FRIDE - European Council on Foreign Relations

European Council on Foreign Relations

As the European Union prepares to sign a new treaty at the October inter-governmental conference in Lisbon, fifty prominent Europeans launch the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) on 2 October, to promote a more coherent and vigorous European foreign policy in support of Europe's common interests and shared values.

Among the fifty founding members are former prime ministers, presidents, European commissioners, current and former parliamentarians and ministers, public intellectuals, and cultural figures from 27 EU member states - including Martti Ahtisaari, Giuliano Amato, Emma Bonino, Jean-Luc Dehaene, Joschka Fischer, Timothy Garton Ash, Bronislaw Geremek, Mart Laar, Chris Patten, Dominique Strauss-Kahn as well as music producer Brian Eno, the architect Rem Koolhaas, the author Elif Shafak, the Hungarian-born philanthropist George Soros, and Diego Hidalgo, Co-Founder and President of FRIDE.