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 | |
| Formation | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Geert Cami & Giles Merritt |
| Type | Think tank |
| Headquarters | TownHall Europe, De Meeus Square, Brussels |
| Location |
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| Website | https://www.friendsofeurope.org/ |
Friends of Europe is a Brussels-based, not-for-profit think tank for European Union policy analysis and debate.
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]
The organisation's activities focus in particular on five thematic areas: Climate, Energy & Sustainability, [2] Peace, Security & Defence, [3] Health, [4] Digital & Data Governance [5] and Global Europe. [6]
These areas of expertise converge towards five strategic objectives: the promotion of new leadership, democracy regeneration, challenging inequalities of opportunities, bolstering a green transformation and reframing Europe's role in the world. [7]
Friends of Europe's board of trustees is composed of 81 people who hold, or have held positions of responsibility in European affairs. Its President is Etienne Davignon, a politician and former vice-president of the European Commission. Trustees include : [8]
Friends of Europe's Secretary-General is Geert Cami. [10]
In 2021, Friends of Europe's funding revenue was €4 751 818. This money was contributed through participation fees ("memberships"), institutional and governmental subsidies, contributions to costs of events, reports or other projects. [8]
The breakdown per source of funding is as follows:
Nils Daniel Carl Bildt is a Swedish politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994. He led the Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999, appearing at its lead candidate in four general elections, before his appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt from 2006 to 2014. Bildt first entered the Riksdag in 1979, holding a seat until 2001. A member of the Bildt family, he is a great-great grandson of Baron Gillis Bildt, who was Prime Minister of Sweden from 1888 to 1889.
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Nicolae Văcăroiu is a Romanian politician, member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), who served as Prime Minister between 1992 and 1996. Before the 1989 Revolution, he worked at the Committee for State Planning, together with Theodor Stolojan. He was the President of the Senate of Romania for almost eight years, during two legislatures.
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Relations between the European Union (EU) and Moldova are currently shaped via the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), an EU foreign policy instrument dealing with countries bordering its member states.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group headquartered in New Delhi, India, founded in 1895.
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The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) is a think tank based in Brussels, Belgium that undertakes research "leading to solutions to the challenges facing Europe today". It was established in 1983.
Chandrajit Banerjee is the Director General of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and member of a number of government advisory bodies at national and international levels. As DG of CII, he is responsible for leading and contributing to many policy level dialogues and discussions to enhance the competitiveness of India Inc and towards the development of India.
The Strategic Forum for Construction is a United Kingdom construction industry organisation established in 2001 as the principal point of liaison between UK government and the major construction membership organisations. It also enables different representatives of the UK industry to discuss strategic issues facing construction and to develop joint strategies for industry improvement.
Dorin Recean is a Moldovan economist and politician serving as Prime Minister of Moldova since February 2023. Since 2022 he has also served as Presidential Advisor on Defense and National Security, and Secretary of Moldova's Supreme Security Council. He previously served as Minister of Internal Affairs of Moldova from July 2012 to February 2015. He has extensive experience in the private sector and in the IT industry with a specialisation in data, including big data, and information analysis. He also worked in development institutions and was previously a lecturer at several universities.
The Ministry of Finance, abbreviated MOF, is a ministry of the Government of Somalia that is charged with the responsibility for government expenditure and revenue raising. The ministry's role is to develop economic policy and prepare the federal budget. The Ministry of Finance also oversees financial legislation and regulation. Each year in October, the Minister of Finance presents the Somali federal budget to the Parliament.
Civil Contract is a centrist political party in Armenia. It has been the ruling party of Armenia since the 2018 Armenian parliamentary election, which occurred following the 2018 Armenian Revolution that brought the party's founder, Nikol Pashinyan, to power as prime minister.
Mikheil Janelidze is a chairman of Center for European Governance & Economy. He is a former Georgian government official who served as Vice Prime Minister (2017–2018), Minister of Foreign Affairs (2015–2018), First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (2015) and Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia (2011-2015).
Armenia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have maintained a formal relationship since 1992, when Armenia joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. Armenia officially established bilateral relations with NATO in 1994 when it became a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme. In 2002, Armenia became an Associate Member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
Ukraine Recovery Conference is an annual international event dedicated to discussions on the rebuilding and reconstruction priorities of Ukraine due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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