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Open Europe

The Status Quo is Not an Option
Formation	2005
Legal status	Non-profit
Purpose	Original research into EU reform
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Director	Mats Persson
Affiliations	Open Europe Berlin, Stockholm Network
Website	Open Europe

Open Europe is a think tank with offices in London and Brussels and an independent partner organization in Berlin, promoting ideas for economic and political reform of the European Union.

The think-tank was set up by business people and is a proponent of a flexible model for European integration, allowing for EU member states to integrate with each other to different degrees and for powers to also be returned from the EU to member states. Open Europe is a keen advocate of an economically liberal EU Single Market as well as supportive of the EU's freedom of movement, but has called for less EU involvement in several other policy areas.

Open Europe conducts research; organises events; sends out a widely-read daily European press summary compiled by a multilingual research team, and is active on social media. Open Europe was awarded 'International Think Tank of the Year 2012' by Prospect Magazine. Open Europe's Director is Mats Persson.

History

Open Europe was launched on 20 October 2005 in London by business people "to contribute positive new thinking to the debate about the future direction of the European Union". Rodney Leach was the founding chairman. Neil O'Brien is a former Director.

Supporters & Funding

Neither Open Europe nor its research is funded by any government, the EU, NGO or public company. A full list of Open Europe's supporters is found on its website. Prominent supporters include:

• Lord Leach of Fairford is Open Europe's Chairman. Lord Leach has been closely involved with the EU debate in the UK for over a decade. He is the former Chairman of the campaign group "Business for Sterling".
• Michael Spencer is the founder and Chief Executive of ICAP, the world's largest interdealer broker. He is also currently the owner of spread betting firm City Index and the chairman of the brokerage firm Numis Securities.
• Simon Wolfson is Chief Executive of Next.

Open Europe is a member of the Stockholm Network of economically liberal think tanks.

Activities

Open Europe regularly publishes original research aimed at promoting new ideas among key EU policy makers, business people and academics.

Throughout the eurozone and European debt crises, Open Europe has produced ongoing research and commentary, including on the Greek, Irish and Portuguese bailuts and a number of briefings on the state of the Spanish economy.

Open Europe sends out a daily press summary, compiled by a multilingual research team, covering the key news from around Europe. It has become regarded as a reference point for EU and eurozone politics

Open Europe holds regular seminars and discussions on EU reform. Speakers at Open Europe events have included William Hague, David Lidington, Mark Hoban, Maroš Šefčovič, Alexandr Vondra, John Bruton, Carl Bildt, James Brokenshire, Gisela Stuart, Sir Stephen Wall, Alberto Alesina, Vincent Cable, Miguel Arias Cañete Otmar Issing, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, Lord Myners, Elmar Brok, Antonio Sáinz de Vicuña, Lord Trimble and Derk-Jan Eppink.

The organisation conducts polling on EU-related issues, both at a national level and European level, including a two-part Open Europe/ YouGov Deutschland poll on "German Voters Sentiments on Europe" ahead of the German federal election, 2013 , and a Open Europe/ ComRes poll investigating the UK electorate's relationship with the EU.

Open Europe works with the Fresh Start Project of Conservative MPs researching ideas for EU reform.

In 2013 Open Europe organised public simulated negotiations over reform of the European Union, and the UK's relationship with it, in a so-called "wargame".

EU Reform Conference

On January 15-16 2014, Open Europe and the Fresh Start Project organised a "Pan-European Conference for EU reform" for delegates from the UK and Europe. The Conference was opened by the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne delivering his first set-speech on Europe while in Government, and marking the first major speech on Europe by a senior UK Conservative Minister since the UK Prime Minister David Cameron's 'Bloomberg' speech in January 2013.

Additional speakers included Maria Damanaki the European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs ; Paschal Donohoe, Irish Minister for European Affairs ; Rachida Dati, a Member of the European Parliament, the Mayor of the 7th_arrondissement of Paris and Deputy President of the French Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) Party ; Frits Bolkestein, Former European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services; Peter Norman, Swedish Minister for Financial Markets ; and Klaus-Peter Willsch, a German CDU Politican and member of the Bundestag.

Dr Imke Henkel of German weekly Focus labelled the conference" potentially historic" by "leading towards a constructive British Europe policy, which provides the important impetus towards the necessary reforms of the European Community”. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Iain Martin called it a “a hugely uplifting gathering”, which “would simply not have taken place before the euro crisis almost brought about the collapse of the single currency” .

Work for All Party Parliamentary Group for EU Reform

In the UK, Open Europe acts as the secetariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for EU Reform. Their work has included concluding a series of reports on EU subjects and the UK's relationship with the EU. Subjects include Financial Services, Social and Employment law, Agricultural Policy, Immigration, Trade, the EU budget, Criminal Justice and Regional policy.

Positions

Open Europe states that its vision is "of a slimmed-down, outward-looking EU, which: facilitates and encourages free trade, internally and globally; is democratic, transparent and accountable to citizens; doesn't interfere in areas better – or equally well – handled locally or nationally; regulates far less but far better; is flexible enough to let powers flow back from the EU to its member states, and to let countries integrate with each other to different degrees. Open Europe believes that an adaptable EU is the right way to reconcile the historic demand of some member states for more integration and the deep-felt desire of many voters for less."

The think tank has published several studies on the impact of regulation, including a 2010 study analysing more than 2,000 Impact Assessments. It estimated that in 2009, EU regulation introduced since 1998 cost the UK economy £19.3 billion, accounting for 59% of the total cost of regulation in Britain in that year. The study also estimated the cumulative cost of EU regulation since 1998 at £124 billion, 71% of the total cost.

Open Europe has published numerous studies on regulation of the financial markets. In 2009, the group published what was widely considered one of the first comprehensive impact assessments on the EU’s AIFM Directive on stricter regulation for hedge funds and private equity firms.

In a 2008 assessment of the EU’s Climate Action and Renewable Energy Package, the group claimed the policy had contradictory elements, pursued carbon reduction a very expensive way, and was insufficiently flexible. It recommended that the EU instead adopted overall targets for cutting carbon emissions, but then allow each member state to meet these targets in whatever way it considered the most cost-effective. When the European Commission proposed dropping binding renewable energy targets for Member States in favour of an overall emissions reduction target in 2014, Open Europe wrote that its 2008 recommendation had been vindicated and that "the binding renewables targets have been an expensive failure."

In 2008, research by Open Europe claimed that 96 percent of the text of the Lisbon Treaty is the same as the rejected European Constitution, based on a side-by-side comparison of the two texts.

In 2005, Open Europe published a study claiming that trade liberalisation and reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy would boost EU GDP as a whole by over 2% - roughly equivalent to €200 billion.

Over the years the organisation claims to have exposed numerous cases of EU waste and mismanagement involving EU subsidies, arguing strongly for wholesale reform of the EU’s Budget.

Reception

Writing in The Daily Telegraph in 2014, journalist Louise Armitstead argued that Open Europe had "developed a reputation for coming up with practical solutions" and showed there was "increasingly a solid and practical case for reform. Free trade and pro-markets politicians like Osborne can now criticise Brussels with a real chance of being listened to."

In December 2012, Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ran a feature on Open Europe, with its London Correspondent writing that that Open Europe is "leaving its mark on the British discussion about Europe like no other." He added that it "dishes it out to all sides. EU critics eagerly seize on calculations of how much Brussels regulations have cost the UK or how much member states could save from reforming the EU's regime of agricultural subsides. However, the same people are left disappointed when Open Europe produces figures and arguments advocating against Greece being forced out of the euro, or when it defends the freedom of movement for European workers which is controversial to many in Britain."

The UK Independence Party and some politicians who want Britain to leave the EU have criticised the think-tank for advocating an "à la carte approach is not on offer".

In March 2010, writing in the Charlemagne blog in "The Economist", David Rennie criticised the group for being a "Eurosceptic campaign group" that was "spoon-feeding lazy journalists" and "controlling British coverage of the EU." The piece criticised Open Europe's 2010 study on the cost of EU regulation to the UK (which it estimated to be £124 billion), arguing that the findings were "tendentious" and that the figure was "an insult to the intelligence." . In 2012, however, Rennie noted that "the hostility of earlier reports" was "muted" under Open Europe's current Director, Mats Persson. He added that the organisation "remains as much a campaign group as think tank."

In January 2014, when his Charlemagne blog of 2010 was brought up on twitter, Rennie publicly acknowledged that Open Europe is now "v different", and that its director, Mats Persson, is "sincere reforming EU to save it." He added, “In 2010 OE influenced via tabloids, now directly to MPs and policymakers.” The Economist refers to Open Europe as a “think tank” in every reference to the organisation in 2013 and 2014. . This includes a November 2013 reference to Open Europe in the magazine's Charlemagne blog as Open Europe, the "London-based think-tank." It also credits the 'double-majority lock', which gives non-eurozone states a say in the running of the EU banking union, as a "principle first touted by Open Europe."

The Irish government accused Open Europe of “meddling” in the Irish debate, claiming a poll of Irish voters showing they did not want to be made to vote a second time on the Lisbon Treaty was “biased”. Speaking during a debate with Open Europe’s Lorraine Mullally on Irish radio Newstalk, Europe Minister Dick Roche claimed the suggestion that Nicolas Sarkozy was reported to have said there should be a second referendum was “complete nonsense.” He denied there had been any discussion on a second referendum at that stage. However, a second referendum was held in the fall of 2009. In January 2014, the Irish Minister of State for European Affairs, Paschal Donohoe was a key note speaker at Open Europe and Fresh Start Project's Conference for EU Reform.

In 2005, Peter Mandelson attacked the group in an interview in The Guardian. He said that the real agenda of the group was “less integration, less strength embodied in our single market and fewer opportunities to build our economic strength.” He argued that “Those are the people who are most insidious since they maintain a pretence of being open to Europe but actually want to lead Britain away from and out of Europe.” Open Europe, however, has openly stood up for the basic single market, as it defended the basic principle of free movement within the EU, when responding to the confusion about the link between EU law and the strikes at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire in 2009. Since Peter Mandelson attacked Open Europe in 2005, in 2012 he presented it with the "International Think Tank of the Year Award" at the Prospect 2012 Think Tank Awards hosted annually by Prospect magazine. The judges "questioned whether its analysis gave way at times to ideology," but commended the think-tank for its "astute recommendations" on EU reform, concluding that "it has produced steady, perceptive commentary on the eurozone."

See also

• List of think tanks in the United Kingdom

References

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2. "Britain should pick-and-mix over Europe instead of apeing Norway". The Telegraph. London. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
3. ^ "Our Vision". Open Europe. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
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5. Watt, Nicholas (30 November 2012). "George Osborne hires thinktank boss to attract new voters". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
6. "Supporters". Open Europe. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
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8. http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/
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13. "New opinion poll: German voters say next German chancellor should back efforts to devolve EU powers to member states". Open Europe/You Gov Deutschland. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
14. "German voters say next Chancellor lacks mandate to press ahead with further financial support for eurozone – a majority agree euro membership should be slimmed down". Open Europe/You Gov Deutschland. 03 September 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
15. "New Open Europe/ComRes poll: UK public overwhelmingly supports new EU relationship over withdrawal – but UKIP is set to win European elections" (PDF). Open Europe/ComRes. 28 May 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
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21. "Ms Maria DAMANAKI speaks at the Pan-European Conference for EU reform organised by Fresh Start Project and Open Europe, London". European Information and Research Network on Parliamentary History. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
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29. "New Open Europe briefing: How to make the EU's farm policy work for jobs, growth and the environment". Open Europe. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
30. "New Open Europe report: Bad management by the UK Government and the European Commission risks undermining public support for EU free movement". Open Europe. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
31. "Leaving the EU would raise more questions than answers". Open Europe. 10 June 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
32. Swidlicki, Pawel (2012). "Seizing the moment: Aligning the EU budget with Europe's economic needs" (PDF). Open Europe. Retrieved 21 January 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
33. "How the Coalition can repatriate 130 EU crime and policing laws overnight". Open Europe. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
34. "New Open Europe briefing: Bringing EU regional policy back to the UK could save £4.2 billion". Open Europe. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
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38. Cahill, Tom (20 September 2009). "Europe Fund Law 'To Cost $2.8 Billion' in Year One, Survey Says". Bloomber. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
39. Persson, Mats (2009). The EU’s AIFM Directive: Likely impact and best way forward (PDF). London: Open Europe. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
40. The EU Climate Action and Renewable Energy Package: Are we about to be locked into the wrong policy? (PDF). London: Open Europe. 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
41. Walsh, Bryan (3 November 2008). "Will Green Progress Be Stalled by the Bad Economy?". Time. New York. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
42. "EU's 'wasteful' climate package to cost €73 billion: lobby - News". Point Carbon. 12 October 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
43. "New Open Europe Flash Analysis: An admission of an expensive failure – the EU proposes new energy and climate change targets". Open Europe Flash Analysis. Open Europe. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
44. A guide to the constitutional treaty (PDF). London: Open Europe. 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
45. Browne, Anthony (13 March 2007). "EU loophole allows city 'farmers' to reap millions in subsidy harvest". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
46. Armitstead, Louise (18 January 2014). "The EU is ripe for change, says Open Europe". Retrieved 23 January 2014.
47. Buchsteiner, Jochen (20 December 2012). "Austeilen nach allen Seiten" (PDF). Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 22 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
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53. "Rich EU Countries fret about Social Benefits Tourism". The Economist. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
54. "Europe: Channel Deep and Wide". The Economist. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
55. "Minister Donohoe to address Open Europe Conference in London". Merrior Street: Irish Government News Service. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
56. Watt, Nicholas (17 March 2006). "New Labour will die if it is frozen in aspic". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
57. http://www.openeurope.org.uk/media-centre/pressrelease.aspx?pressreleaseid=100
58. "Think Tank of the Year Awards 2012". Prospect Magazine. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2014.

External links

• British Library archived page
• Open Europe Website
• blog of Mats Persson, Open Europe's director, hosted by The Daily Telegraph

• Use dmy dates from November 2010
• Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom
• Political and economic think tanks based in the United Kingdom