Strategic Council

The Strategic Council brings together thought leaders and experts from diverse background and nationalities. They bring fresh insights and forward-looking perspectives on the major challenges facing the European Union. Once a year, they meet with our analysts to reflect on the strategic priorities of the Union and their implications for the work and strategic direction of the European Policy Centre.

Brigid Laffan

President, European Policy Centre

Joaquin Almunia

Former European Commission Vice-President for Competition

Herman Van Rompuy

Honorary President, European Policy Centre; President Emeritus of the European Council

Lionel Barber

Former editor of the Financial Times

Hendrik Bourgeois

Vice President Government Affairs Europe, Intel

Elizabeth Collett

Chair of Expert Subcommittee, Australia’s Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration

Marta Dassù

Senior Director European Affairs, The Aspen Institute; Editor-in-chief, Aspenia

Catherine Day

Former Secretary General, European Commission

Monica Frassoni

President of the European Alliance to Save Energy; President of the European Centre for Electoral Support

Anthony L. Gardner

Former United States Ambassador to the European Union

Heather Grabbe

Senior Fellow at Bruegel, Visiting Professor at the University College of London & Senior Advisor to the President of the Open Society Foundations.

Arancha González Laya

Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs, SciencesPo; Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, EU and Cooperation of Spain

Shada Islam

Senior Adviser on Asia, Africa and international trade

Hywel Ceri Jones

Former Chairman of the EPC; Member of the Welsh Government‘s European Advisory Group

Jean-Claude Juncker

Former President of the European Commission

Lord Kerr of Kinlochard

Member of the House of Lords

Gerald Knaus

President of the Executive Board, European Stability Institute

Jo Leinen

Former Member of the European Parliament

Erika Mann

Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council

Anand Menon

Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King's College London

Federica Mogherini

Former High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

John Palmer

Former Political Director, European Policy Centre

Kristina Persson

Founder of Global Challenge; Former Swedish Minister and Former Member of the European Parliament

Jean-Claude Piris

Former Director General, Legal Service of the Council of the European Union

Jana Puglierin

Head of European Council on Foreign Relations, Berlin office & Senior Policy Fellow

Janez Potočnik

Former European Commissioner for Environment

João Vale de Almeida

Senior Adviser on global affairs and transatlantic relations

Conny Reuter

Global Coordinator, Progressive Alliance

Verena Ringler

Founder and Director, European Commons network

Maria João Rodrigues

Former Member of the European Parliament; Professor of Economics at the University of Lisbon

Dennis Sammut

Director, LINKS

André Sapir

Professor of Economics, ECARES, ULB

Wolfgang Schüssel

Former Federal Chancellor of Austria

Daniela Schwarzer

Executive Board Member, Bertelsmann Stiftung

Peter Semneby

Former EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus

Constanze Stelzenmüller

Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center on the United States and Europe, Brookings

Nathalie Tocci

Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali, Special Advisor to HRVP Mogherini and Honorary Professor at the University of Tübingen

Loukas Tsoukalis

Professor at the Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po President of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)

Baron Frans van Daele

Former Head of Cabinet to the King of Belgium; Former Ambassador of Belgium to the EU

Jean-Charles van den Branden

Partner at Bain & Company

Jordi Vaquer

Regional Director for Europe, Open Society Foundations

Pawel Swieboda

CEO EBRAINS, Human Brain Project

Zeger Vercouteren

Vice President Government Affairs & Policy EMEA, Europe, Johnson & Johnson

Michele Galli

Advisor, EU and Global Sustainable Development