The European Training Foundation (ETF), an agency of the European Union established to support education and training systems in neighbouring countries, has reached a milestone in its 30-year history. In accordance with the Council Regulation (EU) 2015/496 on archiving by EU institutions and agencies, the ETF has made its first archival deposit at the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU) in Florence.
On 19 February 2025 the ETF transferred 76 archival boxes containing 68 files from its seat in Turin. The files mainly comprise minutes from the ETF’s governing board and advisory board meetings for the years 1994-1998; correspondence from directors over the years; annual work programmes and reports; various reports from the European Court of Auditors; and assorted press clippings highlighting the Foundation’s presence on the Italian territory and its declared mission and activities. The records are a resource for understanding the ETF’s development and its placement within the broader context of EU education and training initiatives.
Selection and consultation
ETF Document Management Officer Laurens Rijken oversaw the selection and inventory of the European agency’s first deposit, with the assistance of Giada Tomaino. The two worked side-by-side over a period of six months to select documents of historical importance for long-term preservation in Florence, with consultation and assistance from HAEU archivists Andreja Casar, Juan Alonso and Samir Musa. They also accompanied the documents to Florence in order to verify their safe delivery and storage in the HAEU’s state-of-the-art vaults. Pdfs of the same files will be made available for electronic consultation via the HAEU’s online database, in the near future.
The ETF’s deposit at the HAEU is an important step in fulfilling the EU’s commitment to preserving the institutional memory of its agencies and ensuring that future generations have access to primary sources of information about the EU’s evolution and its international collaborations. As Mr Rijken pointed out, “while the ETF is not an agency that typically makes headlines, its work touches on issues of human capital development and migration that reverberate across Europe today”.
Photo, from left: Andreja Casar (HAEU), Giada Tomaino (ETF), Dieter Schlenker (HAEU), Laurens Rijken (ETF)