(EN) Interview with the Internship Coordinator at the Council of the European Union

INTERVIEW WITH Tamás ZÁHONYI
Job: Internship Coordinator at the Council of the European Union 
Date of Birth: 20^th March 1975 
Place of Birth: Budapest (Hungary)

Photos of Tamás by Nina Malobabic
Revised by MGM
Written and abridged by José V.

•  Good morning Tamás, how are you?

Good morning, good, thanks, and you?

• Very well thank you. Right, let’s begin, you don’t mind if I record the whole interview, do you? Just to make sure I don’t leave anything out when I write it down.

No, of course not. Go on.

• You are the Internship Coordinator but you have been an intern yourself, haven’t you?

Yes, that’s right. I did my internship at the (European) Commission in 2004, a long time ago...(laughs)… it was a different kind of internship though. Things have changed over the years, back then we dealt with projects and similar kinds of jobs.

• So what led you to Brussels in the first place?

Well, I came to Brussels in 2006 to stay. I was applying for the competitive exam. I actually came with my wife, she had a job and we decided to come together.

• What did you study?

I studied economics but more related to tourism, I suppose we could call it Tourism Economics.

• Where did you attend university?

I actually graduated in Hungary but I travelled a lot whilst I was studying so I have done a few courses here and there across Europe. I benefited from a number of scholarships and even though I didn't go on an Erasmus grant, I did other very similar things.

• What job did you have before coming to Brussels?

Well, I was working in the national administration of Hungary, in the tourism strategy sector. That was actually my first serious long-term job and I stayed there for 5 or 6 years… a very long time.

• Now that you are here in Brussels, do you have plans to make Brussels your home for good?

“For good” is actually a very strong expression...I ask myself that every now and then, one can never know about the future. It’s very difficult to respond to that. Who knows? I might stay or leave after a few years. All I know is that my wife and I are from Hungary and, you know, after a decent number of years, we might want to move back to our country but we haven’t planned that far ahead yet. Let’s say for now that only time will tell.

• How often do you go back to Hungary to visit family and friends?

Well, not as often as I would like, actually, a couple or 3 times a year, especially in the summer months. My wife and I love to go back to visit our families.

• What do your family and friends think about you living and working in Brussels?

Well, they would like me to live nearer but they have to accept it...(laughs)…and in a way they are used to me being abroad after all my stays in different countries and my studies abroad. I also think that nowadays it’s quite common to live and work in a different European country. I know many people who do it. You know, it's not like many years ago. Today, you have lots of students who end up working far away from their homes.

• Are your friends and family proud of your role at the EU?

Well, many of them don’t have a clear idea about what the EU does, as it happens…I mean, many European citizens still have a blurry idea of what we do here. That’s something we need to work on and actually this internship is about that as well. My family is very happy for me and is proud of what I do. But, as I say, something tells me that most of my friends back home, even the ones who come to visit me, are a bit in the dark as far as my role in the Council is concerned.

• What have you learned in the time you have been working as an Internship Coordinator?

I have actually been in the job for a year roughly. I started last April and, to be honest, I think there’s still a lot for me to learn; as they say, I am on a “learning curve”. I look forward to gaining more experience in the job. The way I see it, is that the Internship office is here to help the trainees. We need to make their experience as pleasant as possible. I would like for all of the trainees to have the best possible time here and to be able to say that they enjoyed every minute of it. I also think that the best thing that we can have from the trainees is their feedback. I believe that you are actually the best people to comment on the EU because, in a manner of speaking, you aren't bound by your job or your boss since you are leaving after 5 months, and therefore you can give us an honest, fresh and direct account of your views.

• Do you know of any intern who, using the internship as a platform, has secured an important job after the internship?

Not directly, I mean I haven’t been here for long enough. Well, now that I think about it, there was an intern who finished last February and she managed during her internship to apply for the competitive exam at the Commission. She was successful and she works now at the Commission as an official. She said that the internship was crucial for her to learn and understand the inner workings of the Commission and therefore to pass the feared interview.

• Do you keep in touch with interns after the internship?

Well, as I say, I am a new kid on the block so to speak...(laughs)...Well many of them come back not only to work as civil servants here but also as delegates from their own countries. I would say that I run into them quite often, yes. Some of them come by my office and say hi. I like that.

• Have you ever fired or heard of an intern being fired from the programme?

(Laughs)… no, no, I have never fired an intern and I hope I never have to do it. No, the only thing that I know of and that’s because I have read it in the documents which I have in my office, was some time ago and had to do with security. Well, we all come from different countries and have different customs. I think that that time, it was concerning a matter which compromised the security of the institution. It was probably a clash of cultures, as well. I can’t tell you their name or what they did and actually, I am not sure whether that person was fired in the end or not, but it's clear on the papers that there was a significant problem. I don’t think it happens very often and the reason is because we always get the best ones.

• Should English be the only language?

Well, probably it would simplify things quite a lot, but I think the more languages we have, the richer this place is. More languages means more ideas and more cultural diversity.

• If you could, what things would you change in the EU Institutions?

The main problem that we have is that the institutions are seen as some remote and mysterious place, far away, and people don’t really know what we do here. Often, even the countries take all the glory for the achievements but when something goes wrong, they blame the EU institutions. I object to that. We need to change the way that the EU is perceived and European countries can do a lot of that work.  Also, another thing is the democratic deficit and that is something we have to tackle quite quickly, in my opinion.

• It seems to me that the different institutions are, how could we say, isolated from each other. For example, translators from the Council don’t know much about what their colleagues do or think at the Commission and vice-versa. It’s as though each one of them were the king of his own castle, and is reluctant to share resources and initiatives with peers in the other institutions. What’s your take on this?

Well, yes, that seems to be the case to you but I don’t really see it myself. I can tell you that those barriers are increasingly coming down and relations between professionals who work in different institutions are getting progressively better. Things were different in the past, but now everyone is much more aware of other professionals within the EU, or that’s what I would like to believe, at least.

• Do you have any unusual stories about interns that you could share with me?

Well, not that I am aware of…(laughs)… but, for example, I can tell you that sometimes, interns find a job before they finish their internship. I think that’s good, but there is a procedure that they must follow, of course. They need to notify us 2 or 3 weeks in advance prior to the date they wish to leave the internship.

• For those interns who come from economically-deprived environments, isn’t the internship simply a cruel taste of how good life could be, but may never actually be, before going back to their home countries to face a life of struggle and economic instability?

Well, we are working on that but that’s up to you. I mean, you can choose whether you want to stay or leave. Or maybe this is not your kind of job/life (even if that sounds a bit unlikely). The EU makes a great effort to bring interns here and that’s a good thing. The question is why do we invest so much money and effort in them?

Even if the financial investment we make in the interns is quite small, I think that there is a high probability that those who come and work here will end up working in an EU organisation back in their own countries. That way, we also ensure that we maintain a good relationship with their countries. Also, I think that even though you are officially classed as trainees, you do an immense amount of good work and that should be much appreciated.

• What’s the best thing for trainees to do during their 5 month internship?

We organise things but you have to network as well and make friends. I guess you must make the best of the city and see as much of it as you can but at the same time you can also do other things. You probably know better than anyone else what you would like to do but the key is being proactive.

Also, I know that different interns have different workloads, so I think that if you want more work to do you can always ask for more. But if you do what you are given and take it easy, it means that you have some extra time to go around and meet other people.  If you want to stay in Brussels after the internship, for example, you should make the most of the resources you have available and start job hunting now. There are lots of NGOs in Brussels, so you can get in contact with them and say that you are working for the EU. To make the initial contact you can use the phones, the PCs and all the other resources that we have available.

• Will there be any point in the future where interns will be able to freely enter any of the institutions without security restrictions?

No, I don’t think that’s going to happen. There was a breach of security a few years ago and since then the Parliament wasn’t keen on everyone being able to walk around freely. Also, we have trainees from other countries that don’t belong to the EU. These countries can have different interests to ours, the importance of which cannot be underestimated… We must remember where we are, I mean, there’s a lot at stake here, especially in summits and conferences. We don’t see it and it’s always of the highest confidentiality but there is a lot of extremely sensitive information surrounding us. That’s why security has to be as tight as possible.

• Can you tell us your favourite…

Place to eat?                     I’ve only ever been there once but I was bowled over by T’Kelderke, on the Grand Place. It’s on the corner of the square, you go downstairs to eat in the cellar and the food is very authentic, rural Belgian cookery. It’s not that expensive for the service and the quality of the food you get compared to other places.

Village for a daytrip?       Tervuren, although it’s a bit larger than a village, to be honest. I used to live there and it has a very nice arboretum with trees from all over the world, about 100 hectares, and it’s free. You take the tram to get there from Brussels city, it takes about 20 mins.

EU institution?                  The Council of the EU, of course!

Politician?                        Van Rompuy, he’s a great politician. It is difficult to host and to juggle all 27 countries that belong to the EU. He keeps a low profile which is what’s needed in his position.

Canteen?                            I prefer to go out for a walk and to get some fresh air. I don’t see the difference between the canteens since I don’t normally visit them. Sometimes I’m actually too busy to have lunch so I skip it…(laughs). When I go out, I like to go for a walk and so I go to Cinquantennaire. Actually if I could recommend you one good canteen, I would suggest the one in the modern tower in the European Commission, it’s called Madou canteen and is very very good but, again, access is quite restricted, I am afraid.

• What’s your plan for the next few months?

Well, my wife and I will go back to Budapest over Easter and probably over summer as well. I haven’t been there since summer last year.

• What do you do in Budapest when you go on holiday?

Well, I see my family and friends and also I relax in the thermal baths. I like seeing the old folk playing chess in the water and reading their newspapers in the sauna. You know, everyone minds their own business and is there to relax. I like that part of my country’s culture very much indeed.

• When I was in Budapest a couple of years ago, I visited the Szechenyi thermal baths which I found incredibly beautiful with their neo-baroque architectural features. Which thermal baths do you usually go to?
  

Well actually I go to Szechnyi too, as we own an apartment nearby. Having said that, I think it’s a bit pricey for what they offer, but you know… I know my saunas, (laughs). I like being in the thermal baths and I especially like relaxing in the sauna. Personally, I don’t usually play chess when I am in the thermal baths and I think it’s a custom that we are losing with the new generations. I invite everyone to come and have some rest & relaxation time in Budapest. I think that despite it being a big place, it has a special kind of magic in the air.

• Ok, I think that's all. Thank you very much for your time. I think it's been a great interview.

Yes, that's right. It's was my pleasure. Now we can go to the café upstairs and enjoy a nice cup of tea.

• Of course.

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