E3G

A year in review: E3G in 2006

By Martin Rands

Winter – pamphlet production and more

Organisationally, we are very pleased to have extended our lease with the Science Museum for a further 2 years. It’s a unique and impressive address, and a location that always seems to find favour with all our visitors.

Completing the picture of those who braved the many millions of museum visitors and found their way to the E3G office have been Victor Aguilera, Joana Bezerra and Zornitsa Pakova, courageous interns all three, who have added much to the already cosmopolitan flavour of E3G’s office culture.

If there has been one thing that has provided both a stimulating focus and a source of teeth-gnashing throughout the year it has been the writing and printing of our pamphlet ‘Europe in the World: political choices for security and prosperity’. Once again we must acknowledge the efforts of Chris Littlecott, who has prodded, cajoled, encouraged and generally managed the production of the pamphlet with diligence and good humour. 

The many twists and turns that always accompany such a project were finally negotiated when we ended up in Brussels in December to launch the publication with the participation of Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission.

Responses to the pamphlet so far have been extremely encouraging, and will provide food for thought and discussion for some time to come. We owe a debt of gratitude to the founding directors of E3G; Tom Burke and Nick Mabey, who authored the pamphlet, and John Ashton, whose intellectual drive underpinned much of the early development of the ideas contained therein, for their collective commitment to the project.

As ever, E3G must turn to thank many others who have helped us throughout 2006. In particular our sincere thanks goes to The Centre in Brussels, without whose help we could not have hosted a number of our Brussels events. Major sources of funding have been provided by the Italian Ministry of Environment and Territory, the Shell Foundation, and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, and we thank them all for their support.

So, it’s been an exciting year. Not one entirely free of problems and challenges, but certainly one that we can look back on with satisfaction, knowing that progress has been achieved. Many of our core arguments, particularly with regard to the role of the EU and the importance of China and India, have now moved centre-stage and are echoed in the speeches and writings of politicians and journalists throughout Europe.

And the future, too, looks exciting. We will carry on developing the discussion and research ideas that our pamphlet has generated, and our EU-China initiative enters a new and important phase. 

The climate and energy security debate will become even more important in 2007, and E3G is well placed to make significant contributions there. As ever, our search for funding to continue the work we do will continue unabated, and our growing reputation for delivering fresh insights and real solutions will help us open new doors.

May I, on behalf of all of us at E3G, wish all of you a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Martin Rands