Annual report 2004 - Compagnia di San Paolo

Institutional activities in 2004
Scientific, economic and juridical research
The conference that closed the first edition of the European Foreign and Security Policy Studies Programme (Source Fa. Bildschön, Berlin)
European Foreign and Security Policy Studies Programme
For some years the Compagnia has dedicated its
attention to subjects connected to European integration
and international relations; among the wide-ranging
initiatives promoted in this field, the advanced research
and training programme European Foreign and Security
Policy Studies (EFSPS) stands out. Foreign policy and
security in Europe are still considered to be national
issues. However, international events of the last few years
demonstrate that violence and terrorism do not stop at
national frontiers: it is now much more important than in
the past to ask ourselves how the European Union can
guarantee security. More generally, in the construction of
a “Political Europe” the dimension of overseas politics
and defence performs a fundamental role. These are
some of the themes tackled in the EFSPS programme,
performed in 2004 by the Compagnia di San Paolo in cooperation
with Stiftelsen Riksbankens Jubileumsfond
(Stockholm) and the VolkswagenStiftung (Hanover). The
three foundations gave grants of € 500,000 each as
initial funding for the project. The EFSPS programme, the
first initiative between European foundations for
advanced training in the field of “Common Foreign and
Security Policy” (CFSP) and of “European Security and
Defence Policy” (ESDP), was promoted to support
growth of the next generation of intellectual leaders, able
to encourage – also in public debate – the overcoming of
national points of view in favour of a transnational
perspective.
The initiative supported by the three foundations offers to
researchers and young professionals engaged in the
field of foreign policy and security the possibility to
perform research, spend periods of work experience at
European Institutions, construct networks through
participation in workshops and other public gatherings.
Within the overall theme of PESC, the candidates, under
32 years of age, can choose freely their own research
topics.
Over a five-year period the programme seeks to construct
a network of young researchers able to formulate
innovative proposals in the fields of foreign policy and
defence. The participants are chosen on the basis of their
personal qualifications and the quality of the work project
proposed in the fields of CFSP and ESDF and their effect
on public debate. The selected candidates are
encouraged to participate in conferences and summer
schools together with senior researchers and
professionals, in order to promote reciprocal exchange of
experience and knowledge between participants and
contact with academic and professional worlds. The
participants who have completed positively the research
and training programme will be able to work and provide
innovative contributions in the university environment, or
as analysts for institutes or think tanks, in the media, in the
public sector or in non-governmental organisations.
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