The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is an award-winning think-tank that aims to conduct cutting-edge independent research on European foreign and security policy and to provide a safe meeting space for decision-makers, activists and influencers to share ideas. Led by Mark Leonard, we build coalitions for change at the European level and promote informed debate about Europe’s role in the world.
In 2007, ECFR’s founders set about creating a pan-European institution that could combine establishment credibility with intellectual insurgency. Today, ECFR remains uniquely placed to continue providing a pan-European perspective on some of the biggest strategic challenges and choices Europeans need to confront, with a network of offices in seven European capitals, including London, over 90 staff from more than 25 different countries and a team of associated researchers in the EU 27 member states.
ECFR has brought together a team of distinguished policy experts to link cutting-edge research to practical policy. Our research is presented through six programmes – Asia, Africa, European Power, European Security, Middle East and North Africa, United States – and cross-cutting thematic initiatives on geoeconomics and tech and on climate and energy.
ECFR is the only think tank that has a truly pan-European network, with a presence in London,Berlin, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Sofia and Warsaw, as well as an antenna in Washington DC. Our pan-European structure allows us to understand national foreign policy priorities and challenges, be part of the national conversations, and grasp viewpoints from across the continent and beyond.
ECFR’s Council is the strongest and most visible expression of our pan-European identity and consists of serving foreign ministers, former prime ministers, members of national parliaments and the European Parliament, EU Commissioners, former NATO secretary generals, thinkers, journalists and business leaders. Council Members help us to europeanise the national conversations on Europe’s foreign policy priorities and challenges.
