European Council on Foreign Relations

European Council on Foreign Relations
Abbreviation	ECFR
Organisation	Think tank
Formation	2007
Headquarters	London
Offices	Berlin, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Sofia, Warsaw
Director	Mark Leonard
www.ecfr.eu

The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is the first pan-European think tank. Launched in October 2007, its objective is to conduct research and promote informed debate across Europe on the development of coherent and effective European values based foreign policy.

ECFR's founding members include former European prime ministers, business leaders, public intellectuals and activists. It has offices in seven European capitals – Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Warsaw and Sofia – and is led by its Director, Mark Leonard and CEO Dick Oosting. ECFR's Council brings together over 160 prominent and influential Europeans from 27 countries.

Awards and recognition

ECFR was named "Best New Think Tank in the World" for 2009 and 2010 by the University of Pennsylvania in its annual Global "Go-To Think-Tanks" report. In November 2010, ECFR was named “Best British-based think tank dealing with non-British affairs” at Prospect Magazine’s Think Tank of the Year Award.

In 2011, the academic responsible for compiling the University of Pennsylvania rankings, Dr James G. McGann, wrote in a book on global think tanks: “The fact that ECFR attempts to pursue policy advice and research through a pan-European focus means that it is free from the national restrictions of operating with one particular state framework in mind. In this sense, it is able to prescribe solutions and recommendations that benefit Europe as a whole and perhaps to a much greater extent than if they had done so with only, for example, the interests of Germany or France in mind. A framework that incorporates all the various workings and desires of each of the affected actors is far more likely to be successful from a long-term standpoint than one that attempts to resolve a regional or global issue by pushing for a solution that only benefits or alleviates the concerns of an individual state.”

The Council

ECFR's Council currently has over 170 members, each serving a renewable three-year term. The membership includes four former presidents of European nations, 12 former prime ministers, seven current and 17 former foreign ministers, five former EU commissioners, three former NATO secretaries general, the Director General of the World Trade Organisation, eight senior UN officials, 33 current or former heads of civil society organisations, 22 current or retired professors, nine current or former heads of banks and 15 current or retired journalists. The Council meets once a year as a full body. In addition, groups of council members form various geographical and thematic task forces, which provide ECFR staff with advice and feedback on policy ideas and assist with ECFR's activities within their own countries. The Council is chaired by Martti Ahtisaari, Joschka Fischer and Mabel van Oranje. ECFR's board members are: Martti Ahtisaari, Emma Bonino, Joschka Fischer, Timothy Garton Ash, Ivan Krastev, Ana Palacio, Andrew Puddephatt, Aleksander Smolar, Javier Solana and Mabel van Oranje.

Programmes, publications and events

The think tank's research is broadly divided into three programmes. These are China, Wider Europe and Middle East and North Africa. ECFR's fellows regularly also publish policy papers and articles on subjects that fall outside of these parameters, for example on the euro crisis. ECFR also has a major ongoing project entitled The Reinvetion of Europe. ECFR publishes individual policy reports, briefs and memos, which are downloadable for free from the ECFR's website. It also has three regular publications, the annual European Foreign Policy Scorecard, started in 2011; China Analysis (quarterly) and an annual review of the EU and human rights at the UN. ECFR's six national offices hold regular events, including seminars, ginger groups and publication launches, including ECFR London's invitation-only ‘Black Coffee Mornings,’ at which guest speakers have included Louise Arbour, Joseph Nye and George Robertson.

China

This programme explores how the EU could pursue more effective strategies in its relations with China on global issues like energy and climate change; development and human rights; nuclear proliferation and global governance. The programme publishes China Analysis, a quarterly analytical survey of foreign policy news and debate within China, in conjunction with Asia Centre.

Wider Europe

The Wider Europe programme examines the EU’s relationships with its eastern neighbours, including Russia and Turkey. It examines what can be done to use the prospect of EU membership and economic, military and political cooperation to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law, resolve frozen conflicts and lessen the threat of energy dependence.

Middle East and North Africa

ECFR’s Middle East and North Africa programme is currently under formation. Its central purpose is to look at how Europe can most constructively respond to the revolutions and protests that began in the MENA region in early 2011. To date, ECFR has published three policy memos – one on each of Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia – under the umbrella of the MENA programme, which are based on research visits to these countries. It has also published a briefing on Libya.

Germany in Europe

ECFR’s Germany in Europe project is intended to promote a broad discussion, in Germany and beyond, about the German role in Europe. It is intended to generate ideas about how to reintegrate Germany into the process of developing a globally assertive and responsible Europe. The project is supported by Stiftung Mercator.

The European Foreign Policy Scorecard

ECFR's European Foreign Policy Scorecard 2010 was published in March 2011, and is the first in an annual series, representing the first systematic attempt to assess European foreign policy performance. The Scorecard grades Europe's ability to project its influence abroad across 80 policy issues, grouped into six chapters – relations with China, relations with the US, relations with Russia, relations with Wider Europe, multilateral issues and crisis management. The Scorecard was published as a hard copy report and online.

Funding

ECFR is a private not-for-profit organisation that relies on donations. It was established with the support of Open Society Foundations, Communitas Foundation and Fundación Para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior (FRIDE). Its partners and funders are foundations, corporations, governments and individuals.

Communications

ECFR publishes several comment and analysis pieces per week on foreign policy issues on its website. The site also houses a blog, ‘Whose World Order?’, on which ECFR staff and experts write about the organisation's work, international affairs and Europe's place in the world. ECFR also publishes regular podcasts in English and occasional podcasts in French, German, Italian and Spanish. ECFR's Madrid office has its own Spanish-language blog. ECFR has a Facebook page and Twitter feed, which is @ECFR.

Board and Council Members

The European Council on Foreign Relations meets as a full body once a year to discuss how to advance its objectives through innovative projects with a pan-European focus. The current board of the Council is: Martti Ahtisaari (co-chair), Emma Bonino, Joschka Fischer (co-chair), Karin Forseke, Timothy Garton Ash, Ivan Krastev, Andrew Puddephatt, Aleksander Smolar, Javier Solana and Mabel van Oranje (co-chair).

What Council Members have said about ECFR:

"The European Council on Foreign Relations is essential in creating channels for open debate in Europe. ECFR promotes the need for Europe to become an important, unified, courageous, innovative and coherent actor. I regard ECFR as pivotal in promoting this vision in a globalising world." Martti Ahtisaari

"The time has come for Europe to speak with one voice on key issues in our turbulent neighbourhood and an increasingly multi-polar world. ECFR helps us work out what we should say and how we can most effectively say it." Timothy Garton Ash

"The European Union has been a powerful example for integration, prolonged peace, and prosperity in a complex international environment. The international system of the 21st century needs a strong and united EU and ECFR makes an important contribution to this end." Joschka Fischer

The Council has over one hundred and seventy members, including former prime ministers, presidents, European commissioners, current and former parliamentarians and ministers, public intellectuals, business leaders, activists and cultural figures from the EU member states and candidate countries.

List of Council Members (correct as of July 2012)

Asger Aamund (Denmark) – President and CEO, A. J. Aamund A/S and Chairman of Bavarian Nordic A/S Urban Ahlin (Sweden) – Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and foreign policy spokesperson for the Social Democratic Party Martti Ahtisaari (Finland) – chairman of the board, Crisis Management Initiative; former President Giuliano Amato (Italy) – Former Prime Minister and vice President of the European Convention Gustavo de Aristegui (Spain) – Diplomat; former Member of Parliament Viveca Ax:son Johnson (Sweden) – Chairman of Nordstjernan AB Gordon Bajnai (Hungary) – Former Prime Minister Dora Bakoyannis (Greece) – Member of Parliament; former Foreign Minister Leszek Balcerowicz (Poland) – Professor, Warsaw School of Economics; former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lluís Bassets (Spain) – Deputy Director, El País Marek Belka (Poland) – Governor, National Bank of Poland; former Prime Minister Roland Berger (Germany) – Founder and Honorary chairman, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants GmbH Erik Berglöf (Sweden) – Chief Economist, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Jan Krzysztof Bielecki (Poland) – Chairman, Prime Minister's Economic Council; former Prime Minister Carl Bildt (Sweden) – Foreign Minister Henryka Bochniarz (Poland) – President, Polish Confederation of Private Employers – Lewiaton. Svetoslav Bojilov (Bulgaria) – Founder, Communitas Foundation and President of Venture Equity Bulgaria Ltd Ingrid Bonde (Sweden) – CFO and Deputy CEO, Vattenfall AB Emma Bonino (Italy) – Vice President of the Senate; former EU Commissioner Franziska Brantner (Germany) – Member of the European Parliament Han ten Broeke (The Netherlands) – Member of Parliament John Bruton (Ireland) – former European Commission Ambassador to the USA; former Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Ian Buruma (The Netherlands) – Writer and academic Erhard Busek (Austria) – Chairman of the Institute for the Danube and Central Europe Jerzy Buzek (Poland) – Member of the European Parliament; former President of the European Parliament; former Prime Minister Gunilla Carlsson (Sweden) – Minister for International Development Cooperation Maria Livanos Cattaui (Greece/Switzerland) – Former Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce Ipek Cem Taha (Turkey) – Director of Melak Investments; journalist Carmen Chacón (Spain) – Former Minister of Defence Charles Clarke (United Kingdom) – Visiting Professor of Politics, University of East Anglia; former Home Secretary Nicola Clase (Sweden) – Ambassador to the United Kingdom; former State Secretary Daniel Cohn-Bendit (Germany) – Member of European Parliament Robert Cooper (United Kingdom) – Counsellor of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Gerhard Cromme (Germany) – Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the ThyssenKrupp. Maria Cuffaro (Italy)) – Anchorwoman, TG3 RAI Daniel Daianu (Romania) – Professor of Economics, National School of Political and Administrative Studies; former Finance Minister Massimo D'Alema (Italy) – President, Italianieuropei Foundation; former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Marta Dassù (Italy) – Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoglu (Turkey) – Foreign Minister Aleš Debeljak (Slovenia) – Poet and Cultural Critic Jean-Luc Dehaene (Belgium) – Member of European Parliament; former Prime Minister Gianfranco Dell'Alba (Italy) – Director, Confederation of Italian Industry (Confindustria) – Brussels office; former Member of European Parliament Pavol Demeš (Slovakia) – Senior Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States (Bratislava) Kemal Dervis (Turkey) – Vice President and Director of Global Economy and Development Tibor Dessewffy (Hungary) – President, DEMOS Hungary Hanzade Doğan Boyner (Turkey) – Chair, Doğan Gazetecilik and Doğan Online Andrew Duff (United Kingdom) – Member of European Parliament Mikuláš Dzurinda (Slovakia) – Former Foreign Minister Hans Eichel (Germany) – Former Finance Minister Rolf Ekeus (Sweden) – Former Director of the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq Uffe Ellemann-Jensen (Denmark) – Chairman, Baltic Development Forum; former Foreign Minister Steven Everts (The Netherlands) – Adviser to the Vice President of the European Commission/EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Tanja Fajon (Slovenia) – Member of European Parliament Gianfranco Fini (Italy) – President, Chamber of Deputies; former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer (Germany) – Former Foreign Minister and vice-Chancellor Karin Forseke (Sweden/USA) – Chairman, Alliance Trust Plc Lykke Friis (Denmark) – Member of Parliament; former Minister for Climate Change, Energy and Gender Equality Jaime Gama (Portugal) – Former speaker of the Parliament; former Foreign Minister Timothy Garton Ash (United Kingdom) – Professor of European Studies, Oxford University Carlos Gaspar (Portugal) Chairman of the Portuguese Institute of International Relations (IPRI) Teresa Patricio Gouveia (Portugal) – Trustee to the Board of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation; former Foreign Minister Heather Grabbe (United Kingdom) – Executive Director, Open Society Institute, Brussels Charles Grant (United Kingdom) – Director, Centre for European Reform Jean-Marie Guéhenno (France) – Deputy Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States; Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution and Center on International Cooperation (New York University); former Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations at the UN Fernando Andresen Guimarães (Portugal) – Head of the US and Canada division, European External Action Service Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (Germany) – Former Defence Minister István Gyarmati (Hungary) – President and CEO, International Centre for Democratic Transition Hans Hækkerup (Denmark) – Former chairman, Defence Commission; former Defence Minister Heidi Hautala (Finland) – Minister for International Development Sasha Havlicek (United Kingdom) – Executive Director, Institute for Strategic Dialogue Steven Heinz (Austria) Co-founder and co-Chair, Lansdowne Partners Ltd Annette Heuser (Germany) – Executive Director, Bertelsmann Foundation Washington DC Diego Hidalgo (Spain) – Co-founder of Spanish newspaper El País; Founder and Honorary President, FRIDE Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (The Netherlands) – Former NATO Secretary General Danuta Hubner (Poland) – Member of European Parliament; former Commissioner Anna Ibrisagic (Sweden) – Member of European Parliament Jaakko Iloniemi (Finland) – Former Ambassador; former Executive Director, Crisis Management Initiative Toomas Ilves (Estonia) – President Wolfgang Ischinger (Germany) – Chairman, Munich Security Conference; Global Head of Government Affairs Allianz SE Minna Järvenpää (Finland/US) – International Advocacy Director, Open Society Foundation Mary Kaldor (United Kingdom) – Professor, London School of Economics Ibrahim Kalin (Turkey) – Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister of Turkey on foreign policy and public diplomacy Sylvie Kauffman (France) – Editorial Director, Le Monde Olli Kivinen (Finland) – Writer and columnist Ben Knapen (The Netherlands) – Minister for European Affairs and International Cooperation Gerald Knaus (Austria) – Chairman of the European Stability Initiative and Carr Center Fellow Caio Koch-Weser (Germany) – Vice chairman, Deutsche Bank Group; former State Secretary Bassma Kodmani (France) – Executive Director, Arab Reform Initiative Rem Koolhaas (The Netherlands) – Architect and urbanist; Professor at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University David Koranyi(Hungary) – Deputy Director, Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Centre of the Atlantic Council Bernard Kouchner (France)- Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Krastev (Bulgaria) – Chair of Board, Centre for Liberal Strategies Aleksander Kwaśniewski (Poland) – Former President Mart Laar (Estonia) – Minister of Defence; former Prime Minister Miroslav Lajčák (Slovakia) – Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Alexander Graf Lambsdorff – Member of the European Parliament Pascal Lamy (France) – Honorary President, Notre Europe and Director-General of WTO; former EU Commissioner Bruno Le Maire (France) – Former Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fishing Mark Leonard (United Kingdom) – Director, European Council on Foreign Relations Jean-David Levitte (France) – Former Senior Diplomatic Advisor and Sherpa to the President of the French Republic Sonia Licht (Serbia) – President, Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence Juan Fernando López Aguilar ( Spain) – Member of European Parliament; former Minister of Justice Adam Lury (United Kingdom) – CEO, Menemsha Ltd Monica Macovei (Romania) – Member of the EuropeanParliament Emma Marcegaglia (Italy) – Former President, Confindustria Íñigo Méndez de Vigo (Spain) – Secretary of State for the European Union David Miliband (United Kingdom) – Member of Parliament; former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Alain Minc (France) – Head of AM Conseil; former chairman, Le Monde Nickolay Mladenov (Bulgaria) -Foreign Minister; former Defence Minister; former Member of European Parliament Dominique Moisi (France) – Senior Adviser, IFRI Pierre Moscovici (France) – Finance Minister; former Minister for European Affairs Nils Muižnieks (Latvia) – Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Hildegard Müller (Germany) – Chairwoman, BDEW Bundesverband der Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft Wolfgang Münchau (Germany) – President, Eurointelligence ASBL Alina Mungiu-Pippidi (Romania) – Professor of Democracy Studies, Hertie School of Governance Kalypso Nicolaïdis (Greece/France) – Professor of International Relations, University of Oxford Daithi O'Ceallaigh (Ireland) – Director-General, Institute of International and European Affairs Christine Ockrent (Belgium) – Editorialist Andrzej Olechowski (Poland) – Former Foreign Minister Dick Oosting (The Netherlands) – CEO, European Council on Foreign Relation; former Europe Director, Amnesty International Mabel van Oranje (The Netherlands) – CEO, The Elders Marcelino Oreja Aguirre (Spain) – Member of the Board, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas; former EU Commissioner Monica Oriol (Spain) – CEO, Segruiber Cem Özdemir (Germany) – Leader, Bündnis90/Die Grünen (Green Party) Ana Palacio (Spain) – former Foreign Minister; former Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the World Bank Group Simon Panek (Czech Republic) – Chairman, People in Need Foundation Chris Patten (United Kingdom) – Chancellor of Oxford University and co-chair of the International Crisis Group; former EU Commissioner Diana Pinto (France) – Historian and author Jean Pisani-Ferry (France) – Director, Bruegel and Professor at Universite Paris-Dauphine Ruprecht Polenz (Germany) – Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee Lydie Polfer (Luxembourg) – Member of Parliament; former Foreign Minister Charles Powell (Spain/UK) – Director, Real Instituto Elcano Andrew Puddephatt (United Kingdom) – Director, Global Partners & Associated Ltd. Vesna Pusić (Croatia) – Foreign Minister Robert Reibestein (The Netherlands) – Director, McKinsey & Company George Robertson (United Kingdom) – Former Secretary General of NATO Albert Rohan (Austria) – Former Secretary General for Foreign Affairs Adam D. Rotfeld (Poland) – Chairman of the UN Secretary General's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters; former Foreign Minister Norbert Röttgen (Germany) – Former Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety Olivier Roy – Professor, European University Institute, Florence Daniel Sachs (Sweden) – CEO, Proventus Pasquale Salzano (Italy) – Vice President for International Governmental Affairs, ENI Stefano Sannino (Italy) – Director General for Enlargement, European Commission Marietje Schaake (The Netherlands) – Member of the European Parliament Klaus Scharioth (Germany) – Dean of the Mercator Fellowship on International Affairs; former Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the US Pierre Schori (Sweden) – Chair of Olof Palme Memorial Fund; former Director General, FRIDE; former SRSG to Cote d´Ivoire Wolfgang Schüssel (Austria) – Member of Parliament; former Chancellor Karel Schwarzenberg (Czech Republic) – Member of Parliament; former Minister of Foreign Affairs Giuseppe Scognamiglio (Italy) – Executive Vice President, Head of Public Affairs Department, UniCredit S.p.A Narcís Serra (Spain) – Chair of CIDOB Foundation; former Vice President Radoslaw Sikorski (Poland) – Foreign Minister Aleksander Smolar (Poland) – chairman of the board, Stefan Batory Foundation Javier Solana (Spain) – former EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy & Secretary-General of the Council of the EU; former Secretary General of NATO George Soros (Hungary/USA) – Founder and chairman, Open Society Foundations Goran Stefanovski (Macedonia) – Playwright and Academic Rory Stewart (United Kingdom) – Member of Parliament Alexander Stubb (Finland) – Minister for Foreign Trade and European Affairs; former Foreign Minister Michael Stürmer (Germany) – Chief Correspondent, Die Welt Ion Sturza (Romania) – President, Fribourg Investments Ltd.; former Prime Minister Paweł Świeboda (Poland) – President, Demos-EUROPA, Centre for European Strategy Vesella Tcherneva (Bulgaria) – Spokesperson and advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Teija Tiilikainen (Finland) – Director at the Finnish Institute for International Relations Luisa Todini (Italy) – Chair, Todini Finanziaria S.p.A Loukas Tsoukalis (Greece) – Professor, University of Athens and President, ELIAMEP Erkki Tuomioja (Finland) – Foreign Minister Daniel Valtchev (Bulgaria) – Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Vaira Vike-Freiberga (Latvia) – Former President Antonio Vitorino (Portugal) – Lawyer; former EU Commissioner Andre Wilkens (Germany) – Director Mercator Centre Berlin and Director Strategy, Mercator Haus Carlos Alonso Zaldívar (Spain) – Ambassador of Spain Stelios Zavvos (Greece) – CEO, Zeus Capital Managers Ltd Samuel Žbogar (Slovenia) – EU Representative to Kosovo; former Foreign Minister

See also

• List of think tanks
• List of think tanks in the United Kingdom
• Common Foreign and Security Policy
• Enlargement of the European Union
• European Neighbourhood Policy

External links

• European Council on Foreign Relations
• FRIDE – Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior
• Asia Centre, Centre d'études Asie
• European Union Institute for Security Studies