The Institute for European Politics (IEP; German: ''Institut für Europäische Politik'') is a German foreign and European policy research centre based in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. It is an independent

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

focused on the research of

European integration European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...

. The IEP was founded in 1959, being one of the earliest foreign and European policy research centres in Germany. It is a strategic partner of the German

Federal Foreign Office The Federal Foreign Office (, ; abbreviated AA) is the Foreign minister, foreign ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, a federal agency (Germany), federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign policy and its relationship with ...

and the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

, as well as a founding member of the Trans-European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA). Its current president is

Werner Hoyer Werner Hoyer (born 17 November 1951) is a German economist and politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) who served as President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) between 2012 and 2023. Education and early career Hoyer graduated as an e ...

, the former President of the

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt sol ...

(EIB).

Research

In its analysis, the IEP aims to combine the study of current political developments with a broader look at long-term trends of development within European integration policy. The institute's research activities currently focus on three areas: * The Future of European Integration * EU Enlargement, Neighborhood, and Central Asia * Germany and Europe These topics are explored through research projects, workshops and conferences, EU traineeship programmes, as well as the publication of scholarly material. Further, these topics are explored in the IEP's summer school and study programmes. In cooperation with the French

Centre international de formation européenne CIFE - the Centre international de formation européenne is a not-for-profit European institution of higher education and research established in 1954. CIFE encompasses educational and research activities promoting European integration and govern ...

, the IEP conducts the English-language PhD support programme EUCACIS ("The EU, Central Asia and the Caucasus in the International System").

Platforms for discourse

One of the institute's main goals is the fostering of dialogue on European politics between political decision makers, scientists, journalists and civil society. Different programmes, like the IEP's ''Europagespräche'' (German for "Talks on Europe") or bilateral formats like the German-Portuguese Forum and the German-Nordic-Baltic Forum.

Capacity Development

Next to its research of European integration, the IEP's Department of Capacity Development works on the sustainable strengthening of public administration capacities in

southeastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a geographical sub-region of Europe, consisting primarily of the region of the Balkans, as well as adjacent regions and Archipelago, archipelagos. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions of t ...

to strengthen their ties to the EU. Projects include assistance during EU qualification processes and discussions. In this field, the IEP works together closely with international partners and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

Funding

Major sponsors of IEP are governmental agencies, foundations, donations and project-related income. The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and the

German Federal Foreign Office The Federal Foreign Office (, ; abbreviated AA) is the foreign ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, a federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign policy and its relationship with the European Union. It is a cabinet-level ...

also support the IEP.

Publications

Next to a wide breadth of scholarly publication on specific topics, the IEP publishes the following recurring publications: * ''Yearbook of European Integration'' * ''Europa von A bis Z'' () * ''Integration'' (quarterly academic journal) * ''Europäische Schriften'' ()

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Institute for European Politics 1959 establishments in West Germany European integration think tanks Organisations based in Berlin Think tanks established in 1959 Think tanks based in Germany