A European political foundation, formally a political foundation at European level, informally a Eurofoundation, is a research and advocacy organization close to, but independent from a Europarty. They are funded by the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

. Their purpose is to act as platforms aiming at developing forward-looking ideas and concepts for their respective political family and providing a forum where those ideas can be widely debated. There are nine Eurofoundations as of 16 March 2009.

Timeline

2003

Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 defined what a Europarty, or '' political party at European level'', was and tightened up their regulation.

2007

That regulation was later heavily amended by Regulation (EC) No 1524/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2007. That amendment provided for the earlier-floated concept of a

political foundation at European level A European political foundation, formally a political foundation at European level, informally a Eurofoundation, is a research and advocacy organization close to, but independent from a Europarty. They are funded by the European Parliament. Th ...

, a legally separate affiliate to a Europarty created to help them disseminate their principles to a wider audience. An initial one million eurosEuropean Commission > Citizenship > Pilot projects > Full Call For Proposals DG/EAC/29/2007
/ref> was allocated for pilot proposals, and Call For Proposals DG/EAC/29/2007 went out with a deadline of 28 September 2007. TenEuropean Commission > Citizenship > Pilot projects > Selection results – Call 29/2007
/ref> organizations were picked (one for each Europarty) and money was allocated with an expiry date of 31 August 2008.
on the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

websiteEuropean Commission > Citizenship > Pilot projects > Calls for Proposals > Pilot projects for European political foundations

Regulations

As of 1 November 2008, the regulation governing Eurofoundations is Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003, as later amended under codecision (see above). That regulation's European Commission factsheet is give

Funding

Their total allocated funding for 2008 is €5,000,000.Press Release IP/07/1953
Brussels, 18 December 2007 europa.eu

The Eurofoundations

Ten pilot Eurofoundations were set up in 2007/8, nine of which are still in existence as of 16 March 2009. They are as follows:

Proposed Eurofoundations

It was reported on 1 November 2008 that

Declan Ganley Declan James Ganley (born 23 July 1968) is an English-born Irish entrepreneur, businessman, and political activist. He was the founder and leader of the Irish branch of the Libertas Party. Primarily a telecommunications entrepreneur, Ganley has ...

had registered a company in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

called the ''Libertas Foundation Ltd''"Ganley registers Libertas as a European political party"
''Irish Times'', 1 November 2008 and that it was intended "to act as a European Political Foundation for the Libertas Party". Ganley attempted to get EU recognition and funding of €111,000 for the ''Libertas Foundation'' in February 2009,"Parliament says 'Yes' then 'No' to funding for Libertas"
European Voice, 5 February 2009 but the attempt was rejected because its board members were all from one member state and the foundation name was the same as the aspirant Europarty also founded by Ganley. The same meeting of the

Bureau of the European Parliament The Bureau of the European Parliament is responsible for matters relating to the budget, administration, organisation and staff. It is composed of the President of the European Parliament along with all 14 Vice-Presidents and the five Quaestors (in ...

that rejected the Libertas foundation but (momentarily) recognised the Libertas party also defunded the ''Alliance of Independent Democrats in Europe'' (AIDE). The foundation affiliated to the newly created Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists is New Direction.

References

External links

Martens Centre websiteFoundation for European Progressive Studies websiteEuropean Liberal Forum blogInstitute of European Democrats websiteTransform Europe websiteCoppieters Foundation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Political Foundation at European Level European Union-related lists Pan-European political parties