Research project | Updated 02/04/2009 

Ideas and thinkers have always been at the heart of the European project. Notre Europe wanted to find out more about the world of European think tanks, these organisations straddling the worlds of academia and politics. Since 2004 Notre Europe has devoted several publications to the subject.

Works to consult

Europe and its think tanks: a promise to be fulfilled : study by Stephen Boucher, Radoslaw Wegrzyn, Diego Cattaneo, Michele Poletto, Charlotte Laigle, Juliette Ebélé, Benjamin Hobbs (01/10/2004). This research project was carried out by a team of external researchers led by Stephen Boucher. It is not, of course, unrelated to Notre Europe's analysis of what role it may play today. But it goes further than that by presenting as in-depth an examination as possible of think tanks working on European affairs, both from the descriptive angle (which mission, activities, resources ?) and from the analytical one (which strengths, weaknesses, influences, challenges and future trends ?).

Think tanks are not lobbying organisations! : policy brief by Stephen Boucher (25/08/2006). Notre Europe's reply to the European Commission's Green Paper on transparency.

Ideas, Influence and Transparency — What Could Think Tanks Learn and Contribute? : seminar report by Stephen Boucher (02/12/2005). All think tanks try to have an input in the policy process. While they have not been under the spotlight, they are increasingly visible, and the legitimacy of their input into policy-making may be questioned in the future, as indicated by Steve Waters’ recent article. This is particularly the case for ‘Euro-think tanks’, as EU politics, fairly or unfairly, are perceived as too technocratic, even elitist, and insufficiently transparent. On Thursday 20 and Friday 21 October 2005, members of the European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN) met with representatives of the European institutions, the public affairs community and the media to learn, and contribute.

Think Tanks in Europe and the US: Converging or Diverging? : seminar report by Morgan Larhant (23/12/2004). Seminar organised with le Dr James McGann, FPRI and Stephen Boucher.