European Study Tour in photos

A few weeks ago, a group of La Salle students traveled around in Europe to visit different financial and economical institutions. The trip was obligatory for the students who want to obtain the specialization in International Finance and Economics, but other students also joined. The group left Barcelona before dawn Monday the 13th of April travelling first to Frankfurt. After the check-in at the hotels a guided walking tour in the city was scheduled. During the tour the groups got to see many important historical monuments including the old European Central Bank headquarters.

After the guided tour the students and the professors ate lunch together with the tour guide. The rest of the day the students had free time to explore the city. Early Tuesday morning everyone met outside the Frankfurt Stock Exchange building operated by the Deutsche Börse AG, which is a marketplace operator for the trading of shares and other securities. The group was present when the opening bell rang after which an employee of Deutsche Börse gave them a presentation centered on the history of the stock market and how it functions now.

After leaving the Frankfurt Stock Exchange building there was a short break to grab some coffee and snacks before visiting the Deutsche Bank headquarters. There they were given a presentation about how Deutsche Bank was established, its position in the global banking sector and how it aims to deal with the challenges they are confronted with today. When the visit at Deutsche Bank was over the group went back to the hotels to get their luggage before catching a train to Brussels. The group arrived in Brussels late in the afternoon and had some time to get to know the city before getting ready for the following day with new visits.

The first visit in Brussels was to the European Commission (EC).

At the EC the group got to listen to two different talks: one about the role of the EC in the European Union and one about the European External Action Service, which is a department that manages the EU's response to crises.

That Wednesday the weather in Brussels was amazing and some of the students went to a beautiful park to relax between the visits. The next visit in Brussels was the European Parliament (EP), where the students got to listen to a talk about the role of the EP. That day there was also a plenary session in the Parliament, which the group got to see live.

After seeing the plenary session, the group rushed to the train station and caught the train to Paris. There was nothing scheduled for the first evening in Paris, so the students broke off into smaller groups. Two of the students went to the Parc des Princes to see Barcelona FC beat Paris Saint-Germain FC in the Champions League quarter-finals, while others went to different bars to watch the match. Thursday the students finally got to catch up on some sleep, the first visit of the day didn't start until 09:30. The first visit was at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) where the group got to listen to two speakers.

The first speaker was Rory Clarke, the Chief Editor of OECD Observer, an award-winning magazine published quarterly by the organization.

The second speaker was Laura Stefanelli, who is a tax advisor working in the OECD Centre for Tax Policy. After the presentations, they also got to visit the beautiful gardens surrounding the organisations headquarters outside the Château de la Muette.

After the visit it was time for lunch, before the last academic input of the trip. Lastly the group visited Reuters, a world-renowned international news agency. There the students had a short talk with the Paris Bureau Chief, Mark John, where they got to ask questions about the company and the industry in general. After the talk the students were shown around the offices getting to speak to several reporters.

In the evening, the students and the professors all went out for dinner and drinks at the restaurant Chez Chartier, a famous traditional French Bouillon style restaurant. The professors and some students left Paris on Friday, while others decided to stay until Saturday or Sunday.