Partnership with European Council on Foreign Relations
Think Tank EUROPA enters into a strategic collaboration with the renowned European think tank European Council of Foreign Relations (ECFR)
Think Tank EUROPA enters into a strategic collaboration with the renowned European think tank European Council of Foreign Relations (ECFR). ECFR is headquartered in Berlin and has hubs in six other European capitals. Think tank EUROPA will thus become one of ECFR's central Nordic partners.
Co-founded and led by Director Mark Leonard, ECFR is one of Europe's leading think tanks with a focus on EU foreign and security policy, sovereignty, migration and more.
There are great synergies between our organizations. The agreement means that we can draw on ECFR's extensive network and analytical power and mirror the Danish EU debate in the experiences and insights from a number of European nodes. A strong European network will enable us to provide even better analysis and knowledge of Denmark's role and opportunities in the EU.
In addition to her role as head of Think Tank EUROPA, Lykke Friis is the co-chair of ECFR together with the former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt and the chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee in the Bundestag, Norbert Röttgen.
The new Commission has announced that it will be a geopolitical commission, and the EU's relations with the outside world are increasingly dominating the European agenda. Examples of this are the relations with the United States and China, climate, digitalisation and the current situation in the Middle East. Therefore, a strong focus on foreign policy is essential for anything think tank dealing with EU affairs.
In connection with the announcement of the collaboration, ECFR Director Mark Leonard was at Think Tank EUROPA on Friday to give a briefing on Brexit negotiations, the Commission's ambition for the EU to play a greater role globally, and the EU's handling of the crisis in Iran. About the collaboration with Think Tank EUROPA, Mark Leonard says:
If Europe wants to be a player rather than roadkill in a competition between China and America, we need Europeans to come together. With Europe divided between east and west and Brexit the EU increasingly needs to be built from the member states upwards rather than from Brussels. Denmark and the Nordics are critical to the big debates for the 21st century – the climate emergency, the digital challenge, our response to Africa and the Middle East, Russia and the weaponization of the global economy. ECFR has long-standing relationships with a number of Nordic governments (Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway), but we are excited now to have a permanent presence in the region through our partnership with Think Tank EUROPA. They have established themselves as one of the most creative and interesting voices on European issues and we look very much forward to working closely with them.
Think tank EUROPA will remain an independent organization and organize its work independently of the ECFR.
The Think Tank EUROPA does not take collective positions. This publication only represent the views of their individual authors.
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