Since 2010, the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) together with European partner institutions have been counseling the European Union on matters of non-proliferation and disarmament.
The EU is funding this major project for another three years with a total of 3.6 million euros. As a contribution to this project, PRIF develops an education program for students and diplomats.
The European Council decided to extend funding for the expert network "EU Non-Proliferation Consortium", founded three years ago, until 2017, granting an amount of 3.6 million euros.
The network counsels governments of EU member states and EU institutions in the fields of non-proliferation and disarmament of conventional and non-conventional weapons. Four European research institutes lead the network: the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS, London), the Foundation pour la Recherche Stratégique (FRS, Paris) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and PRIF.
The scholars' aim is to further stimulate the security policy dialogue on the European level and raise awareness with third countries for intense cooperation with the EU, in order to promote the non-proliferation and disarmament of weapons of mass destruction and to curb the illegal distribution of small arms. To this end, the consortium organizes annual international conferences and expert workshops in Brussels; policy counseling publications complement the portfolio.
An educational program will now complete the advisory activities. Via distance learning and internships in think tanks of the EU, students, diplomats and journalists from member and third countries can acquire knowledge on topics of EU policies of non-proliferation and disarmament. PRIF has years of experience in both research and counseling in these fields. It is in charge of the concept and the implementation of the trainings.
Harald Müller, PRIF's Director, is the Consortium's Vice President, Giorgio Franceschini and Daniel Müller (all Research Department I) are research associates.