Presentation and General objectives of the IED
The Institute of European Democrats (IED – IDE) was established in September 2007 as a new and independent Research Institute based in Brussels. Its primary goal is to promote a better understanding of the core aspects of the European integration process, and to play an active role in strengthening the confidence of European citizens and their direct participation with regards to European Institutions and policies and, above all, in favour of the idea of a united Europe.
These fundamental objectives will be attained by the Institute of European Democrats through the balanced planning of activities that include the arrangement of studies and analysis, as well as the organisation of workshops and public conferences.
IED also promotes - together with other Institutions – different educational symposiums where thoughts and opinions on the EU can be developed and exchanged.
The most part of the Institute’s activities is structured with the following scheme: preparation of papers and analysis on the chosen subject; organisation of seminars and briefings to discuss and share ideas and strategic options with elected officials and experts from leading policy institutes in Europe and other major regions of the world; participation to public debates, organisation of conferences and workshops; finally, communication of the attained results mainly through publications collecting seminars’ proceedings and through the updating of the Institute’s web site.
To reach these aims, IED operates also in connection with other European and International Foundations, Universities and Institutions, and looks for an active contribution from as many citizens as possible involving them directly, assuring thus a truly European and open dimension to its activities.
IED and EDP
The Institute of European Democrats, serves also as an innovative European political and cultural Research Institute that could offer fresh political ideas as well as a strong and respected cultural background to the European Democratic Party (EDP) to whom it has been formally affiliated.
This strategic partnership is a guarantee of the fervent support of the Institute to the EU’s shared and founding values.
Research areas
The activities of the Institute of European Democrats focus mainly on important subjects such as the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU's Neighbourhood Policy and the political relations between the European Union and the newly emerging strategic areas of the world.
This choice of research interest comes from the awareness that the international projection and influence of Brussels will be one of the key pillars of the Union, if Europe wants to become a real and respected global player. The political relations, that the EU will be able to build and to strengthen over the next few years with the other strategic and emerging areas in the world, will constitute, therefore, the most important challenge of its capacity to run an effective and innovative foreign policy.
Beside EU foreign policy and external relations, IED investigates other main European and EU issues.
IED and the EU citizenship
The future guiding principles of the European common policies need, however, to be more effectively communicated to the “European civil society” in order to facilitate a better and more complete understanding of the potential role of the EU in the current and future historical and political context.
In this view, the Institute of European Democrats works actively to close the gap that now staves off citizens from European public policy.
To this end, IED promotes a closer cooperation with the most significant personalities and institutions in the political, economic and cultural fields.
IED structure
The Institute of European Democrats is headed by an international board of directors. The President is Jean Claude Casanova, French academic and economist, president of the Fondation nationale des sciences politiques as well as founder and editor of the magazine Commentaire.
The chief executive officer is Luca Bader, head of international relations of La Margherita Party, former senior researcher at the Italian Institute of Foreign Affairs.
Within the IED has been set up a Scientific Committee, consisting of eminent European and international personalities coming from the political, cultural, economic, and academic circles.