Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul

Former Secretary General at Notre Europe from 2004 to 2011.
Institutions, Democracy, Education and Culture.

She was first President adviser, then Secretary General at Notre Europe since April 2004, Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul joined the European Commission Representation in Paris on 1 February 2011.

Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul holds a degree in political science and public administration from the University of Liège and an MPhil and a DPhil in European politics and society from Oxford University. Her research focused on policy formation in the European Union, and more particularly on education policy.

From 1999 to 2002, she was in charge of the team for "European and international affairs", in the cabinet of the Belgian Vice-Prime Minister Isabelle Durant, also Minister for Mobility and Transport. She acted, among other things, as a coordinator during the Belgian presidency of the EU Council. As an adviser for institutional matters, she represented the Vice-Prime Minister in the Belgian delegation at the WTO ministerial conference in Seattle and also in the Inter-Governmental Conference, taking part in the Biarritz, Nice and Laeken European Councils. She was also a member of the Belgian government working group on the Laeken Declaration.

Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul then joined the European Commission Directorate-General for Education and Culture, in the Audiovisual Policy unit. Employed in the Sector for external relations, she was in charge of the accession negociations with the 13 applicant countries for audiovisual matters as well as the relations with countries from the Western Balkans and South Mediterranea. She also assumed the coordination of an interservice group on intercultural dialogue and followed the work of the Convention on culture.

Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul is married with two children. She was born on May 29 1972 in Liege (Belgium).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Press Review:

  • part 1
  • part 2
  • part 3
  • part 4
  • PUBLICATIONS AND TRIBUNES TO CONSULT


    Contact

    gricard-nihoul@notre-europe.eu

    Office

    Assistant :Tamara Buschek

    Recent appearances
    06/04/2011
    On the eve of the presentation of the European Commission’s new proposal for own resources, Jutta Haug, Alain Lamassoure and Guy Verhofstadt publish a report in which they propose a radical change on the way of financing the EU. Daniel Gros and Paul De Grauwe of CEPS and Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul and Eulalia Rubio of Notre Europe have collaborated in the elaboration of this project, which has been coordinated by Carole Perrin, policy adviser to the EP Committee of the Budgets.
    03/01/2011
    Hommage to Tommaso Padoa Schioppa published in Le Monde, 24 December 2010.
    04/11/2010
    In a context of institutional fatigue, the politicisation of European issues remains the principal way to attract the interest of citizens. The authors, however, state that politicisation should be done in a way that is faithful to the nature of European integration and identify where and how to promote the expression of a clearer “political opposition” in the EU.
    29/10/2010
    Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul, Secretary General of Notre Europe, invited this 28th of October, at France 24 to talk about European Diplomacy.
    18/06/2010
    Article sur la situation de la Belgique publié dans la rubrique "A bout portant" du quotidien belge Le Soir le 17 juin 2010.Cet artcile est une réponse au Monde du 16 juin par deux spécialistes des questions européennes belges.
    15/06/2010
    Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul, general Secretary of Notre Europe, invited the 14 of June 2010, at "Le 22h" on Public Senat, to talk about Belgium's situation.
    09/05/2010
    Gaetane Ricard-Nihoul is invited at "Le Bar de l'Europe" at TV5 Monde Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 6:20pm.
    02/04/2010
    Interview of Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul, General in the Belgium newspaper Le Soir, the 2nd of April 2010.
    16/03/2010
    TGAE II: The Contribution of 14 European think tanks to the Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian Trio Presidency of the European Union (January, 2010 – June, 2011). Directed by Elvire Fabry and Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul (Notre Europe, March, 2010).
    04/03/2010
    With the establishment of the permanent European Council presidency and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the role of rotating presidencies has changed. This will have an impact on the role of the Trio Presidency in future. Does the rotating presidency still matter? In this new edition of Think Global - Act European (TGAE), launched by Notre Europe, 14 Europeans think tanks answer that question by scrutinizing the 18-month agenda of the Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian Trio Presidency. For each specific issue (structural reform, economic governance, energy, climate change, migration, internal security, global governance, foreign policy defence, enlargement, neighbourhood, EU institutions, European political space and budget) they analyse the global context, existing challenges and put forward concrete proposals concerning key initiatives that can be taken by the Trio Presidency during this period. In the sensitive context of the Lisbon Treaty implementation and complex management of the economic crisis, specific attention is given to the decisive coordination role that can be played by the Trio Presidency in defining more efficient - more integrated - European strategies.
    21/11/2009
    Interview of Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul in "La Libre Belgique" on November 21, 2009
    06/10/2009
    After the Irish referendum, an Interview of Gaetane Ricard-Nihoul in "Top Story" emission for France 24, to answer the question: "Is Europe back on track?" To see the interview, click on this link: France 24
    08/07/2009
    The author is analysing the results of the European Elections around five questions: Should we resign ourselves to the low turnout? Victory of the right or status quo? Environment or ecology? Euroscepticism or extreme right? And, claiming or hesitating: radicalisation of a cleavage?
    05/06/2009
    Spiegel Online International, 3 June 2009.
    25/05/2009
    Interview for Opinion Corner Website , a e-magazine dedicated to European Elections.
    16/12/2008
    Article published inLes Echos December, 16 2008.
    10/09/2008
    Article published in the review Futuribles, N ° 344, September 2008, pp. 63-68
    11/07/2008
    Article published in "Social Europe Journal" in summer 2008.
    30/06/2008
    Point of view, Les Echos, 27 June 2008
    16/06/2008
    Baptiste Etchegaray, The Washington Times - 14 June 2008