FRIENDS OF EUROPE’S AREAS EXPERTISE

ASIA, AFRICA & EMERGING ECONOMIES

Friends of Europe Asia Programme, including the Europe-China Forum, looks at the political, economic and social facets of the ‘Asian century’ and provides a high-level platform for dialogue between policymakers, academics, civil society and business leaders. Ground breaking work is contributing to a new interaction between the two regions and between the EU and individual countries including China, India, Japan and members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Friends of Europe is also closely engaged in the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM). Work on international development issues is led by the Development Policy Forum (DPF), which was set up by Friends of Europe in partnership with development actors such as Germany’s Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the United Nations and the World Bank. Friends of Europe aims to raise awareness of development issues and to encourage new ideas and recommendations for tackling global challenges. Through its activities and publications, the DPF encourages fresh thinking on issues such as digital and connectivity, women’s role in development as well as the role of the private sector in implementing Agenda 2030.

CITIZENS EUROPE

In this area of expertise, Friends of Europe provokes debate, discussion and challenges current thinking on citizen engagement – its purpose, outcome and process. By involving and engaging citizens directly with practitioners from NGOs, governments, entrepreneurs and tech savvy communities, Friends of Europe aims to improve and develop thinking, debate and policy making to devise better and more meaningful citizen involvement and engagement to improve their trust and the stake citizens have in their future and in the work of the EU. Friends of Europe works to foster discussion on the full range of grassroots issues facing Europe, and to challenge traditional top-down’ thinking with a citizen-driven ‘bottom up approach. It does this by hosting citizen meet ups in cities across Europe and via Debating Europe, its online debating platform.

CLIMATE AND ENERGY

Friends of Europe looks at the evolving role of innovation, regulation, competition, and the impact of consumption and production in various sectors including mobility, buildings, agriculture, industry and finance among others. Friends of Europe role is to stimulate and provoke discussions to debate how to improve policy thinking and take preventative action. Friends of Europe supports knowledge and innovation, businesses, entrepreneurs, forward-looking policies and local actors and activists in acting transparently and collectively to develop cost effective measures addressing the joint challenge of climate change and sustainable economic development. Friends of Europe aims at bringing together fresh ideas on viable climate and energy subjects to lead the transition and demonstrate Europe can lead by example in areas as diverse as nature based solutions, the future of food, sustainable consumption, reducing waste and recycling. Friends of Europe’s focus in this debate is to engage cross-sector stakeholders on a sustainable energy transition, its cost and financing. In doing so, Friends of Europe explores how to accelerate its momentum through experimentation and innovation. Taking a whole economy, whole society approach to decarbonisation underpins its overall approach in this area of expertise.

DIGITAL SKILLS AND INEQUALITIES

Friends of Europe helps think through the implications of changes, taking the widest possible stakeholder and community perspectives and experiences to bear upon the policy thinking and developments that is required. Friends of Europe’s  focus is to link the policy implications for skills development and preparedness, the role of education and digital literacy and inequalities. Friends of Europe works across policy areas taking a whole society, whole economy approach – to enable policy thinking and developments to be fit for a digital 21st century.

HEALTH

Friends of Europe spotlights the opportunities that lie ahead to incentivise system change through demonstration of innovation and alternative models of healthcare.  Friends of Europe also aims to address the brave new world of health by reflecting on and debating the implications of AI, gene editing, 3D printing and big data. Its role is to provoke thinking on the importance of innovation and disruption as an accelerator for healthier societies.

MIGRATION AND INTEGRATION

Friends of Europe contributes to the discussion with its sustained work – including publications, roundtables and conferences – on migration and integration. Friends of Europe engages with all relevant stakeholders, including EU institutions and national governments but also refugee and migrant groups, European civil society representatives as well as business leaders and local authorities. Friends of Europe believes that refugees and migrants must have the opportunity to play an active role in designing their own paths to integration and inclusion. Through is work, Friends of Europe wants to spotlight that well-managed migration is an asset for Europe. As such, all those who believe in an open, inclusive and multicultural Europe must work harder to change the current negative narrative on migration through facts and figures but also a stronger emotional story on the many benefits of inclusion. It is also important to have more realistic and comprehensive policies that address both the challenges and opportunities posed by migration and integration.

PEACE, SECURITY & DEFENCE

Coinciding with the beginning of the new EU ‘geopolitical’ mandate, Friends of Europe’s 2020 peace, security and defence programme aims to make sense of the geopolitical environment around Europe while exploring how it can strengthen the partnerships that are vital to its stability and security. To do so, Friends of Europe analyses ongoing transnational challenges covering topics including the state of the EU’s security and defence initiatives, the link between space and defence and security, the impact of emerging technologies and their regulation, and the value of peacebuilding initiatives. Through a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary approach covering NATO, UN and EU peace security and defence policies, internal security issues and the power of technology to act as a driver for the synergies between internal and external dimensions of security, Friends of Europe’s work remains result-oriented, focusing ultimately on practical recommendations. Friends of Europe continues to work actively with partnerships to advance the conclusions reached and to exchange best practices globally. By building on previous recommendations and proposed solutions to global security challenges, Friends of Europe hopes to locate innovate means of reducing global tensions and countering the shift away from democracy in an increasingly polarised political landscape.