Friends of Europe
Friends of Europe is a Brussels-based, not-for-profit think tank for European Union policy analysis and debate.
History
The organisation, established in 1999, has no political or national allegiance and is independent of the EU institutions. Its goal is to foster open discussion and to stimulate new thinking on the issues facing Europe and its citizens.[1]
Themes
The organisation's activities focus in particular on six thematic areas: competitive Europe, the future of Europe, Global Europe, Greening Europe, international Development and Social Europe.
Board of trustees
Friends of Europe's board of trustees is composed of 29 people who hold, or have held, positions of responsibility in European affairs. Its President is Etienne Davignon, a politician, businessman and former vice-president of the European Commission. Additionally, there are 15 members of the Praesidium. They are:[2]
- Pat Cox, President of the European Movement International and former President of the European Parliament
- Jean-Luc Dehaene, former Prime Minister of Belgium and vice-president of the Convention on the Future of Europe
- Mario Monti, Italy's prime minister
- Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and former European Commissioner for Trade
- Guy Verhofstadt, former Prime Minister of Belgium
- António Vitorino, former European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs and former Portuguese Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister
Friends of Europe's Secretary-General is Giles Merritt, a former Brussels correspondent of the Financial Times.[3]
Funding
In 2009, Friends of Europe's annual budget was €1,707,116.[4]
The breakdown per source of funding is as follows:
- European and international institutions (EU, OECD, IMF, World Bank, etc.): €428,940 (24.0%)
- Diplomatic missions, national, regional and local authorities: €196,895 (11.7%)
- Corporate sector (companies and trade associations): €952,840 (56.7%)
- Private non-corporate (foundations and NGOs): €128,441 (7.6%)
The European Commission contributed the largest sum of money through a mixture of structural support and project-support (the European Commission was the only partner that contributed more than 5% of the annual budget).
Out of all NGOs and think tanks, Friends of Europe received the tenth largest amount of funding from the European Commission in 2010 at €192,000.[5]
Friends of Europe is registered on the EU Transparency register operated by the European Parliament & European Commission.
References
External links
