The Institut für Europäische Politik (IEP) has been active in the field of European integration since its foundation in 1959.
It is one of Germany’s leading research institutes in the field of foreign and European policy and a founding member of TEPSA. In all its activities, IEP takes into consideration that the European Union is a complex construct of institutional collaboration and communication and that the policy areas to be dealt with relating to the European Union are diverse and offer a wide range of research topics and case studies to examine. The IEP is also a founding member of the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA) and has been a member of the European Movement Germany since 1962. The institute’s activities can be characterized in a three pillar structure, namely “Research”, “Forum” and “Training”.
Research: In its research, IEP combines the discussion of current problems of European integration with an analysis of medium-term trends and scenarios of European politics and policies. It focuses on:
• the future of the European Union (EU) including current reform debates, and long-term trends of European integration,
• German European policy and Germany‘s role within Europe,
• Enlargement and the EU’s policy towards its Neighbourhood emphasising possibilities and limitations of the EU to shape its relations with neighbouring countries and its capacity to influence transformation processes in its neighbourhood,
• the Common Foreign, Security and Defense Policy,
• as well as issues of a common approach to energy and climate issues.
Forum: Activities include national and international seminars, conferences, fora, study groups and public events (lectures and debates). For lunch debates, which take place on a regular basis, experts and prominent guest speakers are invited to discuss current key issues with the general public. Moreover, the IEP is involved in bilateral and multilateral fora, namely the “German-Hungarian Forum”, the “German-Italian Discussion Forum”, the “Franco-German Dialogue”, the “German-Nordic-Baltic Forum” and the “German-Romanian Forum”. The results of IEP’s research and analysis are made available to its target groups and multipliers (lecturers, professors, students, teachers of adult education, journalists, politicians, administration, NGOs) by various publications of periodicals, single- and multi-author books, internet publications, policy papers and a frequently published newsletter. “integration” is a quarterly journal which offers an interdisciplinary theory-based and policy-related forum for current issues of European integration. The “Jahrbuch der Europäischen Integration” annually documents and evaluates the European integration process since 1980. Also the series “Europäische Schriften” contributes to the discussion of current issues in the field of European integration.
Training: IEP’s training activities aim at the active participation in European affairs. The principal focus lies on the cooperation with countries from Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European Europe. IEP offers trainings on administrative reform and EU approximation as well as the implementation of EU-acquis in candidate countries. Complementary to the training programs the IEP is involved in study programs, which offer Master courses for young professionals, special training programs for senior officials, diplomatic services, NGOs and civil society.
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