ΕΛΙΑΜΕΠ | Research activities on European policy issues

Institutional developments and prospects of the EU

ELIAMEP research work has concentrated on institutional and political developments in the EU. More recent research has explored the prospects of alternative forms of differentiated integration as well as the challenges and opportunities of further politicization of the EU. In this context, European Seminars is one element in the Foundation’s broader mission to enhance policy-thinking about the prospects of European integration. Another initiative is the lauch of the Crisis Observatory since January 2013 with the support of Niarchos Foundation. Furthermore, ELIAMEP participates in the “Think Global Act European” project and has also become actively involved in a project together with the Policy Network and the European Institute of the LSE in the project entitled “An EU ‘fit for purpose’ in a global age.”

The Foundation has also contributed to the assessment of the EEAS organised by the European Policy Centre (EPC) and the Finnish Institute for International Affairs, and the project ‘Think Tanks at a Crossroads‘ led by the Centre for Liberal Strategies (CLS)’. It additionally contributed on the study of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) on future scenarios for the eurozone. Additionally, ELIAMEP has started to actively participate in ANTICORRP programme.

EU enlargement and external policy

Enlargement and the integration of southeast Europe in the Union is among the ELIAMEP’s priority research areas. The EU’s neighbourhood policy as a comprehensive and inclusive strategy has also been at the centre of research work.

ELIAMEP coordinated the IBEU research project which focused on the changing nature of borders in the Balkans and their EU membership perspective. Specific activities covering the wide field of external policy include also work on peacebuilding and development cooperation, as well as common foreign, security and defence policy.

Sectoral policies of the EU

The Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) participates in the CONFRONT project (Countering new forms of Roma children trafficking: Participatory approach) which aims to advance knowledge of new forms of trafficking affecting children from the Roma community, in ANTICORRP project on tackling corruption and in ‘Media Pluralism Monitor’ (MPM) in Greece.

Further work is being undertaken to encourage reflection on the political economy of Europe, particularly the economic management of the EU and the social regulation of economic relations in the EU. In this context, ELIAMEP participates in two research-oriented networks of excellence, EU CONSENT- Wider Europe, Deeper Integration and RECWOWE – Reconciling Work and Welfare. The Foundation participates in the activities of EPIN Network with 30 members in 26 countries focusing on current EU and European political and policy debates. The Foundation also participated in the project IME – European and national identity construction programmes and politics, culture, history and religion which investigated the diversity and commonalities among European identities in different European countries. Additionally, ELIAMEP has coordinated MEDIADEM, a European research project which sought to understand and explain the factors that promote or conversely hinder the development of policies supporting free and independent media. The project investigated media policy-making processes in 14 European countries, placing them in their proper socio-political context, and examined the opportunities and challenges posed by new media services for media freedom and independence.

Moreover, the Foundation has coordinated research projects concentrating on the processes of human rights litigation in the ECHR (JURISTRAS project); and on the effects of European integration on EU territorial minorities (EUROREG project). Past projects have focused on the importance of national political cultures in the functioning of the EU (The Political Culture(s) of Europe) and on the evolution and role of media in a European public sphere (EMEDIATE project). In addition, ELIAMEP has engaged in a number of initiatives aiming at promoting public discussion on European issues (“Communicating EU values across Greece” initiative) and has completed an empirical research study on Higher education in Greece.

Publications