The European Leadership Network is the only Euro-Atlantic network bringing together members from Russia, Ukraine and wider Europe to prevent further escalation of the Russian crisis.
We exist to prevent existential conflict in the Euro-Atlantic region and beyond, and have provided early warning of conflict between Russia and Western countries. Founded in 2011, we’ve built relationships of trust, understanding and goodwill among members from 40 different European countries and extremely varied political viewpoints.
Chaired by former UK Defence Secretary Lord Des Browne and led by former UK Ambassador to NATO Sir Adam Thomson Browne, the network includes 38 former foreign ministers, 27 former defence ministers, all previous NATO Secretaries-General and EU High Representatives for Foreign Policy, as well as civil society leaders, journalists and thought leaders. It is proudly intergenerational. Our founders’ story is set out here.
At a time when diplomatic channels are closing down, our network is a vital resource to develop, test and advance ideas for peace, diplomacy and military risk reduction.
In the immediate term, we will work to prevent further conflict escalation and bolster governments’ capacity for crisis management and nuclear risk reduction, for instance through military-to-military communications and preserving nuclear dialogue channels.
We will bolster capacity for conflict mediation and diplomacy by providing insights into the interests, positions, needs and perceptions of key stakeholders, and by mobilising the network to identify practical steps that governments can take.
Looking at the long haul, we will seek to prevent the new Cold War from transforming into a hot war (or wars), and keep open channels of communication between young leaders to keep alive the possibilities for peaceful coexistence and cooperation in the long term – drawing on the knowledge of leaders who helped to end the Cold War, and the insights of young people who do not want to be condemned to relive it endlessly.
We are urgently seeking funding to scale up and sustain our work on Russia-West conflict reduction over the next year and beyond. We are appealing for £500,000 over the next 12 months and we are open to gifts of any size. We can provide more detail on what your gift can fund.
Let’s talk! Please contact [email protected] for more.