Bureau of European Policy Advisers (European Commission)

The European Political Strategy Centre (EPSC), formerly known as Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA), is a Directorate-General of the European Commission.

The Bureau of European Policy Advisers is a department of the European Commission, reporting directly to the President of the European Commission and under his authority. The Bureau is composed of a professional staff of advisers, policy analysts and support staff with appropriate experience and attainments, in order to provide professional and well-informed advice to the President and the European Commissioners and to formulate recommendations on issues regarding the policy of the European Union. The Bureau is headed by a Director General (Ann Mettler, as of June 2016) designated by the President. The Director General is responsible for establishing the positions taken by the Bureau of European Policy Advisers.

The origins of what is today known as BEPA go back to 1989, when the Forward Studies Unit was established by the European Commission as a small 'think tank' staffed with EU officials reporting directly to President Jacques Delors.

The Unit's primary task was to monitor and evaluate European integration by studying long-term prospects and structural tendencies, basing itself particularly on a network of external contacts with research institutes specialised in long-term forecasting and planning.

In May 2000, Romano Prodi changed the Forward Studies Unit into the Group of Policy Advisers (GOPA) and entrusted it with four specific domains: economics, social affairs, foreign affairs, and dialogue with religions.

With the arrival of José Manuel Barroso as President of the European Commission in 2004, GOPA was restructured and rebranded as the Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA).

With the arrival of Jean-Claude Juncker as President of the European Commission in 2014, BEPA was restructured and rebranded as European Political Strategy Centre (EPSC).

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