ECFR's Statement of Principles

We call on the governments of the European Union to develop a more coherent and vigorous foreign policy, informed by our shared values, dedicated to the pursuit of our common European interests, and sustained by European power.

We endorse the following principles:

1. When faced by the great powers of today and the rising giants of tomorrow, individual European countries regard the world as beyond their control. But if it speaks with one voice, the Europe Union can help shape the world order.

2. It is only by acting together that European Union countries can effectively pursue their common interests, from combating climate change to reducing poverty, from defending human rights and averting genocide to stopping the spread of deadly weapons and addressing the causes of violent extremism.

3. The European Union's foreign policy should be backed up with all of Europe's economic, political, cultural and, as a last resort, military power. Our commitment to strong and effective multilateral institutions must be matched by a drive to increase European influence within them.

4. Starting with the European Union's neighbours, the best way to secure peace and prosperity is to honour existing commitments to countries seeking membership and to encourage political reforms with more generous offers of economic opportunity and political cooperation.

5. European transformative power can reach beyond its immediate neighbourhood. The European Union should leverage the world's largest single market and most generous aid budgets to promote the values we believe in, both in other parts of the world and in multilateral institutions.

Europeans will benefit from having a stronger voice in the world and the world will benefit from a stronger European Union.

Signed by the 50 Founding Members of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Members' list

1.    Urban Ahlin (Sweden) - Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee; foreign policy spokesperson for the Social Democratic Party
2.    Giuliano Amato (Italy) - Minister of Interior; former Prime Minister and vice president of the European Convention
3.    Martti Ahtisaari (Finland) - UN Special Envoy for the Future Status Process for Kosovo; President of the Crisis Management Initiative; former President
4.    Hannes Androsch (Austria) -  Founder of AIC Androsch International Management Consulting
5.    Marek Belka (Poland) -  Executive Director of the UN Economic Commission for Europe; former Prime Minister
6.    Svetoslav Bojilov (Bulgaria) -  Founder of the Communitas Foundation, President of Venture Equity Bulgaria Ltd.
7.    Emma Bonino (Italy) -  Minister for Europe and International Trade; former European Commissioner
8.    Robert Cooper (United Kingdom) - Director-General for External and Politico-Military Affairs, Council of the EU General Secretariat
9.    Marta Dassu (Italy) - Diplomatic adviser to Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema; Director of the Aspen Institute Italia
10.  Gijs de Vries (The Netherlands) - Senior Fellow at the Clingendael Institute; former EU Counter-terrorism Coordinator
11.  Jean-Luc Dehaene (Belgium) - Member of the European Parliament, former Prime Minister and vice president of the European Convention
12.  Gianfranco Dell'Alba (Italy) - Chef de Cabinet for Minister Emma Bonino
13.  Andrew Duff (United Kingdom) - Member of the European Parliament, ALDE
14.  Sarmite Elerte (Latvia) - Editor-in-chief of Latvian daily newspaper Diena
15.  Brian Eno (United Kingdom) - musician and producer
16.  Joschka Fischer (Germany) - former Foreign Minister and vice-Chancellor
17.  Timothy Garton Ash (United Kingdom) - Professor of European Studies at Oxford University
18.  Bronislaw Geremek (Poland) - Member of the European Parliament, ALDE; former Foreign Minister
19.  Diego Hidalgo (Spain) - Co-founder of Spanish newspaper El Pais and President of FRIDE
20.  Mary Kaldor (United Kingdom) - Professor and Director of the Centre for the Study of Global Governance, London School of Economics
21.  Gerald Knaus (Germany) - Founding director of the European Stability Initiative
22.  Rem Koolhaas (The Netherlands) - architect and urbanist; Professor at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University
23.  Caio Koch-Weser (Germany) - Vice Chairman of the Deutsche Bank Group; former State Secretary
24.  Ivan Krastev (Bulgaria) - Chair of Board, Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, Bulgaria
25.  Mart Laar (Estonia) - Former Prime Minister of Estonia
26.  Mark Leonard (United Kingdom) - Executive Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations
27.  Adam Lury (United Kingdom) - Director of Menemsha Ltd; former advisor to Lord Browne
28.  Alain Minc (France) - Chairman of Le Monde; Head of consulting group AM Conseil
29.  Christine Ockrent (France) - Editor-in-chief at France Télévision
30.  Leoluca Orlando (Italy) - MP; President of the Sicilian Renaissance Institute
31.  Cem Özdemir (Germany) - Member of the European Parliament, Green Party
32.  Simon Panek (Czech Republic) - Chairman of the People in Need Foundation
33.  Teresa Patricio Gouveia (Portugal) - Trustee to the Board of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation; former Foreign Minister
34.  Chris Patten (United Kingdom) - Chancellor of Oxford University; Former EU Commissioner and Governor of Hong Kong
35.  Diana Pinto (France) - Historian and author
36.  Andrew Puddephatt (United Kingdom) - Director of Global Partners & Associated Ltd.
37.  Sigrid Rausing (Sweden) - Founder of the Sigrid Rausing Trust
38.  Albert Rohan (Austria) - Deputy to the UN Special Envoy for the Future Status Process for Kosovo
39.  Pierre Schori (Sweden) - Director General of FRIDE; and SRSG to Cote d' Ivoire
40.  Elif Shafak (Turkey) - Author
41.  Narcís Serra (Spain) - Chair of CIDOB Foundation; former Vice President
42.  Aleksander Smolar (Poland) - Chairman of the Board, Stefan Batory Foundation
43.  George Soros (Hungary/US) - Chairman, Open Society Institute
44.  Dominique Strauss-Kahn (France) - MP, Professor at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris; Former Finance Minister
45.  Helle Thorning Schmidt (Denmark) - Leader of the Social Democratic Party
46.  Michiel van Hulten (The Netherlands) - Managing Director of Burson-Masteller, Brussels; Former MEP and chairman of the Dutch Labour Party
47.  Mabel van Oranje (The Netherlands) - International Advocacy Director, Open Society Institute
48.  Antonio Vitorino (Portugal) - Lawyer and former European Commissioner
49.  Sir Stephen Wall (United Kingdom) -  Chairman of Hill and Knowlton (Public Affairs EMEA) and former Europe advisor to PM Tony Blair
50.  Andre Wilkens (Germany) - Executive Director of the Open Society Institute in Brussels