November 17, 2016 — Brussels, Belgium
An AJC leadership delegation just concluded a three-day visit to Brussels.
The trip was highlighted by private meetings with:
* Frans Timmermans, First Vice President of the European Commission;
* Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy;
* Vera Jourova, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers, and Gender Equality;
* Helga Schmid, Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS);
* Katharina von Schnurbein, EU Coordinator for Combating antisemitism;
* and a private dinner with Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European Commissioner for Migration, Citizenship, and Home Affairs.
The group also met with other key EU and Belgian officials, including Saad Amrani, Chief Commissioner at the Brussels Police Department and Strategic Advisor to the Commissioner General of the Federal Police; Yngvild Ingels, Deputy Head of Cabinet of the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs; Israeli Ambassador to the EU Aharon Leshno-Yaar; and Members of the European Parliament.
Prior to arriving in Brussels, the delegation visited Amsterdam and The Hague, where they had meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Criminal Court, and Europol, as well as with Israeli Ambassador to the Netherlands Aviv Shir-On, leaders of the Dutch Jewish community, Dutch Union of Jewish Students, and the National Holocaust Museum, and several journalists.
Among the principal topics discussed during the two country visits were: (a) EU-U.S. relations in the wake of the U.S. Presidential election results; (b) Europe's migration and integration policies; (c) the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) consideration next month of a working definition on antisemitism; (d) Europol's relationship with Israel; (e) EU listing of Hezbollah in its entirety, as opposed to just its "military" wing, as a terrorist group; and (f) the growing strength of populist movements in Europe.
"Our timing could not have been more propitious," said AJC CEO David Harris, who was making his fourth trip to Brussels this year. "Our European friends were largely caught off-guard by the American election results, and were eager to discuss their potential meaning for transatlantic relations, NATO, the Middle East, and other areas of common concern. For AJC, which is profoundly committed to U.S.-European cooperation, as a pillar of American foreign policy, our in-depth conversations with long-standing friends could not have been more important and relevant."
The meetings were organized by AJC's Transatlantic Institute (TAI) and attended by members of its board. TAI, based in Brussels and founded in 2004 through the generosity of Rhoda and the late Jordan Baruch, is chaired by Robert Elman, AJC's National President from 2010 to 2013, and directed by Daniel Schwammenthal.
