European Students' Union

European Students' Union

Institution	see member list
Location	Rue de l'Industrie 10, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Established	1982
Members	45 (38 Countries)
Affiliations	European Youth Forum
Executive Committee	see executive committee
Website	http://www.esu-online.org/

The European Students' Union (ESU) is the umbrella organisation of 45 national unions of students from 38 countries and through these members represents over 15 million students. The aim of ESU is to represent and promote the educational, social, economic and cultural interests of students at a European level towards all relevant bodies and in particular those of the European Union, Council of Europe and UNESCO. ESU is representing the voice of the students in Europe by being a consultative member to the Bologna Process. ESU is also a full member of the European Youth Forum (YFJ), the ESU nominee for 2006 was elected as YFJ president.

History

On 17 October 1982, seven National Unions of Students (NUSes) from The United Kingdom, Sweden, Iceland, France, Denmark, Norway and Austria gathered in Stockholm to create WESIB, the Western European Students Information Bureau. In February 1990, WESIB dropped the "W" to become the European Student Information Bureau following the political upheaval in Europe at the time. In 1992 the name was changed into the National Unions of Students in Europe (ESIB). This reflected the recognition of the changing mission of ESIB from just an information sharing organisation to political organisation that represented the views of students to European institutions. In May 2007 the name changed to European Students' Union (ESU).

Over the years the office of ESU has moved around Europe and was first hosted by the member NUSes. Following the establishment of WESIB in Stockholm the office was based in the SFS Office in Sweden from 1982 until 1985, funded by a grant by the Swedish Government. By 1985 the grant was running low and so NUS UK offered to host WESIB in their London headquarters. In 1988 the office moved to the ÖH offices in Vienna and remained there until 2000, when it was decided that for reasons of being near the European institutions the office should move to Brussels and was hosted by VVS.

Structures

The highest structure of ESU is the Board Meeting, bringing together representatives from all the National Unions of Students it represents. The Board Meeting sets the policy direction of the organisation, and elects members to the Executive Committee to run the organisation.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee (EC) is elected for a one-year term at the annual Board Meeting by representatives of the member organisations, with each country (not organisation) given two votes. The Chairperson and Vice-Chairs together make up the Presidency of ESU, and are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organisation along with the seven General Members of the EC.

Title		Name	Country
Presidency	Chairperson	Fernando M. Galán Palomares	Spain
	Vice-Chairs	Lea Meister	Switzerland
		Blazhe Todorovski	Macedonia
General Members		Karolina Pietkiewicz	Poland
		Tijana Isoski	Serbia
		William Benn	France
		Rebecka Stenkvist	Sweden
		Viktor Kjeldgaard Grønne	Denmark
		Liva Vikmane	Latvia
		Cristi Popescu	Romania

Member organisations

Country	English Name	Local Name	ESU Abbrev.
Armenia	Armenian National Students’ Association		ANSA
Austria	Austrian Students' Association	Österreichische Hochschülerinnen	ÖH
Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan Student Youth Organizations' Union	Azərbaycan Tələbə Gənclər Təşkilatları İttifaqı	ASYOU
	Azerbaijan Students Union	Azərbaycan Tələbələr Birliyi	ASU
Belarus	Belarusian Students’ Association	Задзіночанне Беларускіх Студэнтаў	BSA
Belgium	Federation of French-speaking Students	Fédération Des Etudiants Francophones	FEF
	Flemish Union of Students	Vlaamse Vereniging van Studenten	VVS
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Students' Union Republic of Srpska	Unija studenata Republike Srpske	USRS
Bulgaria	National Assembly of Student’s Councils in the Republic of Bulgaria	Nacionalno Predstavitelstvo na Studentskite Saveti v Republika Balgaria	NASC
	Union of Bulgarian Students		UBS
Croatia	Croatian Students' Council	Hrvatski Studentski Zbor	CSC
Cyprus	Pancyprian Federation of Student Unions	Pagkypria Omospondia Foititikon Enoseon	POFEN
Czech Republic	Student Chamber of the Council of Higher Education Institutions	Studentská komora Rady vysokých škol	SKRVS
Denmark	Union of Danish Students	Danske Studerendes Fællesråd	DSF
Estonia	Federation of Estonian Student Unions	Eesti Üliõpilaskondade Liit	EUL
Finland	National Union of University Students in Finland	Suomen Ylioppilaskuntien Liitto	SYL
	Union of Students in Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences	Suomen opiskelijakuntien liitto	SAMOK
France	National Federation of Student’s Associations	Fédération des Associations Générales d'Étudiants	FAGE
	National Union of Students of France	Union Nationale des Étudiants de France	UNEF
Germany	Free Association of Student Bodies	Freier Zusammenschluss von StudentInnenschaften	FZS
Hungary	National Union of Students in Hungary	Hallgatói Önkormányzatok Országos Konferenciája	HÖOK
Iceland	Student Council of the University of Iceland	Stúdentaráð Háskóla Íslands	SHI
Ireland	Union of Students in Ireland	Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn	USI
Israel	National Union of Israeli Students	התאחדות הסטודנטים בישראל تحاد الطلاب في إسرائيل	NUIS
Italy	Union of University Students	Unione degli Universitari	UdU
Latvia	Student Union of Latvia	Latvijas Studentu apvienība	LSA
Lithuania	Lithuanian National Union of Students	Lietuvos Studentu Sajunga	LSS
Luxembourg	National Union of Students in Luxembourg	Union Nationale des Etudiant(e)s du Luxembourg	UNEL
Macedonia	National Union of Students of Macedonia		NSUM
Malta	University Students' Council	Kunsill Studenti Universitarji	KSU
Netherlands	Dutch National Students Association	Interstedelijk Studenten Overleg	ISO
	Dutch Student Union	Landelijke Studentenvakbond	LSVb
Norway	Norwegian Student Association	Norsk studentorganisasjon	NSO
Poland	Students' Parliament of Poland	Parlament Studentów Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej	PSRP
Portugal	Academic Forum for Information and External Representation	Fórum Académico para Informação e Representação Externa	FAIRe
Romania	National Alliance of Student Organizations in Romania	Alianta Nationala a Organizatiilor Studentesti din Romania	ANOSR
Serbia	Students Conference of Serbian Universities	Studentska konferencija univerzitetâ Srbije	SKONUS
	Student Union of Serbia	Studentska Unija Srbije	SUS
Slovakia	Student Council for Higher Education	Študetská Rada Vysokých Škôl	SRVS
Slovenia	Slovene Student Union	Studenska Organizacija Slovenije	SSU
Spain	Coordinator of Student Representatives of Public Universities	Coordinadora de Representantes de Estudiantes de Universidades Públicas	CREUP
Sweden	Swedish National Union of Students	Sveriges Förenade Studentkårer	SFS
Switzerland	VSS-UNES-USU	Verband Schweizer Studierendenschaften Union des Etudiant-e-s de Suisse Unione Svizzera degli Universitari	VSS-UNES-USU
Ukraine	Ukrainian Association of Student Self-government	Українська асоціація студентського самоврядування	UASS
United Kingdom	National Union of Students		NUS-UK

Candidate members

Candidate members are NUSes that have submitted an application of membership to ESU, but have not yet been granted member status by the Board Meeting. Candidate members retain their status for one year and are subject to a "study visit" by ESU to ensure they meet membership criteria. As of May 2016, the candidate members are:

Country	English Name	Local Name	ESU Abbrev.
Belarus	Brotherhood of Student Self-government Organizers	Братства организаторов студенческого самоуправления	BOSS
Iceland			LIS
Moldova	Student Alliance of Moldova	Alianta studentilor din Moldova	ASM
Montenegro	Student Parliament of the University of Montenegro	Studentski Parlament Univerziteta Crne Gore	SPUM

Associate organisations

Associate members of ESU are pan-European and international student organisations that have similar goals to ESU. The criteria for associate membership require the organisation to be democratic and student-run, have either students or NUSes as members, and represent students from at least 8 countries that are parties to the European Cultural Convention. Associate organizations can attend and speak at all ESU meetings, but cannot vote at Board Meetings.

• Association of Nordic and Pol-Balt LGBTQ Student Organizations (ANSO)
• Association of Norwegian Students Abroad (ANSA)
• European Deaf Students' Union (EDSU)
• Erasmus Student Network (ESN)
• European Dental Students' Association (EDSA)
• European Medical Students' Association (EMSA)
• European Pharmaceutical Students' Association (EPSA)
• European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS)
• Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisation (FEMYSO)
• International Association for Political Science Students (IAPSS)
• International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA)
• International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Youth and Student Organisation (IGLYO)
• International Students of History Association (ISHA)
• Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU)

See also

• Eurodoc
• European University Association
• Education International

External links

• ESU Website
• Blog of the ESU Committee on the Commodification of Education