Jump to content

Wikipedia baseline:European Policy Centre

From Deep Politics Wiki
Full article adapted from Wikipedia revision 1375354826 by Wikipedia contributors. Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Formatting has been adapted; article text and references are retained. Snapshot imported 2026-09-25.
Belgian think tank

EPC logo
EPC conference centre
The premises of the European Policy Centre on Rue du Trône 14–16 in Brussels, Belgium

The European Policy Centre (EPC) is a think tank working on Europe Union and global affairs. It was founded in 1997.

Governance

The EPC's funding comes from a number of sources, including its strategic partners: the King Baudouin Foundation, based in Belgium and Stiftung Mercator, based in Germany, and the European Union 's CERV Programme. It also comes from membership fees, and grants from the EU and other organisations. The EPC's total income in 2024 was 5 737 164 €.[1][2]

The EPC is one of many Brussels-based think tanks funded partly through the European Commission’s CERV programme. According to a 2025 report by MCC Brussels, EPC received nearly €5.5 million in direct EU funding over the past decade and participated in projects worth nearly €30 million supported by EU grants. Conservative and euroskeptic critics have argued that such funding creates a perception of ideological alignment between the EPC and EU institutions, raising questions about the independence of EU-funded think tanks. [3]

Membership

The EPC has a membership of around 350 organisations, which include the following companies and organisations: Astra Zeneca, Jeronimo Martins, Danish Agricultural Council, Turkish Industry & Business Association, Mission of the Kingdom of Morocco to the European Communities, Mission of the People's Republic of China to the European Communities, the Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium, the Open Society European Policy Institute, and the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies.[4]

Governance

Brigid Laffan is President of the European Policy Centre and chairs its Strategic Council, which includes Jean-Claude Juncker, Joaquin Almunia, Maria Joào Rodrigues, Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, Janez Potočnik, André Sapir, Wolfgang Schüssel, Marta Dassù, Catherine Day, Monica Frassoni, and Nathalie Tocci among others.

The EPC's General Assembly and Governing Board are chaired by Declan Kelleher, Former Irish Ambassador to the EU and to China.

Former Presidents of the European Policy Centre include Herman Van Rompuy, Peter Sutherland (1998–2011) and Philippe Maystadt (2011–2014). Former Chairs of the Governing Board include David O'Sullivan, former EU Ambassador to the US, Hywel Ceri Jones, founder of the Erasmus Programme; António Vitorino, former European Commissioner; and Meglena Kuneva, former European Commissioner.

Funding

The EPC is funded through several sources, including its strategic partners: the King Baudouin Foundation, based in Belgium and Stiftung Mercator, based in Germany. The over 300 EPC members also pay annual fees, with amounts according to the type of membership. In addition, other foundations, corporations and the European Commission provide grants or fund specific events and publications.[5][6]

Tobacco companies

In the 1990s and 2000s, the European Policy Centre (EPC) was linked to lobbying activities carried out on behalf of the tobacco industry, particularly British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris International (PMI). Research based on internal tobacco industry documents suggests that the EPC played a role in the development of the European Union's "Better Regulation" agenda, which critics argue prioritises business interests over public health, social, and environmental concerns. Specifically, EPC helped tobacco companies, as well as other industry groups, lobby "to ensure that the EU framework for evaluating policy options emphasised business interests at the expense of public health".[7][8][9]

The campaign ultimately succeeded, with all new EU public policies now subject to mandatory impact assessment. Although officially covering economic, social, and environmental impacts, researchers suggest that economic effects often receive the most weight, in line with the original objectives of BAT and allied corporations.[10]

Hiding tobacco industry involvement. Studies have argued that the EPC's involvement helped obscure the role of tobacco companies in promoting these regulatory changes, by creating a broader coalition of corporate supporters. Interviews with European Commission officials at the time revealed little awareness of tobacco industry participation in the campaign, supporting claims that lobbying networks deliberately concealed the sector's role.[9]

Following the public release of these findings, EPC's then–Chief Executive Hans Martens stated that BAT was merely a member of the Centre and "not very active," stressing that the company received no special favours compared to other members.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Annual Report - European Policy Centre". www.epc.eu. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Financing". www.epc.eu. Archived from the original on 9 September 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  3. ^ "Following shocking new report about scale of the EU-NGO propaganda complex, MCC Brussels calls for establishment of EU DOGE". brussels.mcc.hu. 12 February 2025. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  4. ^ "Members". www.epc.eu. Archived from the original on 1 May 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  5. ^ "Annual Report". www.epc.eu. Archived from the original on 1 May 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  6. ^ "Financing". www.epc.eu. Archived from the original on 1 May 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  7. ^ Smith, K E; Gilmore, A B; Fooks, G; Collin, J; Weishaar, H (December 2009). "Tobacco industry attempts to undermine Article 5.3 and the "good governance" trap: Table 1". Tobacco Control. 18 (6): 509–511. doi:10.1136/tc.2009.032300. hdl:20.500.11820/869a2194-3a4b-4637-8d8a-a0f7e8f3653e. ISSN 0964-4563. Archived from the original on 8 November 2025.
  8. ^ Boseley, Sarah (12 January 2010). "Tobacco corporations lobby to hamper passing of EU health laws, say academics". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  9. ^ a b c "Big tobacco distorted EU treaty, scientists say". EUobserver. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  10. ^ "Transparency Register". ec.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  1. "Annual Report - European Policy Centre". www.epc.eu. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  2. "Financing". www.epc.eu. Archived from the original on 9 September 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  3. Following shocking new report about scale of the EU-NGO propaganda complex, MCC Brussels calls for establishment of EU DOGE". brussels.mcc.hu. 12 February 2025. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  4. "EPC – European Policy Centre – Independent think tank".
  5. "Members". www.epc.eu. Archived from the original on 9 September 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  6. Smith, K.E.; et al. (2009). "Tobacco industry attempts to undermine Article 5.3 and the "good governance" trap". Tobacco Control. 18 (6): 509–511. doi:10.1136/tc.2009.032300. hdl:20.500.11820/869a2194-3a4b-4637-8d8a-a0f7e8f3653e. PMID 19955541. S2CID 207031196.
  7. Sarah Boseley (12 January 2010). "Tobacco corporations lobby to hamper passing of EU health laws, say academics". The Guardian.
  8. Leigh Phillips (13 January 2010). "Big tobacco distorted EU treaty, scientists say". EUobserver.
  9. "Transparency Register - Search the register". ec.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  10. Smith, Katherine E.; Fooks, Gary; Collin, Jeff; Weishaar, Heide; Mandal, Sema; Gilmore, Anna B. (12 January 2010). ""Working the system" —British American Tobacco's influence on the European Union Treaty and its implications for policy: an analysis of internal tobacco industry documents". PLOS Medicine. 7 (1) e1000202. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000202. ISSN 1549-1277. PMC 2797088. PMID 20084098.
  11. "Big tobacco distorted EU treaty, scientists say". EUobserver. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  12. "Big tobacco distorted EU treaty, scientists say". EUobserver. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2025.

Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to European Policy Centre at Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from "https://deeppolitics.org/index.php?title=Wikipedia_baseline:European_Policy_Centre&oldid=59031"