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The European Policy Centre (EPC) is a Brussels-based not-for-profit think tank on European Union affairs, founded in 1997.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2024) |
The European Policy Centre (EPC) is a Brussels-based not-for-profit think tank on European Union affairs, founded in 1997.
Under the presidency of Brigid Laffan, the EPC's Chief Executive is Fabian Zuleeg, a German economist. Its Director of Studies is Janis A. Emmanouilidis, a German-Greek political scientist and economist. The EPC's 33 analysts carry out research and analysis, organise expert meetings and events with the main stakeholders concerned with EU and global affairs and produce policy analysis online and in print. The EPC also works with 28 senior advisers and 14 academic fellows.
The EPC's policy work is organised under six main programmes:
In addition, the EPC runs the Connecting Europe project (supported by the Mercator Foundation), which promotes sustainable exchanges between civil society initiatives throughout Europe and the policy community in Brussels.
The EPC's funding comes from a number of sources, including its strategic partners: the King Baudouin Foundation, based in Belgium and Stiftung Mercator, based in Germany, and the European Union 's CERV Programme. It also comes from membership fees, and grants from the EU and other organisations. The EPC's total income in 2024 was 5 737 164 €. [1] [2]
Brigid Laffan is President of the European Policy Centre and chairs its Strategic Council, which includes Jean-Claude Juncker, Frederica Mogherini, Joaquin Almunia, Maria Joào Rodrigues, Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, Janez Potočnik, André Sapir, Wolfgang Schüssel, Rita Süssmuth, Marta Dassù, Catherine Day, Monica Frassoni, and Nathalie Tocci among others.
The EPC's General Assembly and Governing Board are chaired by Declan Kelleher, Former Irish Ambassador to the EU and to China.
Former Presidents of the European Policy Centre include Herman Van Rompuy, Peter Sutherland (1998–2011) and Philippe Maystadt (2011–2014). Former Chairs of the Governing Board include David O'Sullivan, former EU Ambassador to the US, Hywel Ceri Jones, founder of the Erasmus Programme; António Vitorino, former European Commissioner; and Meglena Kuneva, former European Commissioner.
The EPC has a membership of around 350 organisations, which include such companies and organisations as Astra Zeneca, ExxonMobil, Jeronimo Martins, TikTok Technologies Belgium, Danish Agricultural Council, European Fuel Manufacturers Association, The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers, Turkish Industry & Business Association, Mission of the Kingdom of Morocco to the European Communities, Mission of the People's Republic of China to the European Communities, Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium, Open Society European Policy Institute, Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies. [3] [4]
In the 1990s and 2000s, the European Policy Centre (EPC) was linked to lobbying activities carried out on behalf of the tobacco industry, particularly British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris International (PMI). Research based on internal tobacco industry documents suggests that the EPC played a role in the development of the European Union's "Better Regulation" agenda, which critics argue prioritises business interests over public health, social, and environmental concerns. Specifically EPC helped tobacco companies, as well as other industry groups, lobby "to ensure that the EU framework for evaluating policy options emphasised business interests at the expense of public health". [5] [6] [7]
The campaign ultimately succeeded, with all new EU public policies now subject to mandatory impact assessment. Although officially covering economic, social, and environmental impacts, researchers suggest that economic effects often receive the most weight, in line with the original objectives of BAT and allied corporations. [8] [9]
Hiding tobacco industry involvement. Studies have argued that the EPC's involvement helped obscure the role of tobacco companies in promoting these regulatory changes, by creating a broader coalition of corporate supporters. Interviews with European Commission officials at the time revealed little awareness of tobacco industry participation in the campaign, supporting claims that lobbying networks deliberately concealed the sector's role. [10]
Following the public release of these findings, EPC's then–chief executive Hans Martens stated that BAT was merely a member of the Centre and "not very active," stressing that the company received no special favours compared to other members. [11]
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