Structure

The European Centre is a UN-affiliated intergovernmental organisation based in Vienna. Its purpose, as laid down in a series of formal Agreements under international law between the United Nations and the Federal Government of Austria as the Host Country, is to foster the collaboration between governments and organisations in the field of social welfare. It is registered as an association under Austrian Law (Register of Associations ZVR 583470062). The main tasks comprise the exchange of professional experiences, research, and the maintenance of relations between UN-European countries and institutions active in the field of social welfare.

Research activities within the Centre are organised into three research teams, the Employment and Labour Mobility Team, the Social Protection and Inclusion Team and the Health and Care Team.

Organigramm

Chair

Ms. Ghada Fathi Waly, Director-General, United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Vienna International Centre

Acting Chair

Ms. Angela Me, Acting Chair of the Board of Directors, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV).

Board of Directors

The Board is convened annually at the initiative of the Chair. It considers all matters of the Centre relating to the previous year's activities and the activities scheduled for the coming year.

The European Centre's Board of Directors consists of

  • up to nine members appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations
  • up to six members appointed by the Host Government
  • the Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, normally the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), who is the Chairman of the Board
  • the Executive Director, who is ex officio a non-voting member of the Board

The Board Members appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations are nominated and appointed as (i) experts in the field of social welfare and development, (ii) nationals of States, other than Austria, collaborating with the Centre, and (iii) representing countries at different stages of social and economic development.

Austrian mandate

Georg Reibmayr, Board Member
Marc Pointecker, Board Member Alternate
Andreas Schaller, Board Member Alternate
Manfred Kornfehl, Board Member Alternate

Matthias Reiter-PázmándyBoard Member
Bettina Glaser, Board Member Alternate

Ursula Ganal, Board Member

Julia Stroj, Board Member
David Mum, Board Member Alternate

Emanuel Ludwig, Board Member
Christa Schweng, Board Member Alternate

International mandate

Poland

Ewa Chylek, Board Member Alternate

Slovenia

pending

Spain

Luis Alberto Barriga Martín, Board Member
Manuel Montero Rey, Board Member Alternate

Sweden

Tony Malmborg, Board Member
Kristoffer Lundberg, Board Member Alternate

Switzerland

Sabina Littmann-Wernli, Board Member

National Liaison Officials

The key link between the European Centre and its state are the National Liaison Officials (NLOs). The NLOs act as intermediaries representing both the interests of their nations within the European Centre as well as those of the European Centre in their countries. They may be officials of the Ministry responsible for social welfare or recognized experts. The NLOs and the European Centre jointly collaborate for the effective exchange of experiences and cross-national project development.

For further information on our current NLOs, please contact ec@euro.centre.org.