European political foundations (EPF) play a crucial role in shaping and supporting the objectives of their affiliated political parties within the European Union. Registered with the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations, these organisations actively contribute to the Union-wide discourse on public policy. Their activities include organising seminars, training sessions, and conferences, as well as conducting studies and research focused on European public policy issues. In this article, we explore what challenges European political foundations face in supporting member parties.
The evolution of European political foundations
While successful political foundations have existed on a national level (Germany is one of the best examples), the phenomenon is quite young on a European level, as most of them were established in 2007. The Commission proposal from 2007 mentions that EPFs can “underpin and complement the activities of the political parties by undertaking a range of activities that contribute to the debate on European public policy issues and European integration, including by acting as catalysts for new ideas, analysis and policy options”.
A large chunk of the funding of these EPFs is provided by the European Parliament, depending on the number of MEPs of the European group or party. Hence, the largest political foundations in the previous mandate have been EPP’s Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, S&D’s Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) and Renew Europe/ALDE Party’s European Liberal Forum (ELF). They respectively scored approximately 6, 5, and 2.5 million euros worth of grants from the European Parliament in 2022. They are followed by the European Greens’ Green European Foundation, which gets around 2.2 million euros.
Regulation 1141: framework and challenges
The functioning of European political foundations, as well as the extent to which they can or cannot support political parties, is governed by Regulation No 1141/2014 of the European Parliament. In an attempt to understand the implications of this regulation on the work of political foundations, I have talked to three of them – Martens Centre, European Liberal Forum and Green European Foundation.
The regulation offers a structured environment for political foundations to operate and gives them legitimacy to operate across different EU member states. It also facilitates cross-border activities, allowing foundations to interact and collaborate beyond their national boundaries, thus promoting a more integrated European political dialogue.
Regulatory vagueness
One significant challenge shared by the three foundations is the regulation’s vagueness, particularly regarding the prohibition on direct and indirect funding of political parties. This ambiguity leads to varied interpretations and strict enforcement by authorities, creating uncertainty for foundations. In addition, foundations often face a stringent regulatory environment where even minor missteps can lead to severe penalties. Tomi Huhatnen, Executive Director of the Martens Centre, observed, “The whole bureaucracy and the interpretation of the regulation has become much more rigid.”
Participation in campaigns
Secondly, the regulation prohibits foundations from participating in campaigns or promoting candidates, which limits their ability to engage fully in the political process. This restriction can hamper efforts to stimulate debate and participation in European elections. Revising the rules around campaigning can allow more engagement in pre-election activities and could enhance foundations’ roles in promoting democratic participation. Tomi Huhatnen added, “What is the better moment for the European political foundations to contribute to the European debate than the run-up to the elections?”
The restriction of co-financing political foundations
Another problematic area identified by the foundations is the co-financing requirement, which states that foundations must generate a portion of their funding independently. Laurent Standaert, the Director of the Green European Foundation, mentions that the regulation makes it difficult to secure additional funding because the regulation has a very restrictive list of co-financing possibilities. The budgets that European foundations receive, while not meagre, cannot compare with the budgets of some of the national political foundations.
For example, the German social-democratic SPD party’s foundation Friedrich Ebert Stiftung’s 2022 budget, generated mainly from federal and state budgets, equals 195 million euros. Compared to FEPS, which received 5 million euros in 2022 to work on the whole continent and beyond, it is obvious that the scale of impact for European political foundations is much lower. Standaert says that while the European political foundations’ framework has been inspired by the German model, their resources are much higher considering their objectives. “So either you choose to stay in Brussels and do limited activities, or you can opt for having a wider reach but smart impact.” The solution to this could be either giving EPFs more autonomy on the 5 percent of co-financing or removing the co-financing requirement and making them fully public institutions.
The role of non-EU members
Alva Finn, the Executive Director of the European Liberal Forum, raised another challenge regarding the current discussions about the role of non-EU members within the European foundations ecosystem. Allowing non-EU countries to retain their current roles as full members with voting rights within the foundations would strengthen European integration efforts. “This discussion comes at a time in which Europe needs to flex its influence on neighbouring countries who want to join the EU, not retreat and push them out of our institutions. While it is clear that they should have a limited role compared to EU member state organisations, they need to be involved in the European political landscape to prepare for their entry to the EU,” says Finn.
As Laurent Standaert from GEF noted, the regulation is “as any European legal document, a compromise of many different institutions”. While it needs an update to empower and support EPFs in their mission a decade after the political reality on the continent has changed, “we should all, as European citizens and beyond, be thankful that it exists in the first place.”
Influencing policy-making
Through a series of activities, European political foundations play an important role in shaping policy-making and political discourse by providing essential support to member parties. This support manifests in various forms, including political education, research and policy analysis, bridge-building between academia, politics and industry, and much more.
While political foundations work with their member parties, the scope and the formats of this collaboration differ from one organisation to another. For example, in 2023, the Martens Centre published a series of papers offering 175 proposals for the next legislature in the areas of debt, decarbonisation, defence, democracy, demography, de-risking globalisation, and digitalisation. GEF, on the other hand, is planning to organise its flagship European Green Academy in November with knowledge and training components. The European Liberal Forum is a partner in The Alliance Of Her Academy, which empowers and helps young female politicians to succeed in politics.
Political foundations are supposed to be editorially independent of parties and more ‘loyal’ to the dominating political ideology or philosophy of the party. This would ensure that there is the centre of intellectual gravity European parties can always return to despite the changes in internal dynamics and elections.
One significant advantage political foundations have over political parties is their ability to take a long-term view of policy development. Alva Finn from ELF notes, “Sometimes politics is very immediate. Political foundations do forethinking – they’re planning ahead for the next 3-10 years, which a party just isn’t always in the position to do.” This capacity allows foundations to engage in in-depth research involving academia and civil society that informs present and future policymaking.
Political foundations also contribute significantly to political education going beyond the capabilities of national education systems, which is essential for democratic engagement. Laurent Standaert from GEF stresses this point, noting, “Political education at all ages is necessary in order to have that open-mindedness and an open society perspective.”
Foundations also play a critical role in shaping ideological discourse, balancing ideological independence with the need for broader European perspectives. Despite their ideological differences, EPFs seem more willing to work together than political parties, emphasising that, in the end, they want the same thing: a better European project.
Closing thoughts
European political foundations face significant regulatory and financial challenges that limit their full potential in supporting member parties. Addressing these issues could enhance their ability to contribute more effectively to the European political landscape.
