TRANS EUROPEAN POLICY STUDIES ASSOCIATION

Their core work

TEPSA is a Brussels-based network of European policy research institutes and think tanks that provides expert analysis on EU governance, integration, and foreign policy. They specialize in scenario-building and policy advice on how the EU manages internal diversity and external relationships, particularly with neighboring regions. Their core contribution is translating academic political science and legal research into actionable policy recommendations for EU decision-makers and member state governments.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

TEPSA's early H2020 work (2016–2019) split between EU-Turkey relations and a distinct push into Central Asia geopolitics, reflecting a broad EU external relations agenda. From 2019 onward, they pivoted sharply inward — concentrating on EU internal governance, specifically how member states can integrate at different speeds and depths (differentiated integration). The later projects show a deliberate deepening, with both InDivEU and DiCE addressing nearly identical themes, suggesting TEPSA is building a niche as a go-to network for EU differentiation policy.

TEPSA is consolidating around EU internal governance and differentiation — expect them to seek projects on multi-speed Europe, treaty reform, and flexible integration models.

How they like to work

TEPSA has never coordinated an H2020 project, always joining as a participant — consistent with their role as a think-tank network that contributes expert analysis rather than managing large research operations. With 53 unique partners across 33 countries from just 4 projects, they operate in very large consortia and bring exceptional geographic breadth. This makes them a strong network node: they know many actors across Europe and can connect consortium builders to policy experts in numerous countries.

Remarkably broad network for a small project portfolio: 53 distinct partners across 33 countries from only 4 projects. This reflects TEPSA's nature as a pan-European association of research institutes, giving them reach well beyond what their project count suggests.

What sets them apart

TEPSA is not a single research institute — it is a coordinating network of European policy think tanks, which means partnering with them gives you access to policy expertise across dozens of countries simultaneously. Their deep focus on EU differentiated integration makes them one of the few organizations that can provide structured, scenario-based advice on how the EU will evolve institutionally. For any consortium needing a policy analysis partner with genuine pan-European reach, TEPSA offers an unusually dense web of connections from a single partnership.

Highlights from their portfolio

• DiCE
  Largest funding (EUR 362K) and produced a concrete 'differentiation manual' — a practical policy tool, not just academic output.
• SEnECA
  Unusual geographic scope covering all five Central Asian states, showing TEPSA's capacity to operate beyond core EU policy topics.
• InDivEU
  Directly addressed one of the EU's most politically sensitive questions — how to manage integration at different speeds across member states.