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EUROTHINK – Centre for European Strategies, Skopje

Mission

EUROTHINK – Centre for European Strategies is a non-governmental, non-partisan, non-profit and secular association of citizens, which supports accession of the Republic of Macedonia to the EU and Europeanization of the society by research and evidence-based policy-making, professional training and counselling, regional cooperation and advocacy for changes. EUROTHINK has a wide base of donors and obtains its funding through various activities, encompassing research, monitoring, project management, grants, and training fees.

Goals

• research and analysis of EU institutions, common policies and legislation, Republic of Macedonia’s accession in the EU and society’s Europeanization;
• education on the European Union and its institutions, common policies and legislation;
• provision of expert assistance in all fields related to the EU, such as EU acquis and common policies, and in EUROTHINK’s other fields of operation;
• awareness raising on importance of the Union, its institutions, legislation, and common policies;
• support and facilitation of Republic of Macedonia’s accession in the EU.

Assets

• Complete independence to set its own research priorities and freedom from any outside influence.
• Quality research and advocacy by 6 (five) full-time researchers-analysts, 3 (three) of which are senior researchers-analysts and 1 (one) communication specialist. The office is headed by an Executive Director.
• Strong membership base of 16 experts in various fields, certified EU trainers by the German Foundation InWEnt from Bonn, and the Institute for European Politics from Berlin; certified trainers in public policy writing certified by the Local Government Initiative of the Open Society Institute from Budapest; professionals that contribute to the accession of the Republic of Macedonia to the EU and the Europeanisation of society.

Programme Structure

The Executive Board having in mind the mid-term organisational strategy adopted recently the priorities for the period 2016-2020. The three thematic priorities are:

• INSTITUTIONS, covering the aspects of 1) Institutional Development, 2) Urgent Reform Priorities and 3) Accession Negotiations;
• FOREIGN POLICY, covering the aspects of 1) NATO Accession; 2) Berlin Process; 3) EU as a Global Player; and 4) Cross-Border Cooperation;
• EUROPEANISATION, covering the aspects of 1) Work with Constituents; 2) Surveying; and 3) Democracy, Populism and Political Culture.

Research Programmes

The current working programme of the organisation includes the following research and monitoring projects:

• Survey Research – EUROMETER
• Monitoring the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and responsibility of the independent regulatory bodies in the Media sector – PROformance Watch
• IPA – Civic Alliance for Transparency;
• Mechanism of Civil Society Organizations for IPA2
• Critical Thinking for Mediawise Citizens – CriThink
• Supporting Civil Society Involvement in Policy Making
• Blueprint for Urgent Democratic Reforms
• Debating Sessions under Chatham House Rule – EUROTALK