Launching the Inaugural Edition of the Policy Mission Fellowship

APROPOS Team

A pilot programme for European Members of Parliament to tackle urgent economic and security challenges.

In the next six months, European parliaments will vote on billions in defence procurement, energy infrastructure investments, and economic security measures, often with incomplete information, limited cross-border perspectives, and under intense time pressure.

The decisions made in national parliaments today will define Europe's economic sovereignty and security posture for the next decade. Yet too often, policymakers work in silos, missing critical insights from colleagues facing identical challenges across borders.

The Open European Dialogue is launching the Policy Mission Fellowship: a one-of-a-kind political programme designed to change this.

For over ten years, the Open European Dialogue has provided a space for policymakers to work through disagreement, surface blind spots, and engage in creative, bold policy thinking. Now, we're expanding our proven methodology into an intensive pilot programme for 20 Members of Parliament that combines dialogue and hands-on policy work to strengthen the policymaking capacity of Europe's leaders.

Why This Matters Now 

A German MP asks: "How do I justify defence spending increases to constituents worried about healthcare cuts?" A Polish colleague wonders: "How do we build crypto regulation that doesn't send innovation to Asia?" An Italian parliamentarian struggles with: "How do we accelerate renewable energy without destabilizing our industrial base?"

These aren't isolated national challenges; they're shared European dilemmas that demand cross-border solutions. The Fellowship is designed to create a rare space where these conversations can happen productively, across party lines and national interests.

The 2026 Policy Mission: Securitisation of Europe's Economic Power 

Selected by the OED Network for its urgency in Europe's current political context, the inaugural cohort will tackle critical questions around how European countries can:

>> Strengthen their economic security architecture amidst rising geopolitical competition?

>> Direct strategic investments effectively, balancing defence imperatives with fiscal credibility and social cohesion?

>> Explore new political narratives around security and social investments to enable long-term prosperity?

Five Policy Lenses, One Urgent Mission

The 20 national parliamentarians will work within one of these interconnected policy areas to address different aspects of Economic securitisation in Europe:

1. Climate, Environmental, and Energy Policy  Exploring how Europe can transition to sustainable energy and climate-resilient systems while safeguarding economic security and competitiveness. 

2. Military Procurement, Defence Policy, and Defence Technologies 

Addressing strategic defence spending, technological innovation, and aligning national procurement with broader European security objectives.  

3. Prosperity and Security Narratives 

Examining how narratives shape public understanding and policy around economic and social security, and how they can support cohesion and resilience.   

4. Strategic Investments and Entrepreneurship

Focusing on targeted investments that drive innovation, foster entrepreneurship, and strengthen both national and European economic security.   

5. Emerging Financial and Technological Infrastructures and Cryptocurrencies

Investigating opportunities and risks in new financial technologies and critical infrastructure, and the policies needed to regulate and secure these effectively.

What Makes This Different

Delivered in partnership with the Open European Dialogue’s consortium of partners, and the academic direction of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), the five-month Fellowship aims to enable Members of Parliament to:

• Refine or develop a policy project aligned with their national priorities with expert guidance and peer feedback 

• Engage directly with first-class international experts in economics, security and governance 

• Master Adaptive Leadership, a methodology developed at Harvard and used by senior decision-makers worldwide to navigate complex, politically charged challenges

  
  

The programme combines two essential in-person engagements with focused online sessions designed around participants' parliamentary priorities.

Programme Architecture 

The London Residency and Berlin Policy Lab form the backbone of the experience and are essential to participation. Online sessions provide additional expert input and skills training tailored to the cohort's interests.

This is a fully funded programme – each scholarship holds a value of €18,000 per participant, covering all costs. 

The 2026 Cohort 

Applications closed.

Only 20 seats are available for this inaugural cohort, bringing together national parliamentarians from across Europe and the political spectrum. 

Our admissions committee has identified a select group of priority candidates based on their policy expertise and alignment with the 2026 mission. 

The programme launches February 4, 2026.

Learn more: https://www.thepolicymissionfellowship.org/