Starkin S.V., Krivov S.V. Evolution and typology of the expert analytical centers of the European Union

Abstract: The subject of this article is the activity of the European expert analytical centers, which attracts substantiated academic interest in the area of applied and theoretical research. The relevance lies in the questions associated with the functional responsibilities of similar centers, their sponsorship, presence or absence of the ideological component, and most importantly, level of their influence upon the process of domestic and foreign policy decision-making. In the conditions of complicated circumstances in Russia-Europe relations, a more adequate understanding of the latent mechanisms of functioning of the European policy seems necessary. Due to this fact, the authors note the need for an in-depth analysis of the forms and active work of the EU oriented expert analytical centers. The authors made the following conclusions based on the analysis of the EU oriented expert analytical centers: in general, the increase of the number of expert centers complies with the extension of European integration and expansion of control; as a rule, the research of the analytical centers, correspond with the EU political realities and its impact upon the domestic legislation alongside the increased awareness of actions. The analytical centers located in Brussels and oriented exclusively towards EU were established at the time when EU member-states agreed to rejuvenate the European project, finish the internal market, and revisit the possibility of the economic and currency union. Naturally, the national expert analytical centers located in the EU member-states began developing more sequential versions of the research programs on the EU topic. It is evident that the national centers have captured the rising opportunity to affect the all-European political agenda and reacted with the activation of their own work.

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