In January 1950, in an article in Fédération in which he comments on the debates which took place at the European Conference on Culture held in Lausanne from 8 to 12 December 1949, Henri Brugmans, Dutch President of the Union of European Federalists (UEF), emphasises the need to train an elite of young executives for Europe and outlines the principles of this training, which he believes should take place at the College of Europe in Bruges.