We are happy to announce that Connecting Europe, a project funded by Stiftung Mercator, will continue its work in the coming years, starting its fourth project phase on 1 July.
Launched in 2017, the initiative comprises a network of 45+ civil society organisations across 12 European countries. It connects civil society organisations with EU decision-makers and the larger EU policy community.
As a platform for exchange, Connecting Europe aims to give CSOs in the network more visibility in Brussels. The aim is to connect them with EU decision-makers and provide EU policy expertise across a range of topics: from democracy and the rule of law to green and digital policies, enlargement, as well as EU foreign policy.
In the new project phase, the Connecting Europe team will have two new focus areas. First, the project aims to increase its impact by focusing on strategic input and output, by taking an active role in engaging and advising the network. Second, following the motto ‘Thinking Enlarged’ it will engage with civil society organisations in the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership in view of enhanced regional cooperation.
“To make future enlargement rounds a success, actors from candidate countries need to be included in the debate on the future of Europe today. Connecting Europe’s new “Thinking Enlarged” focus seeks to work towards this goal and, in this way, strengthen civil society in these regions.” Janis A. Emmanouilidis, EPC Director of Studies.
“We are thrilled to continue and even expand our extremely rich and fruitful cooperation with the EPC in line with our efforts to foster truly pan-European thinking, to identify and strengthen pathways for cohesion, and to contribute to transnational dialogue and understanding.” Magdalena Kirchner, Director of the Centre for Europe in the World, Stiftung Mercator.
The EPC is looking forward to the new project phase and to continuing the work with our partners in the future, following our mission to transnationalise policy debates.
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