About Us

European Ideas is an independent and non-partisan platform encouraging an open debate about current issues directly affecting the future of the European continent.

We believe that many academics and experts can substantially contribute to solve Europe’s most pressing challenges. The problem is that they often do not have a platform to reach a wider audience. Therefore, our main goal is to give those experts a platform to share their brilliant ideas and insights with engaged and smart people like YOU.

We also hope that European Ideas helps to increase the perceived legitimacy of the European project by strengthening the European Public Sphere between European citizens and decision-makers.

The beta-version of our website was launched on the 1^st of January 2012. European Ideas will feature a growing collection of video-interviews, lectures, opinion pieces and short articles by academics and policy-makers on central European affairs topics.

European Ideas was founded by Olivier Gergely and Simon Leissinger and our team consists of 25 Student Ambassadors at some of Europe’s most reputable universities, including the University of Oxford, Cambridge University, Sciences Po Paris, the London School of Economics and Political Science, the College of Europe, University College London, European University Institute Florence, the School of Oriental and African Studies, the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Cass Business School and the University of Leuven. We also have two Ambassadors in the United States (one at Brown University) who will focus on transatlantic relations.

We have also established collaborative relationships with lecture series and societies at several institutions. Since March 2012 we have also a collaboration with EUROPP, The European Politics and Policy blog of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

European Ideas has published articles, interviews and lectures by the following experts and by many others:

Dick Roche (former Irish Minister for European Affairs)

Vesna Pusic (Croatian Foreign Minister)

Guido Westerwelle (German Foreign Minister)

Ewald Nowotny (Governor of the Austrian Central Bank)

Johannes Hahn (EU Commissioner)

Viviane Reding (EU Commissioner)

Hannes Swoboda (Member of the European Parliament)

Daniel Cohn-Bendit (Member of the European Parliament)

Ulrike Lunacek (Member of the European Parliament)

Michael Cramer (Member of the European Parliament)

Othmar Karas (Member of the European Parliament)

Lara Comi (Member of the European Parliament)

Manfred Weber (Member of the European Parliament)

Birgit Schnieber-Jastram (Member of the European Parliament)

Karin Kadenbach (Member of the European Parliament)

Elisabeth Köstinger (Member of the European Parliament)

Thomas Mirow (President of the EBRD)

Simon Hix (London School of Economics)

Jan Zielonka (University of Oxford)

Othon Anastasakis (University of Oxford)

Brendan Simms (University of Cambridge)

Francesco Saraceno (Sciences-Po Paris)

Didier Bigo (Sciences-Po Paris; King’s College London)