The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is the first pan-European think-tank. Launched in 2007, its objective is to conduct cutting-edge research, build coalitions for change, and promote informed debate on the development of coherent, effective and values-based European foreign policy. ECFR has developed a strategy with three distinctive elements that define its activities:
- A pan-European Council of over 280 members – politicians, decision makers, thinkers and business people from the EU’s member states and candidate countries – which meets once a year. Through regular geographical and thematic task forces, members provide the ECFR team with advice and feedback on policy ideas and help with ECFR’s activities in their own countries.
- A unique network structure with physical presence in Berlin, Brussels, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Sofia and Warsaw,allowing the organisation to channel the opinions and perspectives of a wide range of EU member states. Our pan-European network puts us at the centre of policy debates in European capitals, and provides a platform for research, debate, advocacy and communications.
- Developing contagious ideas that get people talking. ECFR has brought together a team of distinguished researchers and practitioners to carry out innovative research and policy development projects with a pan-European focus. ECFR produces original research; publishes policy reports; hosts private meetings, public debates, and “friends of ECFR” gatherings in EU capitals; and reaches out to strategic media outlets.
Inspired by the role American think-tanks played in helping the US move from isolationism to global leadership, ECFR’s founders set about creating a pan-European institution that could combine establishment credibility with intellectual insurgency. Today, it has over 60 staff from more than 25 countries, and receives funding from a wide range of charitable foundations, national governments, companies and private individuals.
