CEPS Annual Report

Thinking Ahead for Europe

Change and challenges – but also continuity, after 40 years

Against the backdrop of a tense European and global policy arena, the EU will see lots of change in 2024. Up to 60 % of the MEPs elected during the 2024 European Parliament elections will be new faces, and they’ll soon be followed by a new European Commission and a new President of the European Council. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, there will be an age-defining US presidential election, with huge implications for Europe, both economically and geopolitically.

CEPS is ready to tackle these challenges head on. With Elżbieta Bieńkowska as the new Chair of the CEPS Board, she will be bringing a wealth of knowledge on how to effectively deal with these challenges. She was Single Market Commissioner in the Juncker Commission, and before that a Deputy Prime Minister in the Tusk government. We are also happy to have Andrea Renda as the new CEPS Director of Research. He brings impressive expertise on a wide variety of pressing topics, stretching from better regulation and the digital transformation to the transatlantic agenda and AI regulation.

We intend to strengthen our relations with our members and reach out more often (but also more effectively), not only at the EU level but also at the Member State one, as well as further develop our ties with foundations. We are involved in a record number of EU-funded Horizon projects, stretching across themes ranging from geopolitics to climate, governance to migration.

We can look back with pride on an eventful 40th anniversary year in 2023. We had a fascinating debate at Bozar in central Brussels on 28 February on the theme of ‘The Europe we want’, as well as the first official CEPS Alumni gathering in September. We transitioned to a new Chair with a lively debate on EU enlargement. In the meantime, we managed to nurture the Brussels policy debate with a broad set of publications, covering all areas of European policy in its global context.

I would like to take this occasion to thank Joaquin Almunia for his several years’ service as CEPS Chair and Cinzia Alcidi and Steven Blockmans for their almost four years as Co-Directors of Research.

Karel Lannoo
CEPS Chief Executive Officer

TOPICS

RESEARCHERS

publications

EVENTS

PARTICIPANTS

MEMBERS

RESEARCH PRIORITIES 2023-2024

Navigating the choppy waters of geopolitics

A changing economic environment

Overcoming the EU's internal governance issues

HIGHLIGHTS

For the 10th edition of Ideas Lab, ‘Moving Europe from darkness into light’, we hosted a two-day event bringing together our team of researchers and leading experts in EU policymaking across many different fields. The 2023 edition examined how well the EU has fared in facing up to the challenges of 2022 and what still needs to be changed.

To mark International Women’s Day (#IWD2023), this year CEPS launched a week-long series of op-ed style expert commentaries to highlight the insights and expertise of some of our most talented young female researchers. They covered various topics, ranging from pandemic preparedness to the myth of the gender equal platform economy, from corporate due diligence to the EU’s fiscal framework.

CEPS also marked its 40th anniversary with a first Alumni Gathering on 28 September 2023. This event welcomed back former staff members, visiting scholars, interns, and collaborators to rejoin the CEPS community. It provided an opportunity for the official launch of the CEPS Alumni Network.

Elżbieta Bieńkowska was formally appointed as the new Chair of the CEPS Board on 3 November, the first woman to hold this position. She will work with CEPS’ Board, along with the dedicated team of CEPS researchers, policy analysts and experts. She will have a particular focus on safeguarding CEPS’ reputation as an independent think tank, as well as supervising the management team.

The CEPS Board officially appointed Andrea Renda as Director of Research for a three year term. He will be leading the organisation’s agenda and research priorities from 1 November 2023 onwards. He will work closely with the CEPS Senior Research Fellows to promote research excellence and relevance. He will also be responsible for ensuring the quality of research methodologies and outputs.

January

Sophia Russack

Proudly represented CEPS in the Franco-German group that has proposed innovative reforms to reshape the EU’s institutional structure.

Andrea Renda

Appointed Fellow at DG GROW for 2023. This is the first time that DG GROW has selected academics for this distinguished advisory role.

Sergio Carrera

Speeches at a Conference and a Task Force in Cape Town, South Africa as part of the Horizon 2020 ASILE project on asylum governance

February

Steven Blockmans

Hearing on ‘Extraterritorial sanctions and EU vulnerabilities’ for the Dutch government's Advisory Council on International Affairs (which fed into their report on the international role of the euro).

Andrea Renda

Named Chair of the OECD Working Group on Artificial Intelligence Risk and Accountability.

Steven Blockmans

Speech on ‘The EU Magnitsky Act’ at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' annual conference on EU sanctions policy.

March

Irina Kustova

Speaker on the panel discussion ‘Fuel of the future: can hydrogen be the key to decarbonisation?' together with the Vice President of the European Investment Bank, the Deputy Director of DG ENER and several industry representatives.

Caterina Astarita & Alexandre Ounnas

Presentated a report about the impact of Covid-19 on income mobility and distribution at the 8th European User Conference for EUMicrodata in Germany.

Vasileios Rizos

Keynote speech during the InterBattery 2023 Conference organised by the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

Timothy Yeung

Presented the study on 'The European public health response to the Covid-19 pandemic: lessons for future crossborder health threats' at the European Parliament.

Hannah Ameye

Spoke at the CSAE conference in Oxford, UK, on Agricultural transformation, farm size, and nutritious foods in Africa.

Artur Bogucki & Paula Gürtler

Presentation of the Horizon 2020 FlexiGroBots project - ‘ELSE factors for autonomous robot fleets’ at the European Robotics Forum in Odense, Denmark.

Tinatin Akhvlediani

Named among the Most Prominent and Promising Women in the EU.

Jelmer Nagtegaal

Presented the study ‘Disclosure, inducements, and suitability rules for retail investors’ in an event organised by Generali on ‘The Economy in the service of the people? The EU retail investor strategy under discussion’.

April

Steven Blockmans

Speech on EU integration and preaccession processes at Kyiv Mohyla Business School's ‘Strategic Architects’ programme for Ukraine’s First Lady, the President’s Office, members of the Ukrainian government and parliament, key industries and NGOs.

Steven Blockmans

Speech on ‘staged accession’ at the Balkan foreign ministerial meeting on EU enlargement, organised by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Irina Kustova

Presented an Ecorys-CEPS study prepared for the European Parliament’s ITRE Committe on ‘The Revision of the Third Energy Package for Gas’

Sergio Carrera

Speech presenting the final research findings of the Horizon 2020 CHACHIPEN project and an accompanying policy brief at a conference organised by CEPS at the European Parliament.

May

Francesco Corti

Keynote speaker at the debate on the ‘Social Tracking Methodology in the EU Budget’ in Porto

Steven Blockmans

Panel chair on EU enlargement at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Lennart Meri Conference (Tallinn).

Clément Perarnaud

Presented the ‘Digital Connectivity Masterplan for the Global Gateway’ report to the EU Confederation of Development Organisations (CONCORD).

Stefania Benaglia

Took part in the ‘Festival dell’Economia 2023’ in Trento.

Edoardo Righetti

Contributed to the conference ‘Embracing the long war: Scenari per l’Europa', the final event of the ‘Rome Foreign Policy Club: Gruppo di riflessione strategica su Italia, multilateralismo e interconnessioni’ project (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rome, Italy).

Steven Blockmans

Baltic Assembly, gave a keynote speech on the future of the Eastern Partnership (Tallinn).

Tinatin Akhvlediani

Spoke at the ‘Conference on the Three Seas Initiative’, organised under the patronage of the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda.

Andrea Renda

Speaker at Campus Party, the largest event on the digital economy in Latin America.

Andrea Renda

Host and moderator of the dedicated stakeholder panel of the 4th TTC ministerial meeting in Luleö, Sweden.

Fredrik Andersson

Gave the keynote speech at the ’33rd Audit and Assurance conference’ in Edinburgh, Scotland. He also presented the ‘Study on the Audit Directive and the Audit Regulation’.

June

Fanny Sauvignon

Briefed the European Parliament's Delegations for relations with India (D-IN) on the practical means for EUIndia climate and energy cooperation.

Irina Kustova

Participated in the International Federalism Days 2023 in Munich organised by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.

Fanny Sauvignon & Stefania Benaglia

Published a paper for the G20 entitled ‘Enhancing interoperability between connectivity initiative to achieve the SDGs and Paris Climate Goals’

Andrea Renda

Recorded a podcast with Euractiv, entitled ‘The man behind the AI Act’.

Fanny Sauvignon, Stefania Benaglia & Rosanna Fanni

Took part in the AESCON - Asia Europe Sustainable Connectivity Scientific Conference.

Andreas Kopp

Spoke at the Working Party for Competitiveness and Better Regulation of the European Council on ‘Regulatory burden reduction rules and the new competitiveness target indicators proposed by the Commission’.

Dylan Macchiarini Crosson

Speaker at the NATO Youth Summit.

Sergio Carrera

Gave a speech at the High-Level Task Force on EU Migration and Asylum Cooperation with third countries to discuss the key research findings and policy recommendations of the Horizon 2020 ASILE project

Cinzia Alcidi

Participated in a panel on ‘Making climate policy part of the considerations within fiscal policy’, organised by the Dutch Council of State and the Network of EU IFI Institutions.

Apostolos Thomadakis

Spoke at a panel on ‘How can we improve Value for Money for Retail Investors?’, organised by the German Insurance Association (GDV), on the Retail Investment Strategy.

July

Tinatin Akhvlediani

Hosted a panel discussion with the Prime Minister of Croatia and the Director General of the European Commission’s DG Near on the 10th anniversary of Croatia joining the EU.

Apostolos Thomadakis:

Moderated a session on ‘The future of financial advice – how to ensure financial advice works for consumers?’, organised by DG FISMA in the context of the Roundtable on the Distribution of Retail Investment Products’.

August

Steven Blockmans

Participated in the European Commission’s High-Level Working Dinner with think tanks on the 2023 State of the Union.

Andrea Renda

Speaker at the European Forum Alpbach on the topic of ‘War and peace in the Digital Age’

Tinatin Akhvlediani

Spoke at the European Forum Alpbach on the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the EU economy.

September

Christian Egenhofer

Present at the Euro-Atlantic Resilience Forum in Bucharest

Irina Kustova & Edoardo Righetti

Spoke at the EU-US Emerging Leaders Visitors Programme at the EEAS on energy security and green industrial policy.

Steven Blockmans

Took part in the informal General Affairs Council side event on institutional reform due to enlargement.

Sophia Russack

‘The Group of Twelve’ submitted the results of its work in September 2023 and presented their recommendations to all 27 Ministers for European Affairs in the General Affairs Council.

Vasileios Rizos

Speaker during the EUROPAEUM Conference on Economic Strategic Autonomy.

Sergio Carrera

Presented the key research findings and policy recommendations at a conference and Task Force meeting in Brasilia, Brazil, part of the Horizon 2020 ASILE project on asylum governance.

October

Irina Kustova

Spoke at a workshop entitled 'Women in CCUS', jointly organised by two Horizon Europe projects, C4U and CaLby2030.

Steven Blockmans

Gave a briefing on the staged accession model at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Stefania Benaglia

Gave a briefing on Global Gateway to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).

November

Sergio Carrera & Davide Colombi

Gave a presentation to the European Parliament’s LIBE Committee on a study led by CEPS on the ‘Substitute impact assessment: Proposal for a regulation addressing situations of instrumentalisation in the field of migration and asylum’.

Damir Gojsic

Spoke at the EU SME Assembly on the Late Payment Observatory.

Cinzia Alcidi

Took part in the ‘European Employment and Social Rights Forum’ to speak about the social impacts of the digital transformation.

Steven Blockmans

Gave a briefing to the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Bundestag on the potential impact of Ukraine's membership on the EU’s institutional architecture and foreign and security policy at the Embassy of Estonia in Berlin.

Cinzia Alcidi

Presented a report on the EU’s strategic economy during a dedicated EESC session.

Stefania Benaglia

Briefed EFTA on the Global Gateway

Andrea Renda

Speaker and moderator at the International AI summit; speaker and moderator at the OECD AI Ministerial Meeting; guest on Rainews24 to discuss the EU’s autumn economic forecast.

Apostolos Thomadakis

Spoke on a panel on ‘Identifying key obstacles to markets, infrastructures, regulations and methods of overcoming them’ during the 2023 FinReg Congress in Warsaw, Poland.

December

Andrea Renda

Speaker at the annual conference of the European Commission's Regulatory Scrutiny Board; Keynote address at the annual meeting of Confindustria in Brussels; Keynote speaker at the European Parliament event for the 10th anniversary of DG SAFE.

Sergio Carrera

Interventions at the United Nations Global Refugee Forum (GRF) based on the research findings and recommendations of the Horizon 2020 ASILE project; selected to be one of the group members of the Global Academic Interdisciplinary Network (GAIN)

CEPS TURNS 40

CEPS was the first European think tank to actively advise EU policymakers. Today, we’re still the largest independent think tank in Brussels. We’ve had a front row seat for the most important developments in Europe over the past 40 years, from the fall of Soviet communism and the development of the Single Market in the 1980s, to the birth of the euro in the 1990s, and the global financial crisis of the 2000s.

Now, in the geopolitically uncertain world of the 2020s, we’ve branched out into other fields such as migration, the digital economy, jobs and skills, and security policy. In the years ahead, we must confront the climate crisis, Great Power rivalry, the return of war to Europe and a multitude of economic problems.

To mark CEPS’ 40th anniversary, we hosted a reception followed by the thought provoking high level panel debate at Bozar “The Europe we want. The Europe we need”

2023 IN PUBLICATIONS

CEPS’ exceptionally strong in-house research capability empowers us to produce over 100 publications every year, spanning more than 15 topics. In 2023, the year we celebrated our 40th anniversary, more than ever we aspire to meet the challenge set down in our motto – ‘thinking ahead for Europe’. Our publications very much form the backbone of our endeavours to achieve this. We hope you enjoy browsing back through some of our most prominent publications of the last year.

Horizon Europe Projects

Horizon Europe is the most extensive EU Research and Innovation programme to date, spanning seven years from 2021 to 2027. CEPS is proud to be involved in 20 Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 projects in 2023

TANGO-2

A Human-Centred and Ethical Development of Digital and Industrial Technologies 2022 - It Takes Two to Tango: A Synergistic Approach to Human-Machine Decision Making

Motivations, experiences and consequences of returns and readmissions policy: revealing and developing effective alternatives

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AI CODE

Through AI from Disinformation to Trust

ENSURED

Transforming and Defending Multilateralism: European Union Support for More Robust, Effective and Democratic Global Governance

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MultiFutures

Multidimensional Transition Pathway Analysis for Sustainable Futures: Exploring Alternative Paradigms and Broadening Policy Options through Innovative Scenario Development

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2023 Income Sources

Assets

Liabilities

Profit and Loss Account

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

CEPS’ revenues come from a wide variety of sources, which is fundamental to ensuring our independence. Our 2023 income is expected to have originated from many different sources, with the bulk of our net revenues (over 40 %) most likely stemming from calls for tenders and grants from the EU institutions. We received a further 17,3 % from membership fees that include a diverse group of corporations and institutions. The remaining income would have been generated through projects with private organisations (8,1%), national governments (1,5 %) and foundations (3 %), as well as through the organisation of events, such as the Ideas Lab. This breakdown does not include revenue earmarked for CEPS’ various project partners.

MEMBERSHIP

CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP

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ASSOCIATIONS MEMBERSHIP

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INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

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ABOUT CEPS

The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) stands as a preeminent think tank and a prominent forum facilitating discussions on EU affairs. Our institution boasts an unparalleled in-house research capability, coupled with an expansive network of partner institutes.

We serve as an impartial platform, fostering dialogues and proffering viable solutions for EU policymaking. This is accomplished through a spectrum of initiatives, including research projects, the publication of findings, the facilitation of task forces, and the organization of regular events and workshops.

At CEPS, our researchers are distinguished experts who offer profound insights and astute policy analysis spanning a wide spectrum of areas. These encompass economic and financial matters, strategies for enhanced regulation, the burgeoning digital economy, trade policies, energy and climate-related issues, as well as the complex domain of foreign policy, among others. Through our multifaceted approach, we endeavor to contribute significantly to the development of well-informed and effective policies within the European Union.

Centre for European Policy Studies
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