European Leadership Network

European Leadership Network (ELN) is a pan-European think-tank focusing on European foreign, defence and security issues based in London, United Kingdom.[1] The ELN's Director is Sir Adam Thomson,[2] former UK Permanent Representative to NATO.

European Leadership Network logo.

History and Organisation

The ELN was founded as part of a project by the Nuclear Security Project in an effort to "help create the political space for dialogue, education and action on the vision and steps toward a world without nuclear weapons.".[3] At the end of 2013 the ELN broadened its focus and remit of work to address a much wider range of foreign and security policy challenges facing Europe.

The ELN is currently chaired by former UK Defence Secretary Des Browne and is directed by Sir Adam Thomson.[4] In March 2015, Lord Browne and former Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, both won the prestigious Nunn-Lugar Award for Promoting Nuclear Security, in part for their work with the European Leadership Network.[5]

The ELN specialises on security issues.[6]

On 27 March 2015 the Carnegie Corporation of New York announced that it was funding the European Leadership Network for 24 months, as part of its philanthropic efforts.[7]

Activities

The ELN operates through a network of former European political, military, and diplomatic leaders and supports this network with in-house research and events.[8] The network itself contains members not just from the EU but also Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Georgia, Albania, Norway, and Serbia.[9] Such a scope has as its basis a conception of a Greater Europe similar to that of the OSCE.

In 2014 the European Leadership Network has expanded to tackle broader European and global security issues, including the Ebola crisis,[10] near-misses between Russian and Western militaries,[11] and the expanding Russo-Chinese relationship[12]

A report published by the European Leadership Network in 2015, title Dangerous Brinkmanship: closer military encounters between Russia and the West in 2015[13] generated considerable attention around the world.[11][14][15][16] At the 2015 Munich Security Conference in February 2015, conference chairman Wolfgang Ischinger, also a member of the European Leadership Network, publicly questioned Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the findings of the ELN report. In May 2015, 68 members of the European Leadership Members signed a global statement in support of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ahead of its Review Conference in New York.[17] The statement was also signed by senior figures from Latin America, the United States and Asia-Pacific.

The European Leadership Network administers the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (TLG)[18]

Partners

Supporters

References
  1. "Dereliction of Duty". The Times. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  2. "Adam Thomson". www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org.
  3. "Leadership Networks - About - Nuclear Security Project". nuclearsecurityproject.org. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  4. "Trident is no longer key to Britain's security". Telegraph.co.uk. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-03-28. Retrieved 2015-04-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Castle, Stephen (May 10, 2015). "Russia Tests Distant Waters, Resurfacing Cold War Fears" – via NYTimes.com.
  7. "Carnegie Corporation of New York: CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK BOARD APPROVES 24 GRANTS TOTALING $15,831,400". carnegie.org. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  8. White October Ltd. "About". europeanleadershipnetwork.org. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  9. White October Ltd. "Network Participants". europeanleadershipnetwork.org. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  10. "The great Ebola catastrophe: when will the world wake up?". The Independent. October 3, 2014.
  11. Cowell, Alan (November 10, 2014). "Researchers Detail a Spike in NATO-Russia Close Calls" – via NYTimes.com.
  12. "Guest post: Russia and China – Friends or 'frenemies'?". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  13. "Dangerous Brinkmanship: Close Military Encounters Between Russia and the West in 2014". www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org.
  14. "Nato-Russia incidents came close to conflict, says think-tank". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  15. "Russia's 'close military encounters' with Europe documented". BBC News. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  16. "Russian military aircraft posing threat by turning off communication devices". South China Morning Post. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  17. "More than 100 Current and Former Senior Leaders Issue Urgent Call for Successful 2015 NPT Review Conference & Outline Key Steps for Progress | NTI News More than 100 Current and Former Senior Leaders Issue Urgent Call for Successful 2015 NPT Review Conference & Outline Key Steps for Progress | NTI". www.nti.org.
  18. "About". Top Level Group. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  19. "Partner Organizations". NTI: Nuclear Threat Initiative. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  20. "European Leadership Network Visits Washington". ploughshares.org. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  21. "The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust - Database of funded projects". jrct.org.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
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