EGMONT – The Royal Institute for International Relations



EGMONT – The Royal Institute for International Relations, also known as the Egmont Institute, is an independent and non-profit Brussels-based think tank dedicated to interdisciplinary research on international relations. The main activities of the Egmont Institute include research, the organisation of events, and training for civil servants. The Institute is associated to the Foreign Ministry of Belgium, from which it receives a substantial part of its funding. The Egmont Institute furthermore receives funding from EU Institutions, membership fees and private partners.

History
In 1947, the Royal Institute for International Relations (the Institute’s original name) was founded by Belgian political leaders including Paul van Zeeland, former Prime Minister; Prof. Charles de Visscher, member of the International Court of Justice; Prof. Fernand Dehousse, member of the Belgian delegation to the Conference of San Francisco; and Prof. Henri Rolin, Senator and Barrister-at-law. In 2006, in the run up to its sixtieth anniversary, the Institute changed its name to “EGMONT – The Royal Institute for International Relations” referring to the Egmont Palace, where many of its events are held.

List of presidents

 * Charles De Visscher 1947–1958
 * Fernand Van Langenhove 1958–1966
 * Baron Snoy et d'Oppuers 1966–1977
 * Henri Simonet 1977–1983
 * Baron de Strycker 1983–1987
 * Burgrave Davignon 1988–2017
 * François-Xavier de Donnea 2017–

Structure
The Egmont Institute is governed by the Board of Directors. The current President is Knight François-Xavier de Donnéa, and Vice-President of the Egmont Institute is Peter Moors, Permanent Secretary of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Other members of the Board of Directors include prominent Belgian politicians, honorary ambassadors, public officials and academics. The current director general is Pol De Witte.



Events
The Egmont Institute organizes various events, mostly in Brussels. According to the Institute, its events aim to foster dialogue between researchers, policy-makers and civil society. The Egmont Institute furthermore serves as a forum for visiting heads of state or government, representatives of international organizations and foreign ministers.

Partnerships
The Egmont Institute is a lead partner in the European Strategic Partnerships Observatory and l’Observatoire de l'Afrique.

It is also a member of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC), the Euro-Mediterranean Study Commission (EuroMeSCo), the European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN), Think Global – Act European (TGAE), the Brussels Think Tank Dialogue (BTTD), Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), Europe-Africa Policy Research Network (EARN), and Expertise for Central Africa (E-CA). The institute regularly collaborates with the Belgian Royal High Institute for Defence.

In 2012, the Egmont Institute and the European Defence Agency launched the PhD Prize in European Defence, Security and Strategy.

Publications
EGMONT publishes the Egmont Papers and Policy Briefs. They are accessible for free on their website.