Open Europe was a British centre-right eurosceptic policy think tank with offices in London and Brussels, merging with the Policy Exchange think tank in 2020.
Its stated mission was to "conduct rigorous analysis and produce recommendations on which to base the UK's new relationship with the EU and its trading relationships with the rest of the world." It promoted democratically grounded economic, trade and investment policies which foster growth, employment and freedom under the rule of law. The think tank described itself as being "non-partisan and independent" but was also described as "eurosceptic".
The think-tank was set up in 2005 prior to the Lisbon Treaty by a group of British business to oppose further centralisation of power in the EU. It was a proponent of a flexible model for further 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. It adopted a neutral stance in the 2016 EU referendum in the UK.
In the wake of the UK's vote to leave the EU, Open Europe's research programme shifted to focus on three key aspects: the UK's new relationship with the EU, including trade, security and political cooperation; the most important opportunities for new trading relationships with nations outside the EU; productive international cooperation across areas such as immigration, research and development, cross-border investment and financial services.
Open Europe was described by The Economist in 2010 as "the Eurosceptic group that controls British coverage of the EU". It was ranked number 1. in the "International Affairs" Category in 2012 by Prospect magazine.
History
Open Europe was launched on 20 October 2005 by Rodney Leach in London by business people to oppose the return of the then EU Constitutional Treaty that became the Lisbon Treaty, Open Europe's stated aim was "to contribute positive new thinking to the debate about the future direction of the European Union". Rodney Leach and many of the founding supporters of Open Europe had previously backed the Business for Sterling campaign to stay out of the Euro.
Directors of Open Europe have included Neil O'Brien (2005–2008), Lorraine Mullally (2008–2010), Mats Persson (2010–2015), Stephen Booth and Raoul Ruparel as Co-Directors (2015–2017), and Henry Newman (2017–2019). Several former Open Europe Directors have gone on to work in government, including Persson (former Europe advisor to David Cameron) and Ruparel (former Europe advisor to Theresa May).
The think tank opposed the Lisbon Treaty and supported granting a referendum on the treaty through its "I Want A Referendum" campaign.
Open Europe was neutral during the 2016 referendum campaign on EU membership. Its aim in doing so was to "strip the debate of adversarial hyperbole and substitute solid factual ground on which the British people can make this important decision." Since the referendum, it has produced a new report, entitled "Striking a Balance", which sets out its vision for a new UK-EU partnership after Brexit. It has also recently produced a report on the economic consequences of a No Deal Brexit and how they could be mitigated.
On 7 February 2020, Open Europe announced it would close and its remaining contributors would join the Policy Exchange thinktank. "The exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union last Friday marked the beginning of an important new chapter for Britain. It also marked the end of the story for Open Europe, which will be closing." A more extensive history of the think tank was also published by the longtime head of its Brussels office, Pieter Cleppe.
Management and funding
Open Europe was a private company limited by guarantee without share capital. Its final chairman was Simon Wolfson, the chief executive of the clothing retailer Next plc.
Open Europe received no funding from any government, the EU, NGO or public company. It was funded entirely by private donations and a partial list of its supporters was available on its website.
The group was nominally independent and did not have a partisan affiliation. Its supporters included business people operating in every sector and across both the UK and Europe, as well as former diplomats and high-profile figures from across the professions.
Activities
Open Europe regularly published original research aimed at promoting new ideas among key EU policy makers, business people and academics. Open Europe's experts regularly appeared in the international media, providing analysis on Brexit and UK and EU politics.