EUROPEAN POLICY CENTRE

Their core work

The European Policy Centre is a Brussels-based independent think tank that produces evidence-based analysis on EU governance, integration dynamics, and European institutional affairs. In H2020 projects, they contributed policy advisory capacity to research consortia — evaluating implications of scientific findings for EU policymaking and assessing major governance challenges including Brexit, EMU reform, migration, and foreign policy differentiation. Their core value is translating complex academic research into actionable policy intelligence, with direct proximity to EU institutions that few academic partners can offer. They sit at the intersection of political science, institutional analysis, and research governance ethics.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their first H2020 project (PRO-RES, 2018) placed them squarely in the research governance space — how scientific evidence should be used responsibly in policymaking, with an emphasis on research ethics and impact assessment. By 2019, their second project (EU IDEA) marked a sharp pivot toward EU constitutional and political analysis, covering Brexit, EMU reform, single market integrity, migration, and multi-speed Europe dynamics. The shift suggests EPC's H2020 engagement moved from meta-level science-policy interface toward substantive EU political economy and institutional fragmentation — topics much closer to their core think tank identity.

EPC is moving toward deeper engagement with EU constitutional fragmentation and multi-speed Europe questions, making them a natural fit for future projects examining institutional reform, European political futures, or governance of differentiated integration.

How they like to work

EPC has participated exclusively as a consortium partner in both H2020 projects and has never led one as coordinator — consistent with a think tank that contributes targeted policy expertise to research-driven initiatives rather than managing technical agendas. Their two projects nonetheless involved 28 unique partners across 17 countries, indicating they join large, multi-stakeholder consortia rather than small bilateral arrangements. For prospective partners, this means EPC is a reliable specialist voice within broader academic-led projects, not a project manager or infrastructure provider.

EPC has connected with 28 unique partners across 17 countries through just two projects — an unusually wide reach for a small portfolio, pointing to large multi-country consortia. Their Brussels location makes them a natural node between EU institutions and the academic research community across member states.

What sets them apart

As one of Europe's most established independent Brussels think tanks, EPC offers direct institutional proximity and credibility with EU decision-makers that most university or research institute partners cannot replicate. Their combination of research integrity expertise (PRO-RES) and EU political analysis (EU IDEA) makes them a rare partner capable of both framing the ethics of how evidence is used and analysing the political systems that use it. For consortia needing a policy translation layer between academic findings and Brussels-level impact, EPC fills a gap that is otherwise hard to fill.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EU IDEA
  Largest budget in their portfolio (EUR 291,094) and broadest thematic scope — covering Brexit, EMU, single market, migration, AFSJ, and foreign security policy under a single constitutional analysis framework.
• PRO-RES
  Addressed the under-explored question of research integrity in policymaking, positioning EPC as a bridge between scientific practice and ethical governance of evidence use.