The inaugural meeting held at the Eiffel Palace Office, the HEA’s community centre was attended, among others, by founding members László Andor, former commissioner of the EU, head of department at Corvinus University of Budapest; Péter Balázs, former minister of foreign affairs, first Hungarian member of the European Commission, Vice President of the HEA; Zsolt Becsey, former MEP and EU diplomat; László Vajda, former head of EU Coordination Department, Ministry of Agriculture; Tamás Halm, chief editor of Közgazdasági Szemle, member of the HEA Board, and Árpád Kovács, chairman of the Fiscal Council of Hungary and lifetime honorary president of HEA. Although unable to attend, intention to join the Section was notified in writing, among others, by László Baranyay, member of Board, European Investment Bank, retired honorary vice president of EIB; Gábor Iván, head of General Policy Directorate, Council of the European Union; Éva Kriszt Sándorné, rector emerita of Budapest Business School, and Tibor Palánkai, economist, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, recipient of Széchenyi-Award.
The participants of the inaugural meeting elected Szabolcs Fazakas to be president of the Section by a unanimous vote. Gábor Iván, head of the General Policy Directorate, Council of the European Union was elected to fulfil the vice-president’s duties, also by unanimous vote.
At the inaugural meeting Szabolcs Fazakas, president of the newly established section said that they wished to cooperate, rather than to compete, with other existing sections of the HEA also engaged in special EU affairs, therefore the Development Policy Section of the HEA would naturally remain the flag bearer of EU development policy issues. The new section intends to provide professional background to discussions on current European integration processes through various events, section meetings and roundtable sessions.
Pursuant to the HEA’s Articles of Association the foundation of the section is subject to approval of the HEA’s Board. Any members wishing to join in the activities of the new section should do so by logging in, using their name and password, to the HEA website, or contact our secretary via HEA’s online Data Verification Form.