Called “strategic notes”, they provide bite-sized forecasting of migration to Europe and how the EU should respond to the newly-created Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
“[The notes] appear every other week and are analyses of topics chosen by the President of the European Commission,” the EPSC website says.
The ESPC, fronted by former chief of The Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based think tank, is the revamped and re-branded Bureau for European Policy Advisors (BEPA) which was the policy service that existed under José Manuel Barroso, ex-Commission President.
It forms research clusters around five broad themes: social affairs, institutional affairs, economy, sustainable development and foreign affairs. There is also be an outreach and communications team.
The EPSC will be also be open to any Commissioner who requests strategic insight or long-term policy advice.
History of the service
The lineage of the EU’s policy advice service dates back to 1989 when the then-President, Jacques Delors, created the Forward Studies Unit. Following criticism from some quarters, the unit was re-organised in 2000.BEPA was created in 2004 by Barroso. He tweaked the office in 2010 when he switched its focus from three areas – political, economic and societal – to two: outreach and analysis.
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