Friends of Europe is a Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

-based, not-for-profit think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

 for European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 policy analysis

Policy analysis

Policy analysis is "determining which of various alternative policies will most achieve a given set of goals in light of the relations between the policies and the goals". However, policy analysis can be divided into two major fields. Analysis of policy is analytical and descriptive—i.e., it...

 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.

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

Étienne Davignon

Étienne Francois Jacques Davignon, Viscount Davignon is a Belgian politician, businessman, and former vice-president of the European Commission.-Career:...

, a politician, businessman and former vice-president of the European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

. Additionally, there are 15 members of the Praesidium. They are:

• Pat Cox
  Pat Cox
  Pat Cox is an Irish politician and former television current affairs presenter. He was President of the European Parliament from 2002 to 2004 and served as a member of the European Parliament from 1989–2004....
  
  , President of the European Movement International and former President of the European Parliament
  European Parliament
  The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
  
  
• Jean-Luc Dehaene
  Jean-Luc Dehaene
  -Early life and political career:He was born in Montpellier, France, when his parents were fleeing German troops. He got into politics through the Algemeen Christelijk Werknemersverbond , a trade union which was closely linked to the Christelijke Volkspartij .In 1981, he became Minister of Social...
  
  , former Prime Minister of Belgium and vice-president of the Convention on the Future of Europe
• Mario Monti
  Mario Monti
  Mario Monti is an Italian economist and academic who is Prime Minister of Italy, as well as Minister of Economy and Finance, since November 2011. Monti served as a European Commissioner from 1995 to 2004, with responsibility for the Internal Market, Services, Customs and Taxation from 1995 to 1999...
  
  , Italy's prime minister
• Pascal Lamy
  Pascal Lamy
  Pascal Lamy is the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, a French political advisor, a businessman, and a former European Commissioner for Trade...
  
  , Director-General of the World Trade Organization
  World Trade Organization
  The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
  
   (WTO) and former European Commissioner
  European Commissioner
  A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each Member within the college holds a specific portfolio and are led by the President of the European Commission...
  
   for Trade
• Guy Verhofstadt
  Guy Verhofstadt
  Guy Verhofstadt is a Belgian politician who was the 47th Prime Minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008. He is currently a Member of the European Parliament and leader of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.- Early career :...
  
  , former Prime Minister of Belgium
• António Vitorino
  António Vitorino
  António Vitorino is a Portuguese politician and member of the Socialist Party .-Career:Vitorino graduated in law from the University of Lisbon. A lawyer by training, he was first elected to Parliament in 1980...
  
  , former European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs and former Portuguese
  Portugal
  Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
  
   Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister

Friends of Europe's Secretary-General is Giles Merritt, a former Brussels correspondent of the Financial Times

Financial Times

The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....

.

Funding

In 2009, Friends of Europe's annual budget was €1,707,116.

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.

Friends of Europe is registered on the EU Transparency register operated by the European Parliament & European Commission.

External links

• Friends of Europe