Martens Centre

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Martens Centre

Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies
Formation	2007; 14 years ago (2007)
Type	Political foundation at European level
Headquarters	Rue du Commerce 20 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Location	European Union
President	Mikuláš Dzurinda (SK)
Website	www.martenscentre.eu

The Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies is a think tank and political foundation of the European People's Party (EPP). The Centre strives to impact policy, influence European public opinion, and to be a key platform of cooperation for its centre-right partners. The president of the Martens Centre is former Slovak prime minister Mikuláš Dzurinda.

Background[]

The Martens Centre was founded by the EPP in 2007 as a result of the revision of the EU Regulation on European political parties, which allowed the creation of European political foundations and think tanks by Europarties. Originally, the EPP established the Centre for European Studies (CES) and later, during the EPP Congress in Dublin on 7 March 2014, the think tank was renamed as the "Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies" or "Martens Centre" for short, to honor its founder, former Belgian prime minister Wilfried Martens.

The Martens Centre embodies a pan-European mindset, promoting Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political values. It serves as a framework for national political foundations linked to member parties of the EPP and has more than 40 partners across Europe and the rest of the world. Besides the organisation of various events (including the Economic Ideas Forum and Makerstown), round table discussions and interviews, the Martens Centre also publishes research papers on various topics, as well as a biannual journal, European View.

Publications[]

The Martens Centre monitors, analyses and contributes to the debate relating to the policies of the EU, both on the expert and more general-public level. The Centre produces research papers, books and policy briefs. One of the centre's main publications is European View, a biannual policy journal that covers themes of European politics. Each issue focuses on a specific topic.

Other publications include:

• I say Europe, you say…?: a series of interviews with centre-right politicians, aiming to give their perspective and ideas on the European common project and its future. This publication was conceptualised in 2016 and has been published since January 2017.
• Brexitometer: a monthly vlog discussing pertinent issues and developments regarding the Brexit negotiations.
• 60 seconds: a weekly satirical overview of political events in 60 seconds

Events[]

The Martens Centre organises the Economic Ideas Forum (EIF), providing economic experts, Ministers of Economy, EU Commissioners, EU Prime Ministers and business leaders a place to discuss the economic challenges facing the EU economy. EIF 2018 took place in Paris on 21 June and EIF 2019 was held in Cyprus in March 2019. The Martens Centre also holds the Annual Transatlantic Think Tank Conference, aimed at holding discussions with policymakers from both sides of the Atlantic and discuss themes in transatlantic relations.

Other events include:

• Makerstown: an annual event featuring young innovators and entrepreneurs at a fair specifically designed to portray and discuss the Town of the Future. Makerstown consists both of an exhibition organised in the form of a fair, and the Makers Conference, which includes several interesting panel discussions with eminent EU leaders on the topic of entrepreneurship.
• Food for Thought Series: a series of roundtable discussions on various relevant issues with numerous experts sharing their opinions, views and possible solutions to pivotal political, social, and economic questions.

Network foundations and partners[]

The Martens Centre functions as a pan-European platform for member foundations, think tanks and experts from all over Europe that share the values of the centre and those of the EPP political family.

Network Foundations of the Martens Centre[]

• Academy for the Development of a Democratic Environment (Akkademja ghall-Izvilupp ta' Ambjent Demokratiku), Malta
• IDL Instituto Amaro da Costa (Instituto Amaro da Costa), Portugal
• Anton Tunega Foundation (Nadácia Anton Tunega), Slovakia
• Barankovics Istvan Foundation (Barankovics István Alapítvány), Hungary
• CDA Research Institute (Wetenschappelijk Instituut voor het CDA), the Netherlands
• CEDER Study Centre of CD&V (Ceder Studiedienst CD&V), Belgium
• Centre for Economic and Social Policy Studies (Centre d’Etudes Politiques Economiques et Sociales), Belgium
• Citizens Association for the European Development of Bulgaria (Сдружение Граждани за Европейско Развитие на България), Bulgaria
• Collins Institute, Ireland
• Croatian Statehood Foundation (Zaklada Hrvatskog Državnog Zavjeta), Croatia
• De Gasperi Foundation (Fondazione De Gasperi), Italy
• Foundation for a Civic Hungary (Polgári Magyarországért Alapítvány), Hungary
• Freedom and Democracy Foundation (Fondacioni për Liri dhe Demokraci), Albania
• Glafkos Clerides Institute (Ινστιτούτο Γλαύκος Κληρίδης), Cyprus
• Hanns Seidel Foundation (Hanns Seidel Stiftung), Germany
• Humanism and Democracy Foundation (Fundación Humanismo y Democracia), Spain
• Institute dr. Janez Evangelist Krek (Inštitut dr. Janeza Evangelista Kreka), Slovenia
• Institute for Christian Democratic politics (Institut pro křesťansko-demokratickou politiku), Czechia
• Institute for Popular Studies (Institutul de Studii Popular), Romania
• Institute of Democratic Politics (Demokratinès Politikos institutas), Lithuania
• Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation (Jarl Hjalmarson Stiftelsen), Sweden
• Jože Pučnik Institute (Inštitut dr. Jože Pucnika), Slovenia
• Konrad Adenauer Foundation (Konrad Adenauer Stiftung), Germany
• Konstantinos Karamanlis Institute For Democracy (Ινστιτοyτο Δημοκρατiασ Κωνσταντiνοσ Καραμανλhσ), Greece
• Kós Károly Academy Foundation (Kós Károly Akademia), Romania
• Luigi Sturzo Institute (Istituto Luigi Sturzo), Italy
• Matthias Bel Institute (Inštitút Mateja Bela – Bél Mátyás Intézet), Slovakia
• New Initiatives Centre (Fondacija Centar za nove inicijative), Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Państwo Prawa Foundation (Fundacja Państwo Prawa), Poland
• Political Academy of the Austrian People’s Party (Politische Akademie der ÖVP), Austria
• Pro Patria Institute (Koolituskeskus Pro Patria), Estonia
• Toivo Think Tank (Ajatuspaja Toivo), Finland
• TOPAZ, Czechia

Partners[]

• Middle East Institute for Research and Strategic Studies (معهد الشرق الأوسط للأبحاث والدراسات الاستراتجية), Lebanon
• ThinkYoung, Belgium
• Sofia Security Forum (Софийски форум за сигурност), Bulgaria
• European Values (Evropské hodnoty), Czechia
• European Academy for Democracy (Evropská akademie pro demokracii), Czechia
• Foundation for Social Research and Analysis (Fundacion para el Análisis y los Estudios Sociales), Spain
• Robert Schuman Foundation (Fondation Robert Schuman), France
• Jean Monnet European Center of Excellence, University of Athens, Greece
• Antall József Knowledge Centre of Political and Social Sciences Foundation (Antall József Politika- és Társadalomtudományi Tudásközpont Alapítvány), Hungary
• Platform for Sustainable Growth (Plataforma para o Crescimento Sustentável), Portugal
• Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence (Beogradski fond za političku izuzetnost), Serbia
• GLOBSEC, Slovakia
• International Republican Institute, US

References[]

External links[]

• Official website