Transnationalisation

The Transnationalisation Programme (TRA) facilitates a transnationalised debate on Europe’s key challenges through enhancing collaboration with think tanks and civil society across Europe. Today’s global and societal challenges require transnational policy responses. European think tanks and civil society play an important role in connecting debates across borders and strengthening exchanges between decision-makers and other relevant stakeholders.

Via its Connecting Europe Project, the programme seeks to enhance cooperation with civil society organisations across the EU and wider Europe. Since its inception in 2017, the main objective of Connecting Europe has been to connect civil society organisations with EU decision-makers. A joint initiative by the EPC and Stiftung Mercator, the Project has strong ties with civil society organisations from across Europe while at the same time working closely with the EPC’s thematic programmes and the Brussels policy community. In the past years, Connecting Europe has grown into a network of over 45+ partner organisations from 13 countries working on different policy areas. It includes a plethora of research institutes, think tanks, NGOs, peer-learning networks, and advocacy organisations.

Follow Connecting Europe on Twitter: @CnctingEurope

Additionally, the programme seeks to enhance collaboration with think tanks across Europe. A transnationalised think tank community is crucial for connecting debates across borders, strengthening exchanges between decision-makers and other stakeholders, and informing policy debate with innovative, outside-the-box ideas and recommendations. To this end, we work with European and national think tanks and engage in several think tank networks and projects, including the Trans European Policy Association (TEPSA), On Think Tanks, and the Think Tank Lab.

TOPICS

Publications

Environment / COMMENTARY
Making sense of the EU’s Nature Restoration Law
By Filipe Ataíde Lampe , Jule Zeschky - 14/07/2023

Germany / COMMENTARY
Germany’s national security strategy: What does it mean for Europe?
By Filipe Ataíde Lampe - 03/07/2023

Climate / POLICY BRIEF
Climate adaptation: The race to cool down Europe’s cities
By Filipe Ataíde Lampe - 13/03/2023

Connecting Europe / REPORT
Making sense of the Connecting Europe network
By European Policy Centre - 05/12/2022

Rule of law / JUBILEE THINK PIECE
No power without values: Why the EU needs to embrace political leadership if it wants to safeguard democracy
By Sophie Pornschlegel , Clara Sophie Cramer - 09/11/2022

Contributions

Social cohesion / PUBLICATION
Trying Times - Rethinking Social Cohesion
Societies everywhere are faced with profound changes. The megatrends of globalization, digitalization and demographic change are affecting many areas of life and pose several challenges to social cohesion: What is the fate of solidarity in a globalized economy? How do algorithms and social media influence how we live together? How can we shape the future of coexistence in an increasingly diverse society? Addressing these and other issues, the study provides a set of focus questions at the end of each chapter that are designed to promote public debate on how to shape cohesion as we move forward.

Read the full paper here

04 September 2019 - , Deutschland
Bertelsmann Stiftung Gütersloh

European elections / PUBLICATION
The European Election 2019: A Comparative Outlook at the European Election Campaigns in France, Germany and Poland
The discussion paper takes a closer look at the European Election Campaigns 2019 in France, Germany and Poland and analyses whether they favoured the emergence of a Europeanised public sphere.

Read the full paper here

17 July 2019 - , Deutschland
Das Progressive Zentrum

EVENTS

Policy Dialogue

Thursday 27 April 2023

Polarisation and public attitudes: Implications for EU migration policy

Policy Dialogue

Thursday 22 September 2022

Assessing the findings of the 2022 Rule of Law Report

Policy Dialogue

Thursday 23 June 2022

What to expect from the German government on climate and energy?

Online event

Wednesday 11 May 2022

German ‘Zeitenwende’: The implications for Europe’s security architecture

Projects

Democracy
/ PROJECT
Demand and feasibility study: Establishing a European Think Tank House in Brussels

Spain
/ PROJECT
CERV - ELEVATED Regranting: Project Presidency - Spain 2023

Germany
/ PROJECT
After Merkel: A power vacuum in Europe or a fresh start?

Democracy
/ FELLOWSHIP
Charlemagne Prize Academy

Council of the European Union
/ PROJECT
Project Presidency

Democracy
/ PROJECT
Connecting Europe

Foreign policy / PODCAST

The renewed Franco-German partnership and its potential to build a geopolitical Europe

In this episode, Jana Puglierin and Ulrike Esther Franke from the European Council on Foreign Relations argue that it is time for the EU to get serious about its foreign policy - and explain how France and Germany can lead the way.

When it comes to geopolitics, the EU is still something of a navel-gazer. The past decade saw one existential crisis after another, forcing the EU leadership to focus its attention inward. But while the Union was dealing with its own issues, the outside world became an increasingly chaotic and sometimes even hostile place, seeing the return of zero-sum thinking and great power rivalry. The COVID-19 crisis and the economic recession that followed have only emphasized how critical foreign policy challenges are.

In response to the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in May of this year announced that they would back a €500 billion EU bond to help with Europe's economic recovery. The historic statement led many to wonder if the previously sputtering Franco-German engine could also force a breakthrough in EU foreign policy, especially since Germany was about to take over the presidency of the Council of the EU.

Jana's and Ulrike's contributions are based on the ECFR Policy Brief 'The big engine that might: How France and Germany can build a geopolitical Europe'. Their analysis draws from the findings of the third edition of the European Council on Foreign Relations' EU Coalition Explorer – a survey of foreign policy experts and government officials across the EU27 that was taken in March and April of this year.
With Rebecca Castermans

epc_eu · The renewed Franco-German partnership and its potential to build a geopolitical Europe

Rule of law / PODCAST

Rule of law: Can't we all just get along?
Rule-of-law concerns have been plaguing the Union for the better part of the last decade, and don’t appear to be going anywhere. At a recent EPC Policy Dialogue, organised as part of our Connecting Europe project and in cooperation with Democracy Reporting International, European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová spoke about the current state of rule-law-proceedings and elaborated on the new Commission’s plans to counter democratic backsliding in the member states.
With Rebecca Castermans