The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decision-makers, activists and influencers to share ideas. ECFR builds coalitions for change at the European level and promotes informed debate about Europe's role in the world. ECFR has offices in Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Warsaw and Sofia. ECFR was founded in 2007 by Mark Leonard together with a council of fifty founding members, chaired by Martti Ahtisaari, Joschka Fischer, and Mabel van Oranje, with initial funding from George Soros's Open Society Foundations, the Communitas Foundation, Sigrid Rausing, Unicredit and Fundación Para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior (FRIDE). ECFR's council brings together over 300 Europeans from across Europe. Currently chaired by Carl Bildt, Lykke Friis and Norbert Röttgen, ECFR's strategic community includes serving foreign ministers, former prime ministers, members of national parliaments and European Parliament, EU Commissioners, former NATO secretaries generals, thinkers, journalists and business leaders. The council gathers once a year as a full body for the annual council meeting, hosted in a different European capital each year. The council is the strongest and most visible expression of ECFR's pan-European identity. National offices ECFR has offices in Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Warsaw and Sofia, with Berlin serving as headquarter. When ECFR was founded in 2007, the Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris and Sofia offices were opened at the same time. The Rome office was opened in 2010; the Warsaw office in September 2011. Programmes, publications and events The think tank's research is broadly divided into five programmes. These are Africa, Asia, Wider Europe, European Power and Middle East & North Africa. In addition, ECFR's fellows regularly publish policy papers on subjects that fall outside of these parameters. ECFR staff regularly publishes analysis and commentary in major European newspapers. ECFR publishes individual policy reports, briefs, and memos, which are downloadable for free from ECFR's website. It has regular publications, including the European Foreign Policy Scorecard started in 2011; the China Analysis and a review of the EU and human rights at the UN. In addition to the regular publications, ECFR often has larger projects, which will include a set of publications on a given subject. ECFR's national offices hold regular events such as seminars, ginger groups and publication launches. Guest speakers