What is europe of new ideas / Europa neuer Ideen e.V.?
EnI – Europe of new Ideas e.V. – is the legal association behind E&M. We are a network of people who speak up for an increasing European thinking within the societies of Europe.
We support the European dimension of most questions within society and culture. Whether it is a matter of economic and social policies, European codes of values, or the process of learning from a common history – we believe that it’s important to think about modern life from a European angle.
We are convinced that it is important to reflect and to discuss European questions: how could a European economic policy be designed, how would its achievements look and are we in a position to create it? How are we supposed to understand ‘European values’ and what are they about? To what extent are Europeans able to learn from their history? To what extent during the last centuries have political, social and economic ideas led to the unification or separation of Europeans? Does a kind of ‘European music’ exist and – if that is the case – what is it known for?
Those questions open up a new European horizon. We don’t put forward a particular view of Europe, but we hope to encourage people to ‘think European’.
Currently, all our work focusses on E&M – which includes not just the magazine, but also short-term related projects such as workshops, events and our journalism award.
How did europe of new ideas come about?
Europe of new Ideas was founded by a group of young Europeans including Christopher Wratil, one of the founding editors of E&M.
The history of EnI started with the 29th of May 2005 and the French rejection of the EU-Constitutional Treaty by referendum.
The election campaign around the EU-Constitutional Treaty in France was about issues which did not have any connection to the EU-Constitution at all: how should we judge the policy of the government? What did the President do? Did economic integration within the Union lead to more advantages or disadvantages for France?
The institutional mechanisms and the claims which were made concerning values only played a peripheral part in discussions. The most alarming observation from our point of view had been the fact that the French didn’t seem to be bothered by the campaign issues chosen by the parties, on the contrary they wanted to vote on national subjects.
There was a lack of will to tackle the European dimension. European questions weren’t present, hence they had no influence on decision-making processes.
From our point of view it was unreasonable to face the new challenges without critical reflection and without discussion about the European dimension, in a time when increasing international mobility, a globalised economy, the end of the East-West-conflict and greater European integration thanks to the European Union constitute reality.
At the same time we came to the conclusion that politics could not initiate a change of awareness with the aim of discussing the European dimension because politicians themselves were a product of current attitudes. It was time to speak up for a stronger analysis of Europe.
The current Board
Lucy Duggan (Chair): Studied German at the University of Oxford and Eastern European Studies at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. Currently working on a PhD in German and Czech at Oxford University. Editor of the magazine E&M since 2008.
Johannes Himmelreich (Vice Chairman): Studied philosophy, economics and public policy at University of Bayreuth, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and London School of Economics. He has been working as a journalist since 2004 and holds a degree as a trained journalist. He was an editor at E&Mfrom 2009 to 2012 and is currently completing a PhD in philosophy.
Christian Diemer (Executive Director): Currently working on a PhD in musicology and composition at the University of Leipzig. He has been writing for E&M since 2009 and has been an editor since 2012.
Philip Wallmeier (Treasurer): Studied Philosophy, Economics and International Relations in Bayreuth, Valladolid, London and Moscow and is currently pursuing a PhD in International Relations at the University of Frankfurt. He has been an editor at E&M since January 2012.
How to become a member
The work of Europe of new Ideas is funded partly by grants from foundations; in the past, our E&M-related projects (such as workshops) have been funded by the Youth in Action programme of the European Commission. However, we also rely on support from our members, who typically pay 30 or 40 euros a year as a subscription, depending on whether they are students.
You can become a member of Europe of new Ideas by contacting us at admin[at]europa-neuer-ideen.eu, or by getting in touch with anyone at E&M magazine. We will send you a membership form and give you more information. As a member, you’ll be able to attend our annual general meeting and discuss where Europe of new Ideas should be heading, and vote on new members of the board (or stand to become a board member yourself). Whether you are a member or not, you are very welcome to get in touch with us and suggest projects which we should be working on, or ask us whether we would like to become a partner of a project you are running.
Contact us
To find out more about Europe of new Ideas, you can email us at admin[at]europa-neuer-ideen.eu or write to us at the following address:
EnI – Europe of new Ideas e.V.
Christian Diemer
Executive Director
Blücherstraße 18
10961 Berlin