Europe United's summer school of 2009 was a roaring success when it was held last week in Hagen, Germany. The school was designed to bring together members of the policy commission and other members in a real life meeting to discuss both issues affecting Europe and the future path the party should take.

After a relaxed Friday night spent in a local hostelry, business began at 9am sharp on Saturday morning. Commission president Alexander Berndt gave a brief welcome address before the members split into groups to discuss topics such as defence, social policy and the general principles which should define the party. After several hours hard work, a fine dinner was enjoyed in town before some members hit a local casino (some with more luck than others!) while the remainder elected to have an early night.
There was still business at hand early on Sunday morning with presentations taking place to outline future ideas on a variety of policy issues. The final touches are being applied to these policies over the next few weeks and everyone in the party will be given their say at the convention in Brussels in November. Before the commission members packed up and headed for home there was time for one last session, hosted by Bengt Beier, on presenting the party to outsiders and tips on recruiting new members.
You can find a fine selection of photos from the Summer school at our new flickr account at www.flickr.com/europeunited!