European Institutions

Ten years at the heart of Europe

European Commission, European Parliament and CEPOL: communication and digital transformation in multilingual organisations.

Ten years inside the European institutions, from 2008 to 2018: the European Commission, the European Parliament and CEPOL, the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training.

10years in EU institutions
5,000+articles generated in 23 languages by Parliament campaigns
€1mcommunications budget and a team of 10 at CEPOL

Roles

  • October 2014 – May 2018 · BudapestCEPOL, PR and communications officer and spokespersonWrote the 2016–2020 communications strategy, led a team of ten and a €1m budget, and steered communications through the agency’s relocation from the UK to Hungary, its rebranding, a new mandate and crisis situations.
  • June 2011 – June 2014 · BrusselsEuropean Parliament, press and communications officer for a political groupCampaigns that generated more than 5,000 articles in 23 languages, and around 30 events.
  • April 2008 – March 2011 · BrusselsEuropean Commission, Directorate-General for TranslationPress and communications officer for one of the largest translation services in the world.

My book: the history of translation at the Commission

Translation at the European Commission – A History

Publications Office of the European Union, 2010

I wrote the history of the Commission’s translation service, from its early years to an EU of 23 languages. It tells how a multilingual institution turns many voices into one decision.

Read it at the EU Publications Office

Thought leadership: leading in international organisations

International organisations are a masterclass in deciding together. Here is what ten years taught me.

Authority is borrowed, not owned

Your mandate comes from member states. Leadership means building consensus among people who do not report to you.

Language is strategy

When one text lives in 23 languages, every word is a decision. Precision is a form of respect.

Process protects legitimacy

Procedures can feel slow, but they make decisions defensible. Know the rules before you try to change them.

Change needs a story

Moving an agency to another country, or rebranding it, only works when staff and stakeholders see why.

Crises reveal culture

Under pressure, organisations fall back on what they really value. Prepare that culture before you need it.

Diversity is an asset, if it is heard

Multicultural teams see more risks and options, as long as the quieter voices make it into the decision.

That last point became a research question: when AI mediates strategy, whose voices still make it into the decision?