

Emilia Barbara Janas

Emilia is a law student at the University of Wrocław and a trainee at the EPP Group in the EP, where she works for gender equality and women’s rights at the Working Group of Legal and Home Affairs associated with the FEMM Committee. She is a former member of the European Law Students’ Association and a volunteer at international film festivals. She is a very civic-minded person, who wants to raise awareness on cultural heritage and ecology.

Fabrizio Provenzano

Fabrizio Provenzano obtained the Master in Diplomacy’s Diploma at ISPI, after a Master's Degree in International Relations at the University of Bologna. He worked at the Youth Department at the Council of Europe and actually he is President of the Youth Section of Confeuropa Italy. Since November 2020 he is Responsible for EU Affairs of the italian political party Azione in Sicily.

Francesco Schmidt

Francesco is a 27 years old passionate of the European project, from Italy. In February 2022, he completed the Blue Book traineeship at the EC, working on Union citizenship and Equality (in DG Justice and Consumers). Before Brussels, he lived in five countries completing three Masters in Law: his graduations at Leiden University and Università degli Studi di Torino have been followed by a specialization in EU Law at the College of Europe.

Giovanni Penna

Giovanni holds an MSc in Migration Studies from the University of Oxford and a bachelor’s in Human Geography from the University of Glasgow. He has published multiple academic papers on solidarity and human rights, topics that he is deeply passionate. By volunteering with several NGO groups throughout Europe, he has become interested in how communities can organise to achieve social change.

Jamina Vesta Jugo

Born and raised in the Philippines, Jamina has spent most of the past decade in Europe, in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Poland. She is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Goettingen, and a part-time lecturer at the European Studies Program of the Ateneo de Manila University.

Jan Pabisiak

Jan is a Bachelor student of International Relations and a Master student of Law at the University of Wrocław. Until recently he was a trainee at the office of a Member of the European Parliament and now he is a trainee at the office of the European People’s Party Group in the European Parliament and the President of the Council of the Polish Forum of Young Diplomats.

Lucia Caccialupi

With a background in Intercultural Communication, Lucia has graduated from the NOHA+ Erasmus Mundus Master’s Degree in International Humanitarian Action. She completed her studies in Jordan presenting her research on the field “Syrian Refugees’ Local Integration in the Jordanian Society”. She works for the European Commission as a Blue Book Trainee at the DG for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.

Róza Kotiers

Róza Kotiers grew up in a family of four children in a village called Hetény situated in South-Slovakia. She is currently employed at a MEP’s office at the European Parliament as a trainee and also engaged in a political party at home. Her main areas of political interest are minority issues, language rights and gender equality. She decided to stay in Slovakia after high school and went to university in Bratislava.

Sebastiano Bertagni

While it may not be the worst of times, it is certainly not the easiest for European cooperation and dialogue. Since Europe’s future will not only be shaped by economics and politics but also by culture, Sebastiano's ambition is to encourage people to think cohesively of Europe. He is the Junior Policy Officer at ACT, the European Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services, working closely with audiovisual policies.

Simon Happersberger

Simon is an early career political scientist born in Germany. He is doing his PhD in the field of European politics, political economy, and sustainability. After his studies in Political Science and German Philology in Goettingen, Paris, Berlin, and Cape Town, he did a Schuman traineeship at the European Parliament. He has collected first professional experiences at the German Institute for International Affairs, the German Embassy in Nairobi and the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation.

Tomás Martins Paes de Almeida

Tomás is a Brazilian human rights advocate. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations with a minor in Government Relations and a Master’s degree in Migration and Intercultural Relations. He is currently an intern at the International Organization for Migration’s regional office for the EU/EEA+ region where he works on the topic of vulnerable migrants at the Migrant Protection and Assistance unit.

Zoja Bajželj

Zoja is from Slovenia. She holds a bachelor's degree in law from the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and an LL.M. in International Laws from Maastricht University, the Netherlands. She did a traineeship for the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission in Italy. She is currently working in the EU bubble in Brussels.

Giacomo Petrucco

Giacomo Petrucco (1995) was Honors College Student at Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies. He graduated in Economics and had a Master in Strategy and Management at the University of Pisa, where he is currently completing his PhD. He was intern at the Permanent Mission of Italy to the UN in New York and he worked in private sector in International Finance before joining as officer the Ministry of Economy and Finance in Rome in 2021.

Fall Cohort 2021

Andi Pratiwi

Andi is a Southeast Asian Studies graduate from the University of Hamburg, a migration scholar, a youth worker, and an ASEAN human rights activist. She is a co-founder and managing director of ASEAN Youth Organization Germany, an international organization empowering exchanges between Southeast Asian and German youth. Most importantly, her interest in human stories and cultures aspired her to strive for change.

Andrea Scarpello

Andrea is from Milan, Italy. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in International Relations from the INALCO Institute of Paris and a Master of Laws (LLM) in Global Environment and Climate Change Law from the University of Edinburgh. Andrea worked as an intern for different human rights and environmental organizations across Latin America and Europe. He is passionate about human rights, environmental protection and humanitarian action.

Andreas Prischl

Andreas has come to Brussels to work for the European Commission as a Bluebook trainee in the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. He studied history at the University of Vienna, with exchange programmes to the University of Chicago and University College Dublin. After he completed an internship at the embassy of his native Austria in Ankara, he decided to pursue a career in international relations.

Anthi Tsagkalidou

Anthi is a Political Scientist specialising in EU Politics and EU Financial Regulation. Following the completion of her Master’s degree in European Public Policy and Administration from Maastricht University she has continued her professional career in the European Commission working in DG Budget-Unit 01. One of her greatest achievements was that during her degree she inspired other students to participate in the Erasmus+ Programme.

Dániel B. Kalotai

Dániel is an academic researcher from Budapest, Hungary. He graduated from the Central European University, where he studied Sociology and Social Anthropology with a specialization in Global and Urban Studies. Currently, he interns at the Representation of the Municipality of Budapest in Brussels. A very active and civic-minded person, with experiences in academics, UX analysis and organizing cultural events.

Emanuela Pisanó

Emanuela is from Italy. She recently graduated from an Erasmus Mundus Master’s Degree in International Humanitarian Action. During her work and studies she has undertaken volunteering work with the European Solidarity Corps on the Turkish-Syrian border and with the Italian Red Cross on one of their quarantine boats, helping refugees and migrants alike. She currently works as Project Manager.

Emanuele Bussagli

Emanuele is from Italy. He holds a master’s degree in International Relations and Security from the University of Bologna. He graduated in Political Sciences from the University of Siena and spent a semester at the RUDN University of Moscow. He is currently doing an internship at Finabel. Before, he did an internship at the Italian Embassy in Washington DC. He is passionate about EU foreign affairs, Russian history and foreign policy.

Ida Paraskeva

Ida is a Greek political science scholar and environmental activist situated in Brussels, where she recently completed her MA in Political Science and International Relations. While she was a psychology student in Athens, she worked to prepare action plans, coordinate teams, and evaluate projects which aimed to increase awareness on human rights and environmental protection.

Jean-Thomas Pénet

Jean-Thomas is from Strasbourg. He currently works at Caritas Europe. He studied politics, international and EU affairs at Sciences Po Strasbourg. After his Erasmus at the University of Erlangen–Nuremberg, Germany, he specialised in economics and finance through his Master’s. He later joined France’s diplomatic team in Denmark where he witnessed and was inspired by Denmark's actions against climate change.

José María Arroyo Nieto

José is a Spanish historian working in EU affairs. He holds a BA in History from the University of Navarra and an MPhil in Modern European History from the University of Cambridge. After graduating, he did an internship at the EU Delegation to India. In Brussels he has gained experience in the private sector, in public institutions, and in the NGO sector. His interests include European identity and culture, international relations, and digital regulation.

Kamilla Kiraly

Kamilla is from Veszprém, Hungary. She studied political sciences at the Central and Eastern European Campus of Sciences Po Paris, in Dijon for two years, and then she completed the third year of her Bachelor's Degree at the University of Helsinki. Currently, she is a trainee at the European Economic and Social Committee and she is about to finish her Master's Degree in International Public Management also at Sciences Po Paris.

Lucia Korcsogová

Lucia was born in Slovakia. At the age of 19, she moved to Czechia and completed her BSc and Master´s degree in International Relations at the Prague University of Economics and Business. Lucia joined the ELP's Spring 2021 Cohort, where researched migration in Belgium, accompanied by fieldwork with migrants. She is currently working with youth outreach as a Schuman Trainee at the European Parliament.

Madeleine Wörner

Madeleine is a natural scientist with a focus on engineering, as well as a theologian and sociologist. Her passions for rationality, logic, spirituality, and creativity equip her with important resources to find solutions for today's multiplicity of complex problems. She has studied in Aachen and Grenoble to obtain her master’s degrees in Theology and Global Development, and Engineering Geohazards. She is currently a trainee at CIDSE.

Marcell Farkas

Marcell is Hungarian. He is now starting a Blue Book traineeship at the European Commission. At DG FISMA, he will provide support to his unit in economic analysis and policy evaluation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Corvinus University of Budapest, and he is about to graduate from a master’s program in Economic Policy at the Central European University, Vienna.

Pauline Courteille

Pauline was born in Normandy. She studied in Strasbourg, Vilnius, Toronto and Paris and is now a Schuman Trainee at the European Parliament in Brussels. Before that, she worked in French local government. Pauline loves building bridges between sectors, organizations, and people as a human resources professional. She holds master’s degrees from Sciences Po Strasbourg, York University in Canada, and Paris II University.

Sebastiano Bertagni

Since Europe’s future will not only be shaped by economics and politics but also by culture and education, Sebastiano's ambition is to encourage people to think of Europe as a crucial identity. He graduated in Cultural Economics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. He is a Blue Book trainee at EACEA, the European Commission Education and Culture Executive Agency. He is in charge of managing the funds for the Cinema sector, his main passion.

Simon Happersberger

Simon is a young political scientist born in Germany. He is doing his PhD in the field of European politics, political economy, and sustainability. After studying Political Science and German Philology in Goettingen, Paris, Berlin, and Cape Town, he did a Schuman traineeship at the EP. He has professional experiences at the German Institute for International Affairs, the German Embassy in Nairobi and the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation.

Tena Vukelić

Tena from Croatia. She holds a Master's degree in Law from the University of Zagreb with a specialisation in Public International Law. She has professional experience in the business and public sectors. In 2020 she was a trainee at the European Economic and Social Committee, in the External Relations Section. She worked for the Honorary Consulate of the Kingdom of Spain in Croatia and volunteered in the Jesuit Refugee Service.

Yoana Stefanova

Yoana is a passionate practitioner and researcher in the field of arts and culture. She is currently an interim project officer at the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). She has studied Cultural Studies at Sofia University and specialised in history and theory of creative and cultural industries at the University of Glasgow, Universidad de Barcelona, and Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Artúr Hőnich

Artúr Hőnich is currently interning at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. He completed a Dual Master’s Degree in International Security at King’s College London and Sciences Po . He received his BA in International Relations with distinction from the Corvinus University of Budapest. He has interned at the Ministry of Defence of Hungary, the Embassy of Hungary in London and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Spring Cohort 2021

Adolfo Canales

Spring Cohort 2021

Adolfo is a young human rights lawyer graduated from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. He currently works as a human rights teacher at the Jesuit Worldwide Learning Initiative working with people and communities at the margins, he works with victims at the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights and is pursuing an LLM in Environmental Law funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Anthony Tokarz

Spring Cohort 2021

Prior to ELP, Anthony spent a year serving as a Catholic missionary and itinerant catechist in the US states of Minnesota and North Dakota. He worked with various communities and assisted in adapting parishes to ministry. His earlier experiences include internships at the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, Jaguar Land Rover North America, and C-Fam, a public policy think tank in New York City.

Eleonora Masoni

Spring Cohort 2021

Eleonora is a young European coming from Italy. She holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the Università di Bologna. During her studies, she attended two semesters abroad as an Erasmus student at the Université Panthéon-Sorbonne and at the University of Luxembourg. Eleonora’s broader interests combine EU foreign affairs and economic policies, history of Africa and Middle East, sustainability and gender equality.

Emanuela Pisano

Spring Cohort 2021

Emanuela if from Italy. She graduated from an Erasmus Mundus Master’s Degree in International Humanitarian Action. During her studies, she lived and worked in Poland, Ireland, Malta, Indonesia and Australia. With the European Solidarity Corps, she moved on the Turkish-Syrian border and contributed to the construction of an education centre for refugee children. Today, Emanuela is an intern at CSR Europe.

João Silva

Spring Cohort 2021

João comes from Portugal and has an academic background in Journalism and Political Science. Having worked for the United Nations and the European Parliament, he’s deeply committed to staying in the European Quarter, ready to face new challenges. João is currently working for Management Centre Europe while co-managing Politicamente Falando, an independent project to tackle misinformation.

Katinka Mossóczy

Spring Cohort 2021

Katinka is from Eger, Hungary. She studied International Relations at the Corvinus University of Budapest and she is about to graduate with a degree in Regional and Environmental Economics from the same university. She is especially interested in Environmental Policies . She speaks English and Italian in addition to her native Hungarian. During the ELP, Katinka is working as a trainee for Stand Up for Europe.

Lucia Korcsogová

Spring Cohort 2021

Lucia was born in Slovakia, as part of the Hungarian minority. She have a degree in International Relations. At the age of 19, she moved to Czechia to study at the Prague University of Economics and Business. She has completed exchange programs in France, Netherlands and Hungary. She has professional experience in Project management, Marketing and International trade. Currently, she is completing a Fellowship with UCSIA.

Marco Fornasiero

Spring Cohort 2021

Marco has a Master's degree in Political Science and a second level Master's degree in Parliamentary Law, both of them obtained at La Sapienza University of Rome. Former national president of FUCI, the Italian Catholic University Federation, he worked for two years in Rome for the news and media relation world, and at the end of February 2020 he completed a Shuman traineeship for the Cabinet of the President of the EP.

Matúš Koronthály

Spring Cohort 2021

Matúš lived the majority of my life in Washington State. He completed his studies there, studying marketing at the Jesuit-led Seattle University. Despite this area of study, Matúš retained a keen interest in politics and took on an internship during the 2018 Congressional Elections in support of a local candidate. After the completion of his studies, Matúš accepted a traineeship with the EP and moved to Brussels.

Mireille Nzuzi

Spring Cohort 2021

Mireille Nzuzi is a British/Congolese graduate of Medical Sciences from Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. She has dedicated her life to advocating for social inclusion of young people with migration background in the European society. She joined the European Commission in March of 2020 at the Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.

Nikolas Schulze-Makuch

Spring Cohort 2021

Nikolas Schulze-Makuch, is a 27-year Communications Assistant at the European Textile Service Association (ETSA), he previously worked as a trainee at the ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions. While he is a German citizen, he was born and brought up in the United States. At age 19, Nik decided to move to Europe to further pursue his university academics with a focus on the European Union.

Pauline Courteille

Spring Cohort 2021

Sebastiano Bertagni

Spring Cohort 2021

Sebastiano grew up in an environment with plenty of formative exchange opportunities. He Graduated in Cultural Economics and Entrepreneurship at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. He is currently working as a Policy Assistant at Culture Action Europe, where he is supporting the work of the Policy director, especially advocating for a better European cultural policy and lobbying for major public investment in culture.

Yoana Stefanova

Spring Cohort 2021

Yoana is both a passionate practitioner and an enthusiastic researcher in the field of arts and culture. She is currently a trainee at the EACEA. Prior to that, she has studied Cultural studies at Sofia University and has specialised in history and theory of creative and cultural industries at University of Glasgow, Universidad de Barcelona, and Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Fall Cohort 2020

Adina Nutu

Fall Cohort 2020

Adina is from Romania. She holds a Master of Arts and Master of Letters in History from the University of Dundee. Throughout her studies, she primarily focused on empirical research with a strong interest in former Global Empires and Soviet Studies. Adina’s main interests combine history, politics, human rights advocacy, research, equality, and sustainability. Recently she joined Management Centre Europe (MCE) in project management.

Antonina Borrello

Fall Cohort 2020

Antonina is Italian and she is a Blue Book trainee in the European Commission in DG HOME. Her education background relates to translation and interpreting; she got a Bachelor's Degree in my hometown Reggio Calabria in Linguistic Mediation and then a Master's Degree in Specialized Translation at the University of Trieste, studying Arabic, English and Spanish.

Enzo Ribagnac

Fall Cohort 2020

Enzo has completed studies in law, public affairs and languages (English, Mandarin and Italian) in various universities in Europe and Asia, including Sciences Po Bordeaux, Beijing Foreign Studies University and Università degli studi di Torino. He has a strong interest in the upcoming European digital policies as well as in the trade aspect of international relations. He is currently working in a European institution on trade related issues.

Henri Chabrier

Fall Cohort 2020

Henri Chabrier is a 22 year-old student in Public Affairs at Sciences Po. He arrived in Brussels this September in order to do an internship at the European Parliament, as a trainee for a French MEP (Pierre Karleskind). He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Sciences Po and a Bachelor of History from La Sorbonne, and will finish his Master in Public Affairs at Sciences Po next year.

Ivana Geto

Fall Cohort 2020

Ivana Geto is a Political Scientist from Osijek, Croatia. She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb where she studied EU affairs and Internation Relations. Currently, Ivana is an intern in the Federation of Catholic family associations in Europe. Her interests are anti-corruption policies, regulation of lobbying and advocacy for Christian values of justice and human dignity.

Katinka Mossóczy

Fall Cohort 2020

Lukács Hayes

Fall Cohort 2020

Lukács is a half-Hungarian, half-English recent graduate from Hungary. He holds a BA in Sociology and Social Policy from the Corvinus University of Budapest and an MA in Political Science from the Central European University. He is currently interning at everis’s public sector consulting division in Brussels along with being a Fellow at the ELP.

Lukas Jovanovic

Spring Cohort 2021

Lukas was born in Croatia. After graduating in History he got a master’s degree in Religious studies at the University of Padua (Italy). During 2019 he was a Blue Book trainee at the European Economic and Social Committee, working on the organization of high-level international conferences and events about civil society. Currently, he is working in Caritas Europa on the Institutional Development Unit.

Marco Speciale

Fall Cohort 2020

Marco is a young European born in Italy. He graduated in Political Science at the University of Bologna with a master’s degree in International Relations. During his studies he attended Universities in France and Ireland as an exchange student. He also lived in Ethiopia where he worked as Intern at the Italian Embassy and later as Project Manager for a Catholic NGO. He is currently working in Brussels as Humanitarian and Innovation Intern at Caritas Europa.

Marco Fornasiero

Spring Cohort 2021

Matúš Koronthály

Spring Cohort 2021

Nikolas Schulze-Makuch

Spring Cohort 2021

Samir Chouman

Spring Cohort 2021

Samir is a German/Egyptian graduate from Leiden University, holding a B.A. in International Studies and an M.A. in International Relations. He has worked for the German development agency GIZ GmbH in Morocco and as a Blue Book Trainee at the European Commission in Brussels, working on a breadth of issues including international cooperation, covid-19 response mechanisms and the European Green Deal.

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Spring 2020 Cohort

Hanna Engström

Spring Cohort 2020

Hanna Engström is 27 years old from Stockholm, Sweden. She holds a Master of Laws from Lund University. She wrote her master thesis in EU defence procurement for the Swedish defence company SAAB and the law firm Vinge in Brussels, and started working for the latter one afterwards.

Klara Wuketich

Spring Cohort 2020

Klara is from Austria and holds a BSc from the University of Life Sciences and Natural Resources Vienna and a Master’s degree in European Studies with a focus on the management of EU projects. Next to her time as a trainee at the DG RTD, Klara is looking forward to fully experiencing what Brussels and its people have to offer.

Bartholomäus Regenhardt

Spring Cohort 2020

Bartholomäus is about to complete his PhD in privacy and data protection law and qualify as a German lawyer. Currently he works in the life sciences practice of a Brussels based law firm. Previously he worked as a lecturer in EU Law as well as a trainee in the privacy practice of an international law firm and a German bank.

Silvia Compagno

Spring Cohort 2020

Silvia is Italian, from Rome. While completing her studies in International Relations and she has been working for various NGO’s and Organizations operating in the development cooperation sector. She’s currently working in Brussels as a Blue Book trainee at DG DEVCO.

Donát Benedek Danics

Spring Cohort 2020

Donát is a 26 years old lawyer / law student from Budapest. After having graduated from the faculty of law of the ELTE University of Budapest. As of March he will be participating in the Blue Book traineeship scheme of the European Commission, working within the legal department of the DG for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations.

Slađana Lovrić

Spring Cohort 2020

Slađana Lovrić is a Croatian graduate from the Faculty of Political Science in Zagreb, with a masterꞌs degree in European studies and National Security. She has a broad experience in those fields, and her last was an internship at European Parliament with Croatian Christian MEP. She intends to work further in Christian advocacy within the European and other institutions.

Fall 2019 Cohort

Bénédicte Colin

Autumn Cohort 2020

Bénédicte Colin is a French graduate from the Strasbourg Institute for Political Studies (IEP), with a master’s degree in International Relations. She has experience working in a Christian NGO specialized in the promotion and the protection of human rights in Europe. She intends to work in Christian advocacy within the European institutions.

Gianmarco Palermo

Autumn Cohort 2020

Gianmarco is an Italian young graduate in International Relations at the University of Bologna. During his studies he attended universities in Norway, Australia, Luxembourg and the United States as an exchange student. His greatest passions are sport, travel and politics and he currently works in the JESC Justice Office as Assistant.

Anikó Mecser

Autumn Cohort 2020

Anikó is from Hungary and works as a lawyer at the Legal Service of the Permanent Representation of Hungary to the European Union with the Hungarian Administrative Scholarship. She graduated in law at Eötvös Loránd University in 2017 and she has a master’s degree in comparative law from the Université Panthéon-Assas.

Barnabás Felicián Tóth

Autumn Cohort 2020

A young Hungarian from Budapest, who recently graduated from the political science master programme of the Central European University. A very active person, with experiences in journalism, quantitative empirical research, political communication and interest politics. Now, in Brussels he works as a Blue Book trainee at the Joint Research Centre.

Raffaella Borruto

Autumn Cohort 2020

Raffaella is attending the European Leadership Programme at JESC. She just finished her Master in International Relations in Rome and holds a Bachelor Degree in International and EU studies in Milan. Fond of multicultural environments, she has done two Erasmus across France and Belgium. She has recently spent three months in Tunisia as Intern for the Italian Embassy.

Alexis Jacob

Autumn Cohort 2020

Alexis is 28 and was born in Belgium. After graduating in Economics from Facultés Universitaires Saint-Louis, he got a master degree in Business Management from ESCP Europe in Paris. He is now embarking on a Blue Book traineeship at the European Commission, DG Research and Innovation where he'll work on research financing. His interests range from European affairs, new technologies and literature.

Maria Rita Milanese

Autumn Cohort 2020

Maria is currently working as EU Partnership Coordinator at the INGO Plan International in its EU Office. She holds a BSc in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Naples “L’Orientale” and a MSc in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies from The London School of Economics. Previously, she worked as a Blue Book Trainee at DG ECHO in the Policy Coordination.

Sándor Neubauer

Autumn Cohort 2020

Sándor has a bachelor degree in international administration and soon he is graduating as a lawyer. Studying as a scholar in France and in Kenya offered a broader horizon to him to be open-minded toward the opportunities. English and French are his first languages and he learns Arabic. Sándor applied to the European Leadership Program to gain full expertise and experience in a professional manner.

What we do for you

The ELP is a Brussels-based project where you, an emerging leader, will develop skills through theoretical and practical methodologies by living together with your fellows for five months.

Our Fellows

Spring Cohort 2024

Agathe Janssens de Bisthoven

Agathe Janssens de Bisthoven

Alessandro Brugiolo

Alessandro Brugiolo

Antonello Pistritto

Antonello Pistritto

Elena Perez-Velasco

Elena Perez-Velasco

Daniel Lakatos

Daniel Lakatos

Jeannette Bangoura

Jeannette Bangoura

Gergő Barna Balázs

Gergő Barna Balázs

Mariana Perez Medina

Mariana Perez Medina

Nina Danisova

Nina Danisova

Luisa Dorianna Bemba

Luisa Dorianna Bemba

Maria Cordero-Fernández

Maria Cordero-Fernández

Sara Zonta

Sara Zonta

Milena Machala

Milena Machala

Rebecca Schöler

Rebecca Schöler

Regina Buono

Regina Buono

Zuzana Boháčová

Zuzana Boháčová

Benjamin Christopher Ilg

Benjamin Christopher Ilg

Caroline Halfvarson

Caroline Halfvarson

Maria Ilona Stark

Maria Ilona Stark

Blanka Csite

Blanka Csite

Fall Cohort 2023

Angelica Restori

Angelica Restori

Barbara Fruzsina Deme

Barbara Fruzsina Deme

Benjamin

Benjamin

Elena Perez-Velasco

Elena Perez-Velasco

Erik Hayes Gomez

Erik Hayes Gomez

Fabrizio Napoli

Fabrizio Napoli

Gergő Barna Balázs

Gergő Barna Balázs

Louise Everarts

Louise Everarts

Lucia Albano

Lucia Albano

Luisa Dorianna Bemba

Luisa Dorianna Bemba

Maria Cordero-Fernández

Maria Cordero-Fernández

Mátyás Tompa

Mátyás Tompa

Milena Machala

Milena Machala

Rebecca Schöler

Rebecca Schöler

Teresa Pallares Ramos

Teresa Pallares Ramos

Zuzana Boháčová

Zuzana Boháčová

Anis Belgacem

Anis Belgacem

Regina Buono

Regina Buono

Spring Cohort 2023