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Autumn 2006
In the nearly five years since its creation, the European Ideas Network has widened and deepened its activities at an impressive rate. One of the network's greatest successes has been to bring together, for the first time, a wide range of centre-right think tanks and political foundations across Europe. Not only are their representatives individual members of the EIN, but many of these organisations now undertake joint activities - in a form of structures cooperation - whether through seminars with each other and the EIN, or through a series of Think-Tank Task Forces addressed at important European and national policy challenges.
This electronic newsletter - "E News" - is a product of the growing cooperation between think tanks and foundations sponsored by the EIN. The purpose of the newsletter is four-fold:
In this second issue of the electronic newsletter, you can find details of the outcome of the fifth EIN summer university and third European Ideas Fair, held in Lyon on 21-23 September 2006. More specifically, you will find summaries of the policy recommendations presented by seven Think-Tank Task Forces that were invited to report in the Lyon EIN roundtables on some of the long-term issues facing the European Union and its members states. Full reports of the Task Forces will be published in the next two issues of the newsletter, in Winter and Spring 2007.
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• to strengthen the interface between the think tanks and the European Ideas Network;
• to dovetail the work of the Task Forces with the latter's twelve Working Groups, especially in the run up to the EIN summer university each September;
• to showcase the work of the Think-Tank Task Forces and bring their research and recommendations to a wider audience, in an easily accessible format;
• to present the principal activities and research of the participating organisations, offering an opportunity for comment. |
In Lyon, at the last meeting of members of our network, it was agreed that Fondation pour l'innovation politique (Paris) would chair the editorial board of the electronic newsletter for the year 2006-2007. The news section of this autumn issue includes a short presentation of the activities of Fondapol. Every edition of the newsletter from now on will feature a profile of one of the member organisations of our network.
Our intention is that the electronic newsletter will develop over time not only as a "bulletin board", but as an interactive tool, in which think tankers, academics, elected representatives and concerned citizens are all able to contribute actively to the debate on key issues shaping our future.
The network we participate in has now reached a level of maturity and integration that calls for a new means of communication. It is my privilege, as chairman of the editorial board for the year 2006-07, to offer this newsletter as a contribution to that process.
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Franck Debié
Directeur Général
Fondation pour l'innovation politique |
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DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE, IMMIGRATION AND INTEGRATION |
Think Tank Task Force 1
Lyon Summer Executive Summary and Recommendations
 DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE
♦ Keeping the ratio of those who are economically inactive to those who are active low, so as to create a balanced labour market and to safeguard the sustainability of pension and health care systems.
♦ Raising labour market participation rates - especially for older workers and women: |
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EUROPEAN SOCIAL MODELS AND ECONOMIC REFORM |
Think Tank Task Force 2Lyon Summer Executive Summary and Recommendations
 ANALYSIS
♦ European economic and social models are an important contribution to stable economic development. Social models or social security systems have a value beyond the management of poverty, illness and need. They contribute to general social peace, but they are not limited to this. They support economic stability and the competitiveness of economies, locations, businesses and employees. |
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Think Tank Task Force 3
Lyon Summer Executive Summary and Recommendations
 ANALYSIS
♦ Europe faces a serious security problem. Europeans find themselves threatened on their own soil by external forces, such as Islamic terrorism, yet the institutional security agenda continues to focus on catering for the requirements of a strategic and security environment that pre-dates September 11th, March 11th and July 7th. If we wish to tailor the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) to the demands of the new strategic environment, we must urgently review the assumptions that have governed both the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) and the ESDP in recent years and consider adopting new strategic approaches.
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EUROPEAN GOVERNANCE AND DEMOCRACY |
Think Tank Task Force 4
Lyon Summer Executive Summary and Recommendations
 ANALYSIS
♦ After the historical enlargement of the EU with ten new member states in May 2004, the present structures of European governance no longer seem appropriate to delivering results regarding the three goals of a 'magic triangle': (a) further integration, (b) further enlargement, and (c) sustained, ideally increased, governability. By 'governability', we mean not only policy-making procedures that deliver results efficiently (output perspective), but also procedures that effectively ensure democratic participation, accountability and transparency (input perspective).
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EUROPE AND THE NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST |
Think Tank Task Force 5
Lyon Summer Executive Summary and Recommendations
 ANALYSIS
♦ This paper approaches EU’s relationship with the Near and Middle East by identifying various interrelated regional crises; principles which would guide a common foreign and security policy alongside hard questions which still need to be addressed; and initiatives that can be undertaken, or supported by Europe in the medium and long term. |
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EXTERNAL BORDERS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION |
Think Tank Task Force 6
Lyon Summer Executive Summary and Recommendations
 ANALYSIS
♦ The issue of the external borders of the European Union is of vital importance not only in regard to specific EU policies, but because of the challenges the Union will face as a result of future enlargements. This issue should be iscussed within a framework that encompasses both the history and the spirit of the European project as a whole.
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COMMUNICATING EUROPE: THINK-TANK INFLUENCE ON INSTITUTIONS AND PUBLIC |
Think Tank Task Force 7
Lyon Summer Executive Summary and Recommendations
 ♦ Think tanks stand at the cross-roads of the academic and intellectual worlds, as well as between the different levels of policy making and civil society. They aim to influence both politics and the civil society. This dual nature makes it difficult for these essential actors in the public sphere to adjust their message to both audiences. Policy debate has to be focussed at a deep level of reflection but the resulting message needs to be expressed in a form clear and simple enough for the public to take an active part in the discussion.
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; "Philippe Brongniart from Fondapol and Struan Stevenson MEP")
 with EIN WG7 panel&mode=basic&imgwidth=640&imgheight=427&print=0&save=0','Popup','width=640,height=427,location=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=no,status=no,toolbar=no,resizable=no,screenX=320,screenY=298.5'); "Christoph Kannengiesser from KAS (1st on the left) with EIN WG7 panel")
; "The FAES team at the Lyon Think Tank meeting")
; "Michael Wohlgemuth from the Walter Eucken Institute")
; "Frank Debie from Fondapol")
; "Angelos Themelis from the Constantinos Karamanlis Institute for democracy")
; "Pascale Joannin from Fondation Robert Schuman")
