Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies

Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies
Abbreviation Martens Centre
Formation 2007 (2007)
Type Political foundation at European level
Headquarters Rue du Commerce 20
1000 Brussels, Belgium
President
 Mikuláš Dzurinda
Website www.martenscentre.eu

The Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies is the Political foundation at European level of the European People's Party and an EU think tank. It was founded in following the 2007 revision of the EU Regulation that allowed for the creation of European foundations affiliated to Europarties. The European People's Party (EPP) established the Centre for European Studies (CES) as its official foundation/think tank.[1] During the EPP Congress held in Dublin[2] on 6 and 7 March 2014, the think tank was renamed in honour of its founder Wilfried Martens, now being the "Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies".[3]

The Martens Centre embodies a pan-European mindset, promoting Christian Democrat, conservative and like-minded political values. It serves as a framework for national political foundations linked to member parties of the EPP. It currently has 29 member foundations in 22 EU and non-EU countries. The Martens Centre takes part in the preparation of EPP programmes and policy documents. It organises seminars and training on EU policies and on the process of European integration. The Martens Centre also contributes to formulating EU and national public policies. It produces research studies and books, electronic newsletters, policy briefs, and the twice-yearly European View journal. Through its papers, conferences, authors’ dinners and website, the Martens Centre offers a platform for discussion among experts, politicians, policymakers and the European public.[1]

About

Executive Board

The Executive Board of the Martens Centre is composed among others by Mikuláš Dzurinda, President of the Martens Centre, Joseph Daul, President of the European People's Party, Antonio López-Istúriz White, Secretary General of the EPP and Secretary-Treasurer of the Martens Centre, and Tomi Huhtanen, Director of the Martens Centre. The roles of the Board range from drafting the annual programme based on agreed research priorities, ensuring the legal representation and financial supervision of the activities of the Martens Centre, as well as steering the expansion of the Centre’s network of member organisations.[3]

Academic Council

The Executive Board nominates esteemed academics and researchers as members of the Academic Council in order to increase the academic scope of the Centre and oversee the scientific standards of its research, studies and activities. This includes enhancing its standing and visibility in the academic sphere, contributing with expertise, advice and ideas to ensure the Centre is always pursuing cutting-edge research. The Academic Council also proposes new and innovative projects and implements the highest standard of peer review.[3]

Research Associates

Research Associates are politically like-minded academics who can provide research papers, short analyses and blogs and who are also capable of providing quick advice on current affairs. The Research Associates contribute to an improved reflection process on fundamental strategic questions and indirectly provide input for strategic debates in the EPP family.[3]

General Assembly

The General Assembly is composed of the representatives of the Martens Centre's political foundations/think-tanks members and of individual members. Both these organisations and the individual members represent the interests of the European People’s Party and of its member-parties In order for a political foundation/think-tank to become a member of the Centre, it must be recognized by its respective EPP member party and be engaged in promoting political information and debate and facilitating EU integration. Additionally, the Centre can accept supporting members as non-voting members. All members have to be committed to support the objectives and aims of the Centre.[3]

Publications

As the political foundation and think tank of the EPP, the Martens Centre monitors, analyses and contributes to the debate relating to the policies of the EU and relevant for both the expert level and for the wider European public. The Martens Centre produces research papers, books and policy briefs. These publications can be found in PDF, ePub and Mobi format on the Martens Centre.[4]

The Martens Centre also produces the European View, a policy paper that serves as the intellectual platform for politicians, opinion makers and academics to tackle contemporary themes of European politics, focusing on one specific topic in each issue.[5]

Events

The Martens Centre organises the Economic Ideas Forum (EIF), providing high level economic experts, Ministers of Economy, EU Commissioners, EU Prime Minister, as well as business leaders from around the world an opportunity to consider innovative ideas and proposing solutions to the economic challenges facing the EU economy. EIF 2014[6] will be held in Bratislava, Slovakia, on 16 and 17 October.[3]

The Martens Centre also holds the Annual Transatlantic Think Tank Conference[7] bringing together high-level think tankers, experts, policymakers and other stakeholders from both sides of the Atlantic to discuss important themes in transatlantic relations.

References

  1. 1 2 martenscentre.eu
  2. ↑ http://dublin2014.epp.eu//
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 martenscentre.eu
  4. ↑ Martens Centre. "martenscentre.eu". martenscentre.eu. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  5. ↑ "European View - Springer". Link.springer.com. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  6. ↑ "Economic Ideas Forum - Helsinki 2013". martenscentre.eu. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  7. ↑ "4th Transatlantic Think Tank Conference". martenscentre.eu. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
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