EUVP Visit Story - Francisco Lopes Fernandes Netto

The moment I was selected to visit the European Union I saw a unique opportunity to share and learn good practices in my area of expertise. My professional career has been dedicated to the area of internal control and government auditing. But with an important point: I was born and raised in the Amazon region, here in Brazil.

So confronting corruption linked to problems arising from environmental illicit activities, as well as policies to promote sustainability were my greatest expectations of learning from my visit. Likewise, I also teach at the law school here in Brazil, therefore, in addition to understanding strategies for promoting a balanced environment and joint coordination policies, I was interested in knowing how such important areas were regulated in Europe.

When I arrived in Brussels I was very well received by the city and by the dedicated European Union employees who do everything they can to make us feel embraced with meetings carefully designed according to our area of interest. This way, in December 2023, I had the great opportunity to do my program and learn for a week the values of the European union and what I wanted so much. Two things caught my attention during the visit. The first was that we were able to talk, share and exchange experiences with operational and strategic level professionals, but also with some politicians who directly influence the decision-making process and the construction of relevant standards. Another very interesting point was discovering how the European Union strives so that different countries, with different formation processes, can move in the same direction.

As a learning experience, I realized that it is possible to work together, even in different cultures, to build a better future for everyone.

I was immensely happy to have had this opportunity to learn how it is possible to make common dreams shared by many people, but that it is certainly worth fighting for a better future.